Nothing amuses me more than the oft repeated mantra by politicians that they are servants of the people. They are our representatives who ensure that government keeps its side of the bargain in the social contract with the people in which supposedly, government is tasked with ensuring a prosperous commonwealth.
The great revolutions against feudalism in Europe opened a new chapter in the establishment of the social contract between the people and government best captured by the motto of France, Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity); a moto that has its roots in the celebrated French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. Political leaders were forced by the fear of the masses turning against them to reinvent themselves as servants, no longer masters. Democracies and dictatorships alike have since spawned politicians who claim to be servants of the people: Hitler, Stalin, Amin, Mobutu, Mao, Castro, Gaddafi, or Nixon, Thatcher, Reagan, Kohl, Mandela, Nyerere, Chirac, and Obama. Of course we have our very own Jomo Kenyatta, Moi, Kibaki, Raila, Kalonzo, Ruto, Wakoli, Mungatana, Ndile among others.
The servant leader is expected to be honest, selfless, and always ready and able to fight for his or her people. Since many are willing to take up the position but not live up to its ideals, a process to identify best suited candidates is put in place by way of election or selection. Still, some chaff makes its way through to sit pretty with the wheat. No, I dare say that more chaff than wheat makes it through! I have this pathological distrust for politicians and the servant-of-the-people tag.
As if to validate my distrust, Members of parliament in the United Kingdom are currently embroiled in a scandal that threatens to bring to an end the troubled premiership of Gordon Brown and kick the Labor Party out of power after twelve years at helm. The scandal that was brought to light by The Daily Telegraph stems from a claims system that allows the MPs to get reimbursement for costs of keeping a second home – most have a home in London and in their constituencies to enable them attend to both legislative business and their constituents. However, The Daily Telegraph exposed rampant abuse of the system briefly outlined in the excerpt below.
The most eye-catching claims include ones for clearing a moat, maintaining swimming pools, a £1,645 "duck island" and a claim to fit mock Tudor beams to the front of a house. One MP claimed for a house that was neither in London, nor her constituency. Two MPs continued to claim for mortgage interest payments, after the mortgages had been paid off - they blamed that on accounting errors. Claims for small items have also been ridiculed - including a trouser press, a bath plug and some Hob Nob biscuits. And there is some annoyance at large food bills - some charged even when Parliament was in recess. My first reaction to this news was one of dread. I was afraid that our servant leaders in Kenya had gotten yet another case to justify behaving badly. Just like the questionable presidential election results for Florida in 2000 is used to justify why the USA should not lecture others on flawed elections, or Gitmo is used as a case to justify human rights abuse elsewhere, I was fearful that the UK MPs had struck a big blow for our own MPs against the people’s call for greater accountability by our servant leaders.
Much to my relief though, the scandal has taken up a life of its own that has seen heads roll with more to come. The Speaker was one of the first to go, accused of overseeing the allowance system and trying to shield the truth from the people, he became the first Speaker in three hundred years to resign. A number of cabinet ministers have followed suit, and soon the premier may pay for it too. The people’s anger was also reflected in the abysmal performance of the Labor party during the recent EU elections. The police are now investigating the claims with a view to prosecution for criminal offences.
This brings me to our beloved Kenya, the land where “servants of the people” are but a cabal of greedy and self centered individuals who operate under a system which elevates impunity of the elite to a whole new level. It is no secret that some of the most revolting crime in the country is carried out by our members of parliament and their agents. They steal and kill covertly and overtly. They influence tenders, they loot the treasury, manipulate imports, kill local industries, divert medicine meant for the poor, grab land, incite and manage ethnic violence, destroy the environment … . I could go on and on. Yet since 1992 when we celebrated the return of multi-party elections, not a single MP has been successfully convicted for any crime. This statistic speaks for itself. This is impunity. The system is surely broken. The three arms of government are surely complicit in these crimes against the people. The contract with the people has been trashed.
But wait, what about the people? What have we done to end the impunity? Very little is the answer. Time and again we vote in the worst characters to parliament. The ethnic war-lords and the most corrupt retired civil servants are more likely to make it to parliament than the honest and progressive Kenyans. If they shout loudest in our name, often give us handouts or peddle their influence to ensure we get employed, promoted or clinch the all important tender, they make it back to parliament. If they don’t, we boot them out accusing them of being greedy and not doing anything or enough for their people. Yes, we shout at the top of our lungs about corruption and other vice but we love and admire those who dare practice them. The evidence is there to be seen in our duly elected representatives.
It is time for Kenyans to preach and drink water. It is time we all embraced accountability and punished impunity. It is time to elect servant leaders and to continuously keep vigil and demonstrate our displeasure with the crooks that make it to parliament. It is said that we deserve the leaders we get. Surely we can do better. |
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The Narc government suffered great humiliation and abuse when former British High Commissioner Edward Clay accused government leaders of being gluttons and vomiting on donor shoes.........Ha! There is some sort of poetic justice when we learn that a British government minister accidentally claimed expenses for the porno that her randy husband watched whilst she was away.
I cannot see how Kenya can make a break with the past whilst people who are suspected and sometimes accused of of being involved in some of the most serious crimes in our recent political past can still hold powerful positions in the Unity Government. Who will come to our rescue? Civil society? Media?
I have little or no hope with today's mainstream media. Who remembers a recent DN banner headline that read...." What the________ Family thinks of _________..." Makes one wonder what all the fuss about the Media Bill was about