Engage or perish

The seriousness with which we are treating the Confirmation Hearings before the International Criminal Court's Pre-trial Chamber II should compel us to re-think the criteria with which we choose and elect our political leadership. The strategies employed by the suspects to beat back the Prosecutor's case demonstrate that our political leadership still considers us children in need of a firm hand, to be denied critical information in the governance of this nation. Prof Githu Muigai, the latest Attorney-General must have advised the Executive that it was futile to challenge the admissibility of an ICC trial, hence the Executive's decision to abandon that line of attack. This is an important development in the reform of the government, admitting of the fact that tax-payers' monies should not be used to assuage the egos of the elite few amongst us. If only Messrs Ruto, Kosgey and Sang took this process for what it is, that is, an attempt to address the political impunity that has characterised political discourse n Kenya for nigh on forty-seven years, we wold not be treating the hearings just as one more in a long series of political spectacles that we are resigned to.

The blogosphere is awash with ill-informed speculation on the guilt or innocence of the suspects, reflecting once more the complete lack of depth in the way Kenyans consider matters of national importance. Examining only the public and overt portions of the hearings, we are making pronouncements that have no foundation, keeping the fires of mistrust and distrust burning in an attempt to shore up the weak arguments of our side. The Prosecutor, so goes popular uninformed opinion, is seen as fighting a losing battle where the victors will come home unscathed and re-enter their political trajectories to high office with nary a scar. What we seem to have forgotten in the height of our biased interpretation of the goings-on at The Hague is that thousands of Kenyans were murdered, thousands upon thousands more were injured and maimed, and driven from their homes by men and women in the pay of one or more political actors. We also wish to ignore the fact that at this juncture in the ICC process, all the Prosecutor needs to prove is that he has a prima facie case that can go trial; the trial is yet to begin and the fire-and-brimstone routine of defense teams at The Hague is mere political theatre, designed to keep the suspects' names in the media limelight for as long as possible, protecting their political careers at the expense of truth and justice for the victims. Whether Messrs Ruto, Kosgey and sang are guilty of the crimes they are accused of will be determined only after the process is seen to its logical conclusion, with charges confirmed and trial held. That day, sadly, is still some time away.

Meanwhile, the events of the past month should be warning enough that Kenyans must take a keener interest in the actions of their elected representatives and their government as a whole. Despite the failure by the Judicial Service Commission to strictly abide by the two-thirds rule, the High Court has ruled that it is powerless to intervene in the constitution of the Supreme Court; it has failed to offer legal succour to the women's groups that had challenged the appointment of five men and two women to the Supreme Court and now they are faced with the very real possibility of the selfsame Supreme Court ruling on their petition on appeal. The National assembly on its part, has not only rushed through its hallowed halls Bills designed to implement the Constitution that have been butchered and bastardised in order to protect MPs' interests, but has also seen fit to raid monies set aside for famine relief to pay for their long-overdue tax liabilities. It has also decided to petition the Speaker to offer direction on the question of whether the 209 MPs who have been sued for refusing to pay their back taxes may avail themselves of the services of the Attorney-General in defending the suit or whether they should secure legal representation out of their own resources. For the ordinary man in the street, the answer is pretty simple: paying taxes is an individual's obligation, ergo, legal representation is not a state responsibility. It is also becoming increasingly certain that teachers will disrupt teaching until the question of whether more teachers will be hired by the Teachers Service Commission is resolved. needless to say parents must surely worry that candidates sitting for their KCPE and KCSE face a daunting challenge of preparing for these crucial examinations without the full commitment of their teachers. Still, we continue to take a back seat in matters that surely affect the very fabric of our society.

We are facing monumental challenges in improving the quality of our daily lives. The cost of living is increasingly becoming a burden very few can shoulder without the intelligent intervention of our government. Public dissatisfaction at the way politicians have reduced everything to a simple political calculation is also running very high. Greater public engagement in these questions is imperative if we are to see a successful and peaceful future. Continued apathy by the body politic will bring only pain and despair. The choice is simple: engage or perish!