|
Written by Dave Nyambati
|
|
Thursday, 30 November 2006 |
Strange bed fellows indeed. Once again we are reminded to just what ends Kenyan politicians will go to maintain power. Nicholas Biwott aka Total Man, the once despised and feared swingman of the Moi regime is now the despised and feared leader of opposition in the Kibaki regime. Kibaki will be hard pressed to explain his latest courting of Biwott even to his staunchest supporters.
The political strategy of sabotaging the opposition instead of efficient governance to win elections seems to signify Kibaki’s metamorphosis into the new Moi. With Moi’s tacit direction, Kibaki seems to be adopting more of his predecessor's strategies that used to weaken the opposition and cling to power. By colluding with the same despots he worked so hard to convince Kenyans were wrong and corrupt, he may be squandering what little goodwill he had left with wananchi.
The Nobel laureate George Bernard Shaw once said that we learn from history that we learn nothing from history. This is implicitly true of the current government under President Kibaki who seem determined to cram the mistakes of the entire Moi era into one or two terms. A crash program of sorts intended to let them “eat” all they can while still in power. Kibaki appears to have forgotten that this is the same path that led to the end of Moi. This temporary bout of amnesia may very well come to be remembered as the point where he lost any chance he had of re-election. The Kenyan electorate has become well versed in the double speak of politicians (as witnessed by the rejection of the Banana constitution) and hollow sounding promises will not pass mustard in 2007.
Kibaki still has a chance to solidify his base and prove to Kenyans that he is their best option come 2007. If he can refocus the energy he is using for political maneuvering to serving the Kenyan people then he will undoubtedly have a much easier time staying in power. Sadly, that appears to be something he is not prepared to do. Furthermore by exiling Ruto and Uhuru from Kanu, he may have strengthened their resolve to stay in ODM and make the coalition work.
Trackback(0)
 |
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 04 December 2006 )
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
Again you seem to imply that Kibaki sullies himself by associating with Biwott and Moi, whereas the truth is that they are cut from very similar cloth. Like the Rattlesnake said 'I was one Biwott's boss and Biwott was once my boss.'