Kenyans know who has been lying to who
Updated on: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 Story by: OKELLO K’AJOJI ....................................................................................................................................................................................
IN retrospect, why did Kenyans ever believe that a deal could be worked out between President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga? The disappointment of the past week or so reinforces the belief of the cynics that Third World leaders are all the same.
The bug of power and more power that bites them immediately they assume office at the pinnacle spares none of them. The hope that Kibaki would be an exception was mispalced.
Here was a man whose education, political path and exposure was defined by forces which ought to have imbued him with better vision. Kibaki has been a major political player since independence 44 years ago.
The president gives the impression of a man at peace with himself, a confident individual and a brilliant economist who does not suffer any hang ups and who is, therefore, solid and dependable.
In the aftermath of the conflagration which threatened to erase every gain Kenya has made for 44 years, characterised by stability and peace, a shaken president Kibaki confided in Kenyans that the post election mayhem had prompted him to take a hard look at his nearly 50 years in politics.
These words told Kenyans that their president had woken up from the stupor which afflicted all Kenyans in the aftermath of the explosion of the violence and nihilism witnessed throughout January and February 2008. It made a statement of a leader who was keen to critically review his past and place in Kenya’s history.
And when he and opposition leader Raila Odinga fast-tracked the signing of the national reconciliation accord, the legacy was starting to take shape. Kibaki and Raila were roundly hailed as statesmen who had risen above personal interests to give the country’s welfare top priority.
With over 1,200 compatriots murdered---most of them in the most gruesome and horrific manner imaginable, and with 300,000 others uprooted from their homes and transformed into internally displaced persons, there was a lot of work to do and the work clearly required men of goodwill and conviction to accomplish. Kibaki fitted the bill perfectly.
No wonder accolades flowed freely from both Kenyans, our friends and the international community. And when Kibaki and Raila went ahead and cataylsed the passing of the National Accord and Reconciliation Bill, everything started looking truly upbeat.
The stock market started its path to stability, consumer prices started stabilising and business looked set for a sunny turn. The only small thing left to complete this scenario was the creation of a grand coalition government and specifically an inclusive cabinet. This is where the rain started beating us.
Long drawn out talks between Kibaki and Raila, contrary to the impression they gave Kenyans were getting no where! This was the shock and dismay that confronted KenyanS on Monday when cabinet talks collapsed over the form and content of the cabinet.
Clearly we had over invested hopes in the capacity, and the presumably good intentions of Raila Odinga and President Kibaki. But let’s drop pretences for a moment. Raila Odinga has little to do with the impasse over cabinet.
And contrary to what some pundits have been saying, there are no hard-line ministers who have been standing on Kibaki’s way. The hard-liner on the path to an understanding between PNU and ODM is none other than President Kibaki.
Kibaki is a fox but not in the mould of former president Moi who mixed guile with strong arm tactics. Kibaki is not the gentle politician people have been made to believe he is. His move this week to assume absolute power in appointing the cabinet betrays a power crazed man who has been hiding behind so called unyielding allies.
When Kibaki instructs Head of Public Service to write to Raila and remind the latter that executive power is exclusively invested in him, while at the same time making it look like Raila had a say in the naming of the cabinet, then a Kibaki Kenyans did not know emerges.
This is not the magnanimous president who on February 28 stepped from his Harambee House Office to shake hands with Raila Odinga and pledge to give our country a new impetus and build bridges to link all Kenyans.
http://kenyatimesonline.com/content.asp?catid=5&articleId=2727
IN retrospect, why did Kenyans ever believe that a deal could be worked out between President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga? The disappointment of the past week or so reinforces the belief of the cynics that Third World leaders are all the same.
The bug of power and more power that bites them immediately they assume office at the pinnacle spares none of them. The hope that Kibaki would be an exception was mispalced.
Here was a man whose education, political path and exposure was defined by forces which ought to have imbued him with better vision. Kibaki has been a major political player since independence 44 years ago.
The president gives the impression of a man at peace with himself, a confident individual and a brilliant economist who does not suffer any hang ups and who is, therefore, solid and dependable.
In the aftermath of the conflagration which threatened to erase every gain Kenya has made for 44 years, characterised by stability and peace, a shaken president Kibaki confided in Kenyans that the post election mayhem had prompted him to take a hard look at his nearly 50 years in politics.
These words told Kenyans that their president had woken up from the stupor which afflicted all Kenyans in the aftermath of the explosion of the violence and nihilism witnessed throughout January and February 2008. It made a statement of a leader who was keen to critically review his past and place in Kenya’s history.
And when he and opposition leader Raila Odinga fast-tracked the signing of the national reconciliation accord, the legacy was starting to take shape. Kibaki and Raila were roundly hailed as statesmen who had risen above personal interests to give the country’s welfare top priority.
With over 1,200 compatriots murdered---most of them in the most gruesome and horrific manner imaginable, and with 300,000 others uprooted from their homes and transformed into internally displaced persons, there was a lot of work to do and the work clearly required men of goodwill and conviction to accomplish. Kibaki fitted the bill perfectly.
No wonder accolades flowed freely from both Kenyans, our friends and the international community. And when Kibaki and Raila went ahead and cataylsed the passing of the National Accord and Reconciliation Bill, everything started looking truly upbeat.
The stock market started its path to stability, consumer prices started stabilising and business looked set for a sunny turn. The only small thing left to complete this scenario was the creation of a grand coalition government and specifically an inclusive cabinet. This is where the rain started beating us.
Long drawn out talks between Kibaki and Raila, contrary to the impression they gave Kenyans were getting no where! This was the shock and dismay that confronted KenyanS on Monday when cabinet talks collapsed over the form and content of the cabinet.
Clearly we had over invested hopes in the capacity, and the presumably good intentions of Raila Odinga and President Kibaki. But let’s drop pretences for a moment. Raila Odinga has little to do with the impasse over cabinet.
And contrary to what some pundits have been saying, there are no hard-line ministers who have been standing on Kibaki’s way. The hard-liner on the path to an understanding between PNU and ODM is none other than President Kibaki.
Kibaki is a fox but not in the mould of former president Moi who mixed guile with strong arm tactics. Kibaki is not the gentle politician people have been made to believe he is. His move this week to assume absolute power in appointing the cabinet betrays a power crazed man who has been hiding behind so called unyielding allies.
When Kibaki instructs Head of Public Service to write to Raila and remind the latter that executive power is exclusively invested in him, while at the same time making it look like Raila had a say in the naming of the cabinet, then a Kibaki Kenyans did not know emerges.
This is not the magnanimous president who on February 28 stepped from his Harambee House Office to shake hands with Raila Odinga and pledge to give our country a new impetus and build bridges to link all Kenyans.
http://kenyatimesonline.com/content.asp?catid=5&articleId=2727
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