Sunday, August 26, 2012

Of bete noirs and character

The entry of Tony Gachoka into the murky waters of the imminent trials of the ICC Four barely registered on the political front. Together with Miguna Miguna, the Prime Minister's loudly estranged bete noir, he is the latest in the lineup of political hatchet men determined to ensure that the Prime Minister does not succeed Mwai Kibaki in 2013 to the Presidency. This coalition has somehow survived since its creation. Eternal optimists may wish to attribute this survival to the close working relationship between the President and the Prime Minister and their desire to do what it takes to get Kenya to the next level, politically and developmentally. Serial pessimists, of which I am a card-carrying member of the club, see only the desire of the members of the coalition to hang on to the privileges granted to them in their status as ministers and assistant ministers. The return of Henry Kosgey to the industrialisation ministry is proof that the politicians will do anything to hold onto the power they have amassed.

Because the coalition encompasses all parties, save for the fly-by-night operations without a credible political footprint outside of the constituencies of the members represented in Parliament, it was not possible to have an effective opposition to keep the Executive honest. Everyone is in on the charade that Parliament will play a strong oversight role. The antics of the likes of Adan Keynan and the Parliamentary committees attempt the increasingly difficult task of pulling the wool over the peoples' eyes regarding the spectacular failures of the Grand Coalition. Indeed it is only the indefatigable Dr Willy Mutunga who seems determined to paint a different picture for a critical arm of government by spearheading the reform of the Judiciary and leading from the front. The Executive and the National Assembly (which, since the Promulgation has been doubling as the Senate too) have done everything in their power to disappoint the Kenyan public at every turn. We need not look far for proof. In a few days Kenyans will watch as 'senior government officials' and representatives of the armed forces and Parliament troop down (at great taxpayers' expense) to the Coast to welcome a 'military ship' that has been a decade in the making at great expense (and incessant intrigue).

In contrast, an examination of the political situation in Canberra, reveals that we have far to go before we can claim to have matured as a Parliamentary (or Presidential) democracy. Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister, is facing allegations of improper conduct from events that took place 17 years ago when she worked for Labour Party-affiliated law firm. She had helped a union boss to set up a trust that was embezzled from by the labour boss. Questions are now being asked on whether the Prime Minister knew, when she knew and what she did about it. The allegations have dogged her political career; she has always denied that she acted improperly. Her former partners at Slater Gordon, the law firm, stand by her; the opposition leader, Tony Abbott is determined to use the incident to his advantage during the general election in March 2013. What makes the Canberra situation remarkable (in my eyes) is the fact that all the hatchet men after the Prime Minister are known; none is operating in the shadows. There are one or two shady characters, but their identities are known. There is very little speculation as to who is in and who is out.

Kenya political operatives thrive on intrigue and rumour. It is what makes them such formidable operators. It is also what makes them vile and a hated species, reviled by all right-thinking Kenyans. Mr Gachoka styles himself as a patriot and a nationalist, pointing his fingers at all manner of skulduggery in government wherever he may find it. It is therefore strange that when he worked for the Prime Minister he sat in meetings in which he alleges the Prime Minister admitted to having committed grievous offences without coming forward. He had to wait for four years until he could reveal all to the investigators of the International Criminal Court's Office of the Prosecutor. As goes Mr Gachoka so goes Mr Miguna.

This is not to say that the Prime Minister is spotless; he is yet to weigh in on the Cabinet decision to butcher the Integrity Bill. While Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger hoping to face Barack Obama in November, faces increasingly loud calls to reveal his finances, the Prime Minister and his colleagues in Parliament are determined to ensure that their financial arrangements remain as opaque as possible, hidden from the sunlight that all Kenyans wish to see it in. The Tenth Parliament has distinguished itself as being the most perfidious in history. At every turn, be it the question of their tax returns or the question of pre-election vetting, they have determined that their interests supersede those of the Kenyan people. Without shame they have put themselves over and above the men, women and children they took an oath to serve. I dare you to find one Kenyan who believes he has been truly served by his elected representative. Just one.

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