Drama of the high wire kind has been unfolding in a country that is proving to be one of the most influential in Africa (because it has the largest movie industry on the continent reportedly currently churning out more movies than Hollywood itself. I am of course talking about Nigeria. In the same way America became so influential from churning out and distributing movies to the world, Nigeria seems to be following suite. Too many Kenyans these days are already talking like Nigerians. I warned you oooo!! I told you not to be reading Kumekucha ooooo!!!!)
What mystery ailment is William Ruto suffering from?The country’s president Umaru Yar'Adua has been ailing since last November and to date no official word has been released about his condition. Early this year the authoritative Telegraph in London quoted sources as saying the president had been in a coma for two weeks and could even be “clinically dead”. Older readers of this blog will remember that when president Laurent Kabila (father of the current president) was shot dead inside his own palace by one of his own guards his aides denied the story for two days. Claiming that he was well and being treated. Obviously the idea was to finalize carefully laid plans to take over power.
Anyway the latest in the Nigerian presidential saga is that acting President Goodluck Jonathan (these Nigerian names!!! Wow!!!) dissolved the cabinet a few hours ago setting the stage for him to appoint a brand new cabinet. This could suggest that president Yar’dua may not be coming back. Besides fresh presidential elections are due in about a year.
This current scenario in Nigeria is very relevant to Kenyans, whose first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta slipped in out of a coma in his last years in office. Who aws ruling the country? The current president has been in poor health since taking over office shortly after a near-fatal accident on the Nairobi Mombasa road just weeks to the polls in 2002.
As we prepare to hopefully pass a new constitution full disclosure on the health of our future presidents needs to be entrenched in the new constitution. Can you imagine that in this day and age majority in the political class believe that the health of the president should not be discussed in public.
What most folks fail to realize is that your health impacts directly on the quality of decisions that you make.
President Jomo Kenyatta is said to have suffered from gout (apart from his heart condition). Gout can get pretty painful and obviously affects the mood of the person suffering from it. Usually it causes ill temper. Imagine what would happen when advisors come in with news of a political nuisance getting in the way yet again. How easy would it be for a president to give the order for that person’s life to be snuffed out?
In the same way I hate to think about it but President Kibaki’s poor health may have been the main reason why so many Kenyans lost their lives in the post election violence of the 2007 general elections. Realistically speaking Kibaki should not have stood for re-election in the first place considering his health then and even now. Many of his firm supporters have told me that that they firmly believe that the poor quality decisions made in the run up to the violence was caused by his poor health. They point out to the Kibaki before the accident, a sharp astute quick thinker on his feet. This is a far cry from the limping, slow walking, slow talking, easily-confused President Kibaki of today.
To make matters worse possible presidential candidates like William Ruto are already said to be suffering from some very serious mystery ailments but is said to always brush aside queries about his health by saying that it is “just diabetes.”
As our Nigerian brothers struggle with their constitutionally-related problems Kenyans need to firmly focus on the health of our future leaders and especially the president and Vice president.
Kumekucha received insider information on President Kibaki’s health.
