Ferdinand
Waititu is the face of the political class today. His colourful career
risks sending him to prison. His antics are often funny when viewed from
the comfort of ones own home, but tragic for the people of Embakasi. He
has been filmed engaging in very unparliamentary behavior. He has been
filmed at the forefront of confrontation with law enforcement officers.
He has been filmed making intemperate statements. He has been filmed
cocking a snook at the law. He has demonstrated contempt for the very
government he serves in. He is now accused of hate speech. In a widely
publicised event, he was filmed asking for members of one ethnic
community to depart from the precincts of his constituency and never to
return. He was reacting to reports that a member of that ethnic
community had murdered a constituent of his. He claims that it is the
wish of his constituents to clear their constituency of the presence of
those people who have become a grave risk to the residents of Embakasi
and that he was merely carried away by the emotion of the moment or that
he misspoke. Now the Director of Public Prosecutions has decided to
prosecute him and if convicted by the courts, he may face imprisonment.
This may very well be the end of Mr Waititu's political career for the
moment.
The arrest and prosecution of Mr Waititu comes in the wake of the manner that Fred Gumo, the Westlands legislator who was being investigated for possession of a stolen vehicle. In Mr Gumo's case, all the DPP did was to ask the police to investigate. The police on their part treated Mr Gumo with deference, allowing him to record his statement at his own leisure. Needless to say, Mr Gumo was exonerated and the blame laid on others. It seems as if these 'others' will not suffer for their part in the crime; the DPP does not seem to have asked for the case file yet the vehicle in question belongs to a former President of Kenya.
Kenya is in transition. We are in the middle of a process of trying to rebuild institutions that were all but dead and creating new ones to perform new roles. We are attempting to rebuild democratic institutions with the causes of their atrophy still enjoying power and privilege. It is too much to expect that things will go smoothly and that everyone will be treated the same. Mr Gumo has a long and colourful political career, perhaps more colourful than Mr Waititu's. Who will forget the battle royale between him and Betty Tett for the Westlands seat when both were seeking the ODM nomination in 2002? Mr Waititu made his bones, in a fashion, in the politics of the City Council of Nairobi, rising to the position of Deputy Mayor. He was there when the Mayoral Chain went missing. He was there during the mayoral elections when furniture became weapons. He is now a Member of the National Assembly and was, until his sacking, an Assistant Minister. But both in age and experience, Mr Gumo beats him hands down. This may explain the manner in which both were treated by official organs of the State. Mr Gumo's prosecution would have been more embarrassing than that of Mr Waititu. This is proof that Kenya has a long way to go before it can call itself a civilised democracy where the scales of justice are not tilted in favour of one and against another.
This transition is constantly marred by disappointment. Political institutions have exhibited very strong resistance to reform. Political parties remain mere expressions of the wills of the men and women who head them. No one truly believes that they exhibit even a smidgeon of democracy. The Executive keeps blowing hot and cold over the terms and conditions of service of its legions of workers. Service delivery continues to suffer when doctors, teachers and university lecturers go on strike. The Executive's argument that the Treasury is empty fall on deaf ears when Kenyans witness the millions of shillings in salaries, allowances and other perks parliamentarians trouser every year. Kenyans dream of an equitable redistribution of national resources. They feel that their political leaders should not place themselves on financial pedestals at the expense of every one else. When these dreams fail to come true, their anger is released in wanton acts of self-destructive behavior. The Tana Delta and the violence in the port town of Kisumu are only the latest examples. No one doubts that in thirty days' time if the nurses are not accommodated financially by the Executive, services in our public hospitals will ground to a halt again, the third time in two years. And no one doubts that when the politicians fail to reform their political parties and offer the man on the street a genuine say in who is nominated to stand for the general election in 2013, that there will be violence on a scale that will render the country ungovernable.
Mwai Kibaki has done the best that he could with the opportunities that he had. It is impossible to lay the blame on him for the disappointments of the past three years. Blame is plenty to spread around. Kenyans had become used to the State dictating everything and doing everything. That era has come to an end and it is time Kenyans seized the opportunity to properly organise themselves for the sake of their survival. A majority of voters ratified the Constitution in 2010. They consciously chose a document that placed them at the heart of the government and governance of their nation. They have no choice but to set aside their selfish individual needs and work together to rebuild what could have been a great nation. Only Kenyans can restore the promise that was once Kenya. When they need to blame someone for the woes they suffer and for the disappointments they face, they should look into the mirror.
The arrest and prosecution of Mr Waititu comes in the wake of the manner that Fred Gumo, the Westlands legislator who was being investigated for possession of a stolen vehicle. In Mr Gumo's case, all the DPP did was to ask the police to investigate. The police on their part treated Mr Gumo with deference, allowing him to record his statement at his own leisure. Needless to say, Mr Gumo was exonerated and the blame laid on others. It seems as if these 'others' will not suffer for their part in the crime; the DPP does not seem to have asked for the case file yet the vehicle in question belongs to a former President of Kenya.
Kenya is in transition. We are in the middle of a process of trying to rebuild institutions that were all but dead and creating new ones to perform new roles. We are attempting to rebuild democratic institutions with the causes of their atrophy still enjoying power and privilege. It is too much to expect that things will go smoothly and that everyone will be treated the same. Mr Gumo has a long and colourful political career, perhaps more colourful than Mr Waititu's. Who will forget the battle royale between him and Betty Tett for the Westlands seat when both were seeking the ODM nomination in 2002? Mr Waititu made his bones, in a fashion, in the politics of the City Council of Nairobi, rising to the position of Deputy Mayor. He was there when the Mayoral Chain went missing. He was there during the mayoral elections when furniture became weapons. He is now a Member of the National Assembly and was, until his sacking, an Assistant Minister. But both in age and experience, Mr Gumo beats him hands down. This may explain the manner in which both were treated by official organs of the State. Mr Gumo's prosecution would have been more embarrassing than that of Mr Waititu. This is proof that Kenya has a long way to go before it can call itself a civilised democracy where the scales of justice are not tilted in favour of one and against another.
This transition is constantly marred by disappointment. Political institutions have exhibited very strong resistance to reform. Political parties remain mere expressions of the wills of the men and women who head them. No one truly believes that they exhibit even a smidgeon of democracy. The Executive keeps blowing hot and cold over the terms and conditions of service of its legions of workers. Service delivery continues to suffer when doctors, teachers and university lecturers go on strike. The Executive's argument that the Treasury is empty fall on deaf ears when Kenyans witness the millions of shillings in salaries, allowances and other perks parliamentarians trouser every year. Kenyans dream of an equitable redistribution of national resources. They feel that their political leaders should not place themselves on financial pedestals at the expense of every one else. When these dreams fail to come true, their anger is released in wanton acts of self-destructive behavior. The Tana Delta and the violence in the port town of Kisumu are only the latest examples. No one doubts that in thirty days' time if the nurses are not accommodated financially by the Executive, services in our public hospitals will ground to a halt again, the third time in two years. And no one doubts that when the politicians fail to reform their political parties and offer the man on the street a genuine say in who is nominated to stand for the general election in 2013, that there will be violence on a scale that will render the country ungovernable.
Mwai Kibaki has done the best that he could with the opportunities that he had. It is impossible to lay the blame on him for the disappointments of the past three years. Blame is plenty to spread around. Kenyans had become used to the State dictating everything and doing everything. That era has come to an end and it is time Kenyans seized the opportunity to properly organise themselves for the sake of their survival. A majority of voters ratified the Constitution in 2010. They consciously chose a document that placed them at the heart of the government and governance of their nation. They have no choice but to set aside their selfish individual needs and work together to rebuild what could have been a great nation. Only Kenyans can restore the promise that was once Kenya. When they need to blame someone for the woes they suffer and for the disappointments they face, they should look into the mirror.
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