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Yes, Kenya is a failed state |
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Written by Rodgers Akombe
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Saturday, 04 August 2007 |
I have finally thrown in the towel
after living in a lie for along time. Kenya is ranked in the same class as Somalia and Iraq. This is a classification that I have objected to until
the recent events arising from an attempt by the 9th Parliament
to award itself an end of term $20m bonus.
Yes Kenya is one of the biggest economies of
Africa. But this is useless in the absence of rule of law. Rule
of law is only possible in when the Executive, the Legislature and the
Judiciary carry out their duties without fear or favor. This has not been the
case as politics seems to be dictating how the laws are made and enforced. Our
executive and parliament is run by people who should have been locked up for
corruption and murder many years ago.
Ours is a system where criminals in the opposition will cry intimidation when
they are cornered while those in the administration are given a free ride to
freedom because they think they own the country. We are in a situation where
the administration and the opposition are pointing nuclear weapons at each
other. One side has the power given by the constitution while the other has
power derived from the masses. To avoid a nuclear warfare, the two sides
breathe hot air and stage mock fights as each side tries to show off its
weaponry. The result is suffering of the masses.
The police force has been reduced to a charade of a law enforcement organ. Do
you ever laugh when told of a prominent person being asked to record a
statement with the police? "Recording a
statement" is one of the puerile lines that the police use incessantly.
What happens after the mighty Kenyans file these statements is still a mystery.
Maybe we need to probe the Dandora garbage dump to uncover where the so-called
statements are stored.
Filing a statement with the CID is the biggest travesty of them all. The higher you rank
in society the higher the rank of CID
officer assigned to interrogate you and get your statement. If you are a
minister you will be assigned the national chief of CID to
interrogate you and that has to be done at the Nairobi headquarters irrespective of where the crime may have been
committed. I always thought that chiefs have administrative duties while the
juniors deal directly with criminal investigations. That seems not to be the
case in the sham we call Kenya Police!
Hon. Charity Ngilu is the latest prominent person to file a statement with the
police. In April, we were treated to a dramatic cat and mouse games between
Makadara MP Reuben Ndolo and the Kenya Police. Ndolo was wanted for assaulting
Anti-Corruption officers; snatching their car keys before organizing
a mob to attack them. He was later cornered and forced to "record a statement"
with the police. His comrades in the opposition came in handy to allege
intimidation of the opposition by the executive.
Before rushing to shower Hon. Ngilu with praise for her "heroic rescue" of a
suspect from police custody, let us stop and evaluate the impact of her actions
on law enforcement. There are hundreds of citizens in police custody for crimes
they may not have committed -that is why they are called suspects. Should these
suspects' families and friends storm jails across the country to release their
loved ones? That is exactly what Hon. Ngilu is telling us to do in the event
that we feel a suspect is unfairly held. There is absolutely no reason why your
brother should be in jail for eating your neighbour's goat when some government
ministers have been accused of eating Kenya's goats!
We have seen a few cases in the past where police officers have been killed by
mobs attempting to free suspects. Late last month in Eldoret, two police
officers were lynched by a mob after a suspect's husband raised an
alarm claiming that his wife had been abducted by armed thugs. A mob blocked
the road, stoned the officers to death before setting their bodies on fire. The
policemen died without attempting to use their fire arms on their assailants
even though the law gives them powers to use lethal force in self-defense.
While we celebrate the activists who stood up against the 9th parliament's
gluttony, I am compelled to condemn Ngilu's actions. As a minister, she swore
to defend the constitution of Kenya and that includes letting due process take its course. The
law that she swore to defend prohibits citizens from storming police stations
and jails. In the event that she is not pleased with such laws, the
constitution gives her powers -as an MP- to amend the same and make it legal to
run "rescue missions" in police stations. Then it will allow her actions to be
replicated by ordinary citizens without fear of being shot dead.
So what do I think will happen to Hon. Ngilu? Nothing. I can confidently bet my life on that. Action is a foreign word in banana republics. To ask for
action is demanding too much from our Police Commissioner and Attorney General is
asking too much for these institutions that are committed their main goal of
dragging Kenya back into the ‘80s.
Will Mama Ngilu resign for her lack of confidence in the administration?
Another big no! In a civilized country a minister resigns when she thinks the
administration's policies on governance are wrong. Not in a banana republic!
Ngilu is Mama Rainbow and she "single-handedly" brought NARC to power. How can
she resign from her project and leave the big pay and goodies for others to
enjoy? After all she can always claim to have fought President Mwai Kibaki from
within in the event Kibaki loses the election.
What action will President Kibaki take? None! This is election year and that
means it is not the time to fire your ministers. In a banana republic, it takes
more than a small infraction like abuse of office to be fired. In such a
republic, keeping tribal chiefs happy trumps everything. Ask Daudi Mwiraria why
he was reappointed to the cabinet or Musalia Mudavadi why he is slated to be
our VP again and you will see what I mean. And please don't mention Anglo
Leasing or Goldenberg.
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The Ngilu saga is quickly growing horns and hooves turning into an ogre.
Who of us is certain that Ngilu stormed a police post? Heresy?
Kenya is not a failed state. Russia is busy teargassing its people, just as France is.
Bush has just let Libby off, and Brown (the British premier)is vacationing at Camp David with Bush and Laura. Raul, Castros brother still rules with an iron fist as Chavez is busy spewing hate.
In the face of this greatness around us, how is Kenya a failed state? Who decides that?
I support Ngilu, and Kenya will be ok.