A
whole lot of fact and fiction stories has been told and written on the Mwai Kibaki
presidency. We have heard the blushful depictions of how he has managed to
resuscitate the Kenyan economy from the abattoir of the Nyayo legacy, to the
nimbus of a whooping 7 percent growth rate.
We
have heard all about the free primary education, the Constituency Development Fund,
improvement in the Agricultural sector, and several other achievements in
different sectors of government that would help make certain the re-election
for a sitting president.
On
the other side of the aisle, the opposition has persistently reminded us of President
Kibaki's failures. We have been told about the miscarriage of the
constitutional review process that was supposed to be delivered after 100 days
in office. We have heard about the regime's deficient approach to the struggle
against corruption in government, we have seen the internal security lapses in
which starred the infamous Artur brothers, and endless other attributes that
paint an uncomplimentary picture of Mwai Kibaki and his term presiding over the
government of Kenya.
It
is however surprising that, in the rubble of all the political and ideological
interplay, rarely do we discuss one of the most compelling dimensions of the
Kibaki Presidency; His Excellency's spinelessness or as some may put it, His
Excellency's lack of testicular fortitude-politically speaking that is. Let us
take a moment and rewind our clocks back to December 29th 2002. We are reminded of the
resounding victory we had against the shackles of political absolutism under
Moi. We are further reminded of the lavish political capital and general goodwill
we bestowed upon President Kibaki and his government.
From
the very cradle of his presidency, Emilio Mwai Kibaki was afforded all the
sticks and carrots he needed to govern and to consolidate the boundaries of his
powers: the indomitable will of the people, a robust cabinet assemblage,
substantial legislative advantage and a weak, inexperienced opposition. How
then did Kibaki squander all the unconstrained presidential authority entrusted
under the present constitution to a point where he has become the underdog in a
race that ordinarily should have been a walk-over for him?
Many
observers ascribe Kibaki's failures to his lackadaisical and injudicious manner
when dealing with the numerous and, many of them, quite serious obstacles his
government came by. This demeanour has seen him lose virtually all the major
political battles of his presidency. The repudiation of the 2002 Memorandum of Understanding
between the President and his NARC partners, principally the Liberal Democratic
Party arguably forms the yolk of President Kibaki's strategic blunders. By
throwing the Rainbow deal into the dustbin of history, the President
effectively removed the hinges that had held the door to a harmonious term of
office. This perhaps was forgivable given the ruthless and Machiavellian nature
of Kenyan politics but even his more ardent supporters cannot but be dismayed
at his inability to extinguish clearly forceful fires before they turned into
deadly flames.
President
Kibaki has always remained unruffled even as scandal upon scandal ate into his presidential
authority, drawing a picture of him as either party to these scandals or else
so weak as to have abdicated his constitutional and sworn role as guardian of
the Kenyan people. As the number of disgruntled elements grew larger and larger
within his government the President remained in a state of almost religious
tranquil. Soon, the little flames began joining up to form ever larger fires,
heating up the political landscape and extending across the political divide
where they strengthened the Uhuru Kenyatta led-opposition. Still, State House
maintained a stoic silence, undeterred in its stupor as its parliamentary
majority dissolved into ash.
Yet
another one of President Kibaki's egregious clangers was the failure to prioritize
the custodianship of the governing party NARC and its governing instruments.
This was really a "small potatoes" battle that should have been won tactfully
even if it meant appeasing the Health minister Charity Ngilu. Instead, the President's
inertia persisted undeterred.
What
however was particularly odd about the Kibaki presidency was the fact that even
as he blundered over and over again, he had the good fortune to be presented
with endless opportunity for recovery and political redemption. The death of
Vice President Kijana Wamalwa for instance, created an excellent chance for the
President to renew his partnership with the all important western Kenya
political bloc. For what remain inexplicable reasons Kibaki neglected to pick a
VP from Wamalwa's more popular party Ford Kenya
and re-affirm his political commitment to the Luhya community. Instead, the
President settled for the lacklustre Moody Awori who in political terms has
turned out to be a big white elephant, one with a massive political opportunity
cost and very little political profit.
Even
after that, Kibaki had another big chance to score big with the constitutional
review process which formed a crucial plank of the change agenda that had
brought him into office. At a time when the nation was looking for true
leadership, the President did not think to come out and express the government's
position on the debate. Instead, he chose again to take the soporific highway,
as further political capital was haemorrhaged at the careless swords of such
envoys as Dr. Chris Murungaru.
Still,
incumbency and the advantage of Kenya's
ethnic voting patterns gave State House a large advantage at the November 2005
referendum. Buoyed by the support of the parties he had co-opted into the
government of national unity, there was no reason why the president should not
have acquitted himself better. Instead, the government side put on such a
dismal performance that his outfit continued to carry the aura of a losing team
throughout its term. Even at the height of the feuding in the ODM-K his
Excellency failed to strike, while the iron was hot.
And
he has persisted in the same vein. Opinion polls and the fractious mien of his
loose coalition have not goaded him towards using the prestige of his office to
persuade the parts of his new fangled party to come together to a common cause.
Instead they bicker and repel voters, and his abdication leads to such fallout
as the defection of Charity Ngilu.
In
sharp contrast to the previous regimes of Jomo Kenyatta and his successor,
Daniel Arap Moi who managed to shape the political landscape and drive its
transformation with remarkable success, Kibaki's ineptitude in political life
has left Kenyans in constant wonderment. His predecessors both possessed a deep
seated impulse to routinely jolt systematic order and disrupt opposition,
almost to a point where they were branded as political micromanagers. It is no
wonder Kenyatta ruled to his death bed for 15 years and Moi to his appointed
retirement 24 years after he started.
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The way I see it Kibaki had to set some priorities and given Kenya's dire economic situation Kibaki chose to address the economy rather than the politics of his personal survival.
Make no mistake what kibaki has accomplished on the economic front is no mean feat. Certainly it was not achieved by being lackadaisical or spineless. Kibaki has had to take some strong action to collect taxes, free Kenya from the shackles of donors, streamline the judiciary and civil service. These are not spineless acts they have earned him many enemies.
Seda and others still pine for the father figure President. The strict disciplinarian who runs the country like his household. Kibaki is not built in that mold. The fact that Kibaki has restrained himself in applying the massive powers of his office to coerce political agreement is aplus rather than anegative for the President.