Assessing ‘Baba’

Emilio Mwai Kibaki, the current president of the Republic of Kenya, or baba wa taifa has been in power since December, 2002. He is among the pioneers of the second liberation of the country. Emilio was the presidential candidate at a time when all Kenyans were united against the oppressive KANU government led by then incumbent, Daniel Moi. On the campaign trail that year, it was easy to pinpoint that he would have a landslide victory since his team received countrywide support. After the then electoral body the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) declared him winner the atmosphere was uncontainable as a result of the people’s jubilation. After a few months however, his government was faced by stiff challenges as some political big wigs felt dissatisfied with the running of affairs and some even opted out, led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga & his allies. This was just the beginning of instability in his government. A number of events have characterized the President’s rule. I divided these into: political, economic and social aspects.  

 

Political                                                  

The promise of a new constitution was one notable promise made by the National Rainbow Alliance (NARC). The process took off as delegates and experts met to discuss and review the old constitution. Halfway through Kibaki’s term, he had already faced strong resistance and this became clearly evident when the first referendum was held in 2005. His camp was for the new constitution and their symbol was the ‘banana’. On the other hand were those against the proposed constitution, symbolized by an ‘orange’. The results after the poll indicated a victory for the Orange supporters, who took a whopping 58% of the total votes. This was a wakeup call for the president in that he had lost majority support. He reacted by sacking half of cabinet-those who rejected the proposed constitution. This gave birth to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), as a political party now, instead of a team of politicians disputing the proposed graft.

ODM took centre stage of Kenyan politics and in no time the party was a force to reckon with, keeping the president and his allies on toes as they prepared for the 2007 General Elections. After a somewhat staged preliminary stage, Raila Odinga emerged the favored candidate for presidency under the ODM ticket. Together with the pentagon, a team consisting of influential legislatures such as Henry Kosgei, Musalia Mudavadi, William Ruto, Najib Balala, Joe Nyagah  & Charity Ngilu, they managed overwhelming following throughout the country except in Central Kenya. During the pre-election, there was a lot of tension in the country as ethnic propaganda and insults were being hurled by the minute. Independent polls predicted a win for ODM and showed that it was the most popular political party. It is worth mentioning that at this point of heightened political activity, something historical happened. This was the support for the president, by then official opposition leader Uhuru Kenyatta, a move that plainly explains how terrible ethnicity is in our country. But after all this is a democracy, and he was free to support whoever he wished!

Election Day came and almost all media sources indicated that ODM’s candidate Raila Odinga was in the lead. However, that changed in the blink of an eye as Kibaki under the PNU ticket emerged the winner according to the final results, amid protest by ODM. A rather speedy swearing in ceremony followed thereafter at Statehouse, witnessed by ‘invited guests’. The country plunged into violence almost instantly as the news reported attacks from all corners of the country caused mostly by ethnicity and political allegiance. The Post Election Violence (PEV) carried on to early 2008 and claimed well over 1000 lives inflicting injuries in much higher numbers, caused mass displacement of people and other kinds of suffering. Thus far, this is the most defining moment in Kenya’s election history. At least President Kibaki gave us that! Kudos Mr. President! In all seriousness, the nation has been suffering since then. This is because the coalition government, which was meant to restore peace between the two major parties, has failed consistently in most of their duties.

The up side is that Mwai enabled Kenyans acquire the much desired new constitution. In 2010 the second referendum was held and this time round a larger number of the electorate voted in favor of the proposed law. This constitution which is already in force has rewarded us a reformed judiciary which we can actually put some trust in. Despite major challenges in implementation, the changes led to an independent judiciary, which is a major step. The political situation in Kenya however, remains unstable, dominated by refreshed ethnic animosity and the second phase of the Hague trials which Kenyans eagerly await. More proof of disoriented politics include: the UK dossier, disregard for integrity, politics based on insults and ethnic loyalty instead of issues, increased corruption cases…the list is endless! So here comes the moment of truth. Taking the above political factors into consideration, I’d give Emilio 1 out of 10 (mostly ‘coz of the constitution).

Economic

Thika Road! For those who haven’t been there you should make a point of visiting it, or even go to Google images to get a glimpse of this magnificent piece of infrastructure that makes Kenya seem to be a 1st World nation for a moment! Thika Road is not the only road that has received an extreme makeover under President Kibaki’s regime. Back in the day, the journey to my ancestral home was stressful even to think about, but today I travel there comfortably and even faster. The road networks have been dealt with accordingly by this government regardless of region. The highways in Nakuru, road to Narok, roads in Kisumu, Kericho, and Kisii among others, now appear to be decent as opposed to their dilapidated condition under the Moi era. This has assisted a number of citizens. Once movement of people and goods is made simpler and more efficient, the economy benefits as a whole and I believe improvement of our roads has made this possible.

Another identifiable area that has boosted the economy in one way or another is the development of key partnerships. Kenya has made strategic cooperation with countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, Turkey, and South Sudan. These have been done taking into consideration the future developmental and economic targets for Kenya. With vision 2030 serving as the blueprint, Kenya needs better infrastructure, more energy and development of alternative energy resources, improvement in technological capability, creation of more employment and support for innovation. This far cooperation with China has led to developing infrastructure; agreements with South Sudan may lead to easier acquisition of petroleum, while Japan and South Korea can assist our engineers in stepping up technology in the country. Such technology is useful to build know-how on how to make the oil discovered recently in Turkana useful to our growing economy.

Unfortunately, economic growth has not been realized evenly. As much as reports indicate a growth in Kenya’s economy, the effects are not being felt on the ground. Food prices are higher than ever, fuel prices change every month, and the Kenyan currency is performing poorly against major currencies. Other concerns are the marginalization of the North. It may be wise to ask why

this is happening while the president is always extolled over his remarkable economic record. So, the economy is growing but we have to dig deeper into our pockets to make ends meet. Anyway, that’s food for thought! In economics Mwai earns 5 out of 10 (am sure he scored higher in Makerere though).

Social

This is probably where our president has failed us most. First and foremost, the numbers of Kenyans living below the poverty line seem to be increasing. This is very concerning since the nation will have more problems to deal with especially since the few rich continue to have an upper hand over the poorer majority. Secondly, unemployment is still a setback for the country as even graduates find themselves unable to get into the job market. This leaves behind a growing population of people who are unable to support themselves and may be willing to do anything in order to survive. Talk about a recipe for disaster!

Gender inequality is still a problem in Kenya. Women and girls are still not able to get equal opportunities even after concentration of efforts to achieve this equality. The youth have also been abandoned and their interests trashed as the old guard have to serve themselves first. Those who claim to care about the youth do so using questionable means such as paying for organized demonstrations or buying votes. Financial power is used because the forces against youth advancement are aware of their desire to succeed.

As Mwai Kibaki’s regime comes to an end, his government appears to have run out of zip. The first evidence of the latter statement is the inability of the government to deal with the strikes of our most vital fields. The doctors, lecturers, primary and high school teachers all have grievances related to poor pay. The government has failed to address such issues, despite the fact that the students and patients are suffering. The second is related to ethnic tensions. It seems every 5 years we’ll be starting the process of seeking social cohesion all over. This is actually one area in which the KANU regime somehow managed to deal with better. The created mechanisms such as the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission and the National Cohesion & Integration Commission have not been able to quell the tension. This has led to the emergence of the recent 

attacks in the environs of the Tana Delta. In this case the government appeared disorganized in dealing with the issue until recently, when they acted after pressure. Socially I think ‘baba’ has totally failed hence 0 out of 10.

I have always liked President Kibaki, and not only for his funny speeches. When he came into power I always thought that he was the man to take Kenya to great heights unlike his authoritarian predecessors. Kenyans’s have a habit of settling for less and this is one reason as to why President Kibaki is lauded by many. Deep down I still know that he would have offered Kenyans much more but he did not and now his legacy is questionable.