"The opposition must challenge the government, it must keep the government on its toes. I expect the KANU opposition to live up to this responsibility." Daniel Arap Moi on 30^th December 2002 during the inauguration of President Kibaki.

When history is written about the role of Uhuru Kenyatta as the Leader of the Official Opposition during the Ninth Parliament, in my mind, there is unanimity that he fought the good fight and wavered only as the breasting of the tape neared. The words above, spoken as they were by retired President Daniel Arap Moi on the day of the inauguration of President Kibaki on 30^th December 2002 were similarly from someone who history will judge as a true Professor of Politics, but one alas, who also wavered at the breasting of the tape. Weeks after this advice from Moi, Uhuru assumed the mantle of Leader of the Official Opposition. This came after the KANU Parliamentary Group meeting on 9^th January 2003 proposed him as Party Leader and by virtue of KANU's position as second largest in parliament after the governing NARC.

the great gambler?

As expected of a Leader of Official Opposition, Mr. Kenyatta named his Shadow Cabinet or Alternative Government as per the website of the Official Opposition Party KANU. This was communicated to the Speaker of the National Assembly on 11^th June 2003. His Shadow Cabinet included the considerable talents of the ‘Honourables' Billow Kerrow (Finance), Joseph Nkaissery (Defence), Maoka Maore (Roads and Public Works), Chris Okemo (Economic Planning), Marsden Madoka (Foreign Affairs), Musa Sirma (Local Government), Mutula Kilonzo (Attorney General) and Samuel Poghisio (Labour and Human Resource Development) among others. This was a front-bench of great talent, and drawn from all the corners of the country. The naming of the Shadow Cabinet, however, was late in coming, succeeding the government's announcement of its front-bench by five.

History of the Office

In naming the Shadow Cabinet, Uhuru followed parliamentary practice dating back to Sir John Cam Hobhouse's coining of the phrase ‘His Majesty's Loyal Opposition' in 1826 and the coming into office of Sir Robert Peel's ‘alternative government in 1841. The term ‘Official Opposition' -a tag of more legal than grammatical exactness- was drawn up to differentiate between various opposition parties in multi-party systems. Further to the establishment of this institution in parliamentary practice, the Ministers of the Crown Act formally granted in 1937 a salary to the Leader of the Opposition.

Kenya has followed this British tradition, and has since the National Assembly Remuneration Act, made provisions for the Leader of Official Opposition to draw perks in excess of those available to ordinary members. Kenyatta then, as the Leader of Official Opposition drew (or is expected to have drawn) a house allowance, extraneous duty allowance and entertainment allowance of a higher value than that due to an assistant minister and matching that of a Cabinet Minister. The recognition of the duties and responsibilities of his office should in my opinion be extended to other members of the shadow cabinet, who are after all charged to produce output of a simulacrum nature, both in knowledge and facility, to that of serving Government Ministers.

Parliament

In Kenya, the title ‘Leader of Official Opposition' though not necessarily a constitutional office, is contemplated in the Constitution and is recognized in the Standing Orders of the National Assembly. Under the Constitution, Section 45B that constitutes the Parliamentary Service Commission makes provision for it to have in its membership, the Leader of the Official Opposition. In addition, the Standing Orders give the Leader of the Official Opposition added privileges, including for instance, under Standing Order 81, additional speaking time during parliamentary debates. This time is congruent to the time allocation for the Leader of Government Business.

The Standing Orders have the following definition for the Official Opposition Party:-

"Official Opposition Party" means the opposition party consisting of not less than thirty (30) members provided that where there are two or more parties with more than 30 members, the Party - with the highest number of seats in the House shall be deemed to be the official opposition party.

It is for this definition that subsequent to the 1992 elections there was confusion over what party should be the Official Opposition. In the new order, both Kenneth Matiba's FORD-Asili and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga's FORD-Kenya were tied with thirty one. Subsequent defections from the FORD-Asili enervated the parties claim, representing what was perhaps half of an attempt

Kenneth Matiba

by State House to ensure that there would be no Official Opposition party. Defections to the ruling party, then served to bolster its parliamentary strength, while pulling the opposition parties beneath the 30 seat constitutional threshold. Incidentally, during those exciting times, the Democratic Party of Mwai Kibaki with its 23 seats hadn't even a look-in to the context.

Five years later, following the 1997 elections, the Democratic Party was the undisputed Official Opposition Party with forty one seats. These seats comprised the ordinary seats and an additional two nomination slots won through the IPPG reforms that did away with the travesty of the ruling party taking a choke-hold on parliament by nominating MPs for all the twelve slots. Thus it was that KANU's sixty eight seats after 2002 elections (including the four nomination slots) continued the pattern of increased seats for an Official Opposition Party buttressing it against any defections or seat losses and providing some stability in parliament.

So it was that Uhuru's term as head of the opposition was mostly undisputed, suffering only the contest of Nicholas Biwott's party coup and attempt at assumption of the mantle of Leader of the Official Opposition. However, on November 30, 2006 the Speaker put paid to any such notions on the part of the Kerio South MP, ruling that Uhuru remained the Leader of the Official Opposition. This decision of the Speaker according to the book Parliamentary Practice by Erskine May is final.

Uhuru's term

fighting the good fight

As Leader of the Official Opposition, Uhuru went about the business of keeping the Government of the day in check in the traditional manner. He chaired the Parliamentary Accounts Committee that looked at several issues raised of the Government. In fact, the scandal that was Anglo Leasing was brought into the public domain by one of his Shadow Cabinet Ministers, Maoka Maore. Later, on September 28 2006, Uhuru went on to state that:

It is our (PAC) considered opinion that the executive has shown a lack of leadership on the corruption agenda and it is therefore no wonder that the situation now seems so convoluted and confused.

During the (then) monthly luncheons hosted by the Law Society of Kenya, Uhuru was invited as a guest speaker and gave a speech that signified his commitment to keep the Government in check. An excerpt from his speech reads:-

From the onset, I would like to categorically state that the present electoral status quo is grossly skewed in favour of the incumbent, a fact that has generated much debate in recent months. The fact that the Government has unilaterally appointed commissioners to the Electoral Commission of Kenya and disenfranchised young Kenyans by refusing to give them identity cards to enable them register as voters, amongst other things, is in itself a form of rigging.

It is unfortunate that those behind the IPPG gains and beneficiaries of it are today the same ones who seek to reverse the gains in order to cling to power.

Prior to this, Uhuru had also decried that the President had adopted a hands off, ears off, everything off leadership that permitted events that would never otherwise have occurred. On 20^th June 2006 at the height of the Artur Brothers soap opera, Uhuru stated in his Parliament Buildings offices that he had evidence to back his allegations that the Brothers had visited State House where the President lives and works. ‘Did they meet him?' he posed.

the professors?

To reinforce his efforts at holding the government to account, the Gatundu South MP, Uhuru allied himself with the rebels in the Government. Their finest moment came in the November 2005 referendum when they handed a resounding defeat to the Government. In the ensuing months, with the crystallization into a political force of the umbrella Orange Democratic Movement from the elements that had crusaded against the proposed constitution, Uhuru continued to ally KANU with the persons opposing the Government, stating on November 27 2006, ‘‘the Orange Democratic Movement is ‘our sitting room and KANU is our bedroom.''

Uhuru's relationship with the government was also played out in the courts system where following an Executive Order that evicted KANU from its KICC headquarters, a case was filed. Another court case was brought to court by Uhuru when the Government appointed members of his party to the Cabinet without the consent of the KANU Parliamentary Caucus as required by Section 17(5) of the National Assembly and Presidential Elections Act. These two state that no person who is elected or nominated as a member of the National Assembly with the support of or as a supporter of a political party (other than the party whose candidate has been elected President at an election) shall be appointed a Minister of the Government of Kenya under Section 16 of the Constitution without the concurrence of the party which supported him for election or nominated him for appointment as a member of the National Assembly.

On the floor of the house, Kenyatta also waged the good fight, going so far as to contemplate and craft in December 5, 2006, a Motion of No Confidence in the Government. This was not tabled in the house, but the MP maintained pressure on the government, bringing to parliament a motion to discuss the security lapses at the JKIA occasioned by the brothers Artur.

2012?

Thus, to his credit, Uhuru's tenure as Leader of the Official Opposition has seen him keep the Government on its toes as per his constitutional obligations, and even more he has spoken his mind about the Government's perceived wrongs. As has been demonstrated, any suggestion that he was enumerated for a job not done is not credible.

The elections and beyond

We must keep this in mind as we contemplate Uhuru's next move. With the elections approaching, Uhuru decided to transform himself into the new Professor of Politics and risk undoing his hard work of five years. He announced that KANU was getting into an alliance with Government and that he was withdrawing from the presidential race. As is common in our country, selective amnesia has resulted in most of the public forgetting all of Uhuru's achievements as the titular head of the opposition. But the Gatundu South MP has shown great wisdom, a fact demonstrated in that great Bulgarian proverb that states that ‘it is allowed in times of great danger, to walk with the Devil until you have crossed the bridge'.

Finding himself between the proverbial rock and a hard place, Uhuru had to choose for himself and those who had placed themselves under his leadership either annihilation at the polls or a sustained relevance in Kenyan politics through influencing the outcome at the election. The eight members of his Shadow Cabinet mentioned above made similar decisions and jumped ship and abandon KANU altogether, even as Uhuru sought to keep it intact.

And Uhuru's decision to back the Government is not novel, at least not in Kenya's politics. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenya's first Leader of the Official Opposition, raised eyebrows when he co-operated with KANU government, going so far as to lavish praise on then head of state for his foresight and vision . Similarly, on June 30, 1999 members of the then Official Opposition Party , the Democratic Party, voted with the Government to defeat a motion of no confidence in the then Vice President George Saitoti. The motion had been brought by National Development Party (NDP) and led to NDP moving to close ranks with the Government after feeling the betrayal by the then Official Opposition Party. Having mooted the notion of a Government of National Unity by incorporating the NDP into its ranks, KANU found new strength at a time of increasing pressure both from inside parliament and on the streets of the country's cities. This support would prove crucial in KANU's staving off of the clamour for a new constitutional dispensation. So strong was the GNU thus constituted that the opposition parties considered forming an Opposition of National Unity with a Shadow Cabinet drawn from all opposition parties.

This perhaps is a step that Uhuru may have considered during his tenure as Leader of the Official Opposition, drawing on the government rebels to reinforce the efficacy of his office. However, considering KANU's plea against the government poaching members from the opposition's ranks, this would have been not on hypocritical but a betrayal of the principles of parliamentary practice. How however, could this have been pulled off, considering the fact that the party that would have permitted the co-opting of the rebel MPs into a joint oppositional front, was itself the disintegrating NARC? In the end, the rebels from the Government upstaged Uhuru and came out, to paraphrase Raila Odinga's campaign slogan, as the ‘Peoples Opposition' whilst Uhuru and KANU held on to the ‘Official Opposition' title.

In basketball, they sometimes say that offense is the best defense. I would want to imagine that sometimes, defense will also be the best offense. By defending the Government in its hour of need, Uhuru's game plan is to make an offensive play that sees him bounce back in 2012. This strategy hinges on the assumption that KANU and Uhuru will emerge with an increased clout from serving in an influential role in the ‘coalition' that he is betting will win the next election. This remains true even if the incumbent loses, as his strategy of retaining his party and earning credits from the voters in Central Kenya should earn him a head start in the campaign to take over the mantle of primacy over the region after the president exits the political scene. It is in other words, a win-win situation for him.

optimal results

Already Uhuru has shown his upper hand by insisting that KANU is a partner in the Party of National Unity (PNU) with the other group of parties of Ford People, Ford Kenya, Narc Kenya, DP, Safina, Shirikisho and others much as the scenario in 2002 when the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was a partner in NARC with the National Alliance of Kenya (NAK). This gamble, if its works will land Uhuru with a much more influential position than would ever have been the case had he sided with the ODM movement, and will elevate Uhuru to that mantle of ‘Professor of Politics' long held by his predecessor as KANU chairman.

The trouble is that in Kenya perhaps more than anywhere else, twenty four hours of politics is a very long time, and five years as a generation. Not everyone will be resting on their laurels before 2012 and the competition then is likely to be as stiff as it is now. It is difficult to predict whether Uhuru, in joining the incumbent has undone all the gains he made as Leader of Official Opposition. It is equally difficult to predict whether or not Uhuru will be at KANU's helm in 2012. For him to presume so would be to count his votes before they were cast. Like any gambler, the KANU chief will have to wait until 2012 to see what cards he is dealt by fate, and where his dice will finally settle.