Of Two Centres of Power and a Citizenry in Limbo

The recent developments in Kenya pitying a frustrated prime minister and a don't care-wait and see president last this week once more opens sour and seemingly healing wounds of indifference which characterized the political aura in 2007/09.

Kenyans though are no stranger to this tussles on who exactly wields power between the president and the prime minister but a reminiscence of the post election violence a year or so ago whose memories still linger in the minds of many is the most worrying to say the least.

The country was once more treated to the theatre of the absurd, perhaps not just a fight against corruption but an indication of a spectre which has always done rounds in government circles since the signing of the now controversial National Accord which led to cessation of hostilities by both sides of the divide and an embrace of a union which still holds fragile. 

The Honey Burger, ferocious snout and honey in plenty

The most disturbing thing though is not whether the prime minister acted ultra vires but the fate of corruption which remains the single most undoing bedeviling the coalition government. Many have argued against the prime minister's actions which perhaps hold water, much more corroborated by the Attorney General on whose backyard executive authority rests. This argument stands legitimate but one thing lost in the process of this argument is the fate of millions of school going children and the country's grains reserve system which is alleged to have been robbed of millions of dollars through phony practices in the parent ministry. It is also in order to appreciate that official corruption does not end there.  A number of ministers and other senior officials in government corporations are on an eating spree laughing all the way to the bank and driving fuel guzzlers in the name of rewarded hard work.

Laid Back, chewing Cane and Rarely Heard

One man, suggestive of innocence seats on the fence pulling strings and lavishing the dance, not disturbed and not uttering a word safe for occasional statements issued through the official media vessel. The man is the president, Mwai Kibaki. This is a politician who has thrived for long and perhaps cherished the cancer of corporate thinking and its attendant-amnesia in Kenya. Nobody seems to be questioning his position on the fight against corruption but instead the country's attention has been diverted to the prime minister who is at pains to explain to Kenyans aspects of consultation in the coalition.

Ask this man Kibaki 

It's time Kenyans demanded of political responsibility from the president since he comes in as minister number one and therefore ought to take responsibility as the PM or any other minister would. To the PM, an afternoon well spent at Nyayo stadium after cracking the whip on the two cabinet ministers and later on an official trip to Japan was the best thing to have happened to him. 

A divided government, a blood boiling party serves not as the best welcome scenario for the PM  from Japan. Be it as it may, your cards must always remain on your chest.

Too Early in the Day, Hat off my Head

Finally, the curtains have unceremoniously come down, with awe and sadness, the sun has set early in the afternoon. From this stage of life dominated not only by scribes of your ilk but also all and sundry from many a sectors in the society.
Black Saturday the 28th of November is the day when my friend, brother and confidante Wilkins alias Producer exited leaving many groping for facts about his untimely and 'unannounced' departure.
Down Memory Lane
I, fellow scribe and friend have mourned all this days but have grown and found it not only fit but also wise to celebrate you, journey with self down memory lane, share the moments despite the killing nostalgia and more so learn to make the best of this life, for short are man's days an equivalent of a passing shadow and a wilting leaf.
Dark, it Became
You endeared the qualities and virtues of a good man in this world, blooming with talent and promising to hit the skies in a while but just before that happened, the bud was nipped and like the sparrow from the skies short of breath, you came tumbling down from body and soul to the amazement and chagrin of all of us. The dreams and vision you had long ago written in the tablet of your hand had just shown signs of fruition. In the prime of your youth you had just learned the ropes of the trade and was ready to immerse yourself into the profession to prove not just your salt but also confirm God's promise of prosperity and hope. You had just realised that mention of the future had come and no more would one say to you of the old and patronising claims of the 'future leader'. You were just out to inform them, to surprise them that, that future had finally come.
Time Running out
Just before all these happened, the clock went-tick, tick, tack tock and ultimately the lights went off, the stage was deserted and many an audience were left wondering that maybe you had missed the lines, sometimes characteristic of a refined thespian. They thought you had employed many of your rib cracking ways to liven the auditorium as you would sometimes especially when you played 'Pieces of Chalk'. It was no strange to many anyway because you had invoked such before.
For the Umpteenth Time......
This, apparently was not the normal joke. It was real- the stage was to remain silent and the audiences gripped by fear, worry and gloom as they learned that it was not that you had missed the lines but that you had lost them. Your breath was no more and like orphaned children, the audience gathered in groups whispering in low tones as they tried to come to terms with the development.
To your Maker you left
Perhaps, we never knew that time was running out. Indeed for me it took long to realise that our meeting was actually crucial. We kept postponing every time, with flimsy reasons of course to support our argument. Little did I know that you were operating on borrowed time and that the bells of exit were beginning to ring from a distance. Soon the sound of the bells went high and high though not loud for me and you to hear. It was just reserved maybe for your hears only if at all you heard it at the last minute.
Then it was
Ultimately, the day of fire came and you had no option but to respond to that calling of eon which none of the mortal being can resist. The last line of the long verse was just being read, and out, you exited the stage.
To your maker you returned. Unto those left behind, we can't mourn you my friend anymore. I have learned to celebrate your life and grow stronger, learn many other lessons especially on procrastination.
Fare thee well my friend, brother and confidante.

Time or not another

Kenya's moment to get a new constitution and perhaps right the wrongs commited over the years has come.
The long walk to a new constitutional dispensation is likely to come to an end if only the citizenry engage and make informed decisions devoid of political manipulation and misinformation from politicians. However, there still remains the big challenge of having Kenyans read the document within a thirty day time frame seen by many as short and likely to expose many to waylaying by politicians.
If the document comes to pass, then it will be Kenya's day of relief though not necessarily the end of the struggle.

Behold, the Day of Fire

Like the angel of death in the days of yore, the ICC prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo will set foot tomorrow on Kenyan soil breathing fire and promising to devour without fear or favour to the excitement, fear and awe among all and sundry in the country.
Finally the day has come and Kenya, like a number of a handful of other world countries prepare to face the wrath of the International CriminalCourt which, in the words of the prosecutor promises to make Kenya a lesson to many across the globe.
Never before has it sounded real like today. The mood in the country ranges from excitement, to a state of mixed feeling especially given the binding loyalties, to that of fear, worry and more worry. To the suspects of the post election violence, the day of reckoning seems to have come and like many death row convicts in various prisons of the world, their date with the finisher of suspense and agony is finally here.
Even as many in government still contemplate Ocampo's decisions, views across the divide are suggestive of a country whose patience for justice seems to be running out. Ocampo's coming to the country perhaps to many is considered long overdue owing to the degree of impunity which has become synonymous with Kenya and perhaps personifies the country now than never before.
For now, crossing our fingers would be the most honourable thing to do, hoping that the President and the Prime Minister do no harbour ideas of sweet talking the man with a message from the world court.

End of the Ring-era

No lettin' go, no letting' go..... but when the push persists, you got to let it go.
Indeed the man at KACC has always considered himself not just the learned man, but also Caesar's wife. However, as things seem to be, one has to learn something-that you cannot fight the wind. Even though you are being cheered to stay on the top, there comes a time when you have to loose confidence with your backers.

Think of the KACC boss Aaron Ringera whose connotation of an error seems banal to most Kenyans by now. His attempts to prove wrong parliament and the country at large seems not to be bearing fruit even though one phony minister of justice seems to be proping him day by day despite the fact that the verdict is irreversible.
Perhaps the big lesson we ought to learn even as we wait for Ringera to throw in the towel is that at all times we ought to be guided by our conscience and read the signs on the wall. To ill intentioned sycophants like Mutula Kilonzo and company, your counsel is questionable and your presence in the justice docket is a diservice to this nation, perhaps to borrow from Obama, 'you are on the wrong side of history.'

A Case of Loyalty and Sycophancy

The long and winding debate over the reappointment of Justice Aaron Ringera to serve for the second five year term as KACC chair came to a tragic end yesternight when parliament handed its harshest penalty on the executive.
After protracted battles, canvassing and horse trading across the politcal divide, the House burnt the midnight oil to assert its authority and send the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission reeling in abject spirit perhaps contemplating its future.
It indeed marked the end of a debate which has also caused rage around the country with the civil society organising protests, filing suites in court and the general populace cursing from their hearts.

Breach of Law

The president though with a seemingly strong defence was humiliated and strongly criticised for breaking the law on reappointment of Ringera. Parliament was turned into a battle ground of wits as a plethora of laws and sections were reffered to by a number of members, each trying to quote and either defend or condemn the president. Legalise and all sorts of jargon surfaced the House with others crossing frontiers to borrow from the UK parliament and American Congresss for guidance. War time leaders such as Winston Churchill may have turned in their graves when mention of their actions was made.

Loyalty Versus Sycophancy

Perhaps the very interesting part of this sojourn in the House came up when some members sought the guidance of the chair on the loyalty of cabinet ministers to the president. It serves us right to recall the day when MPs were sworn in for the tenth parliament early last year. The post poll animosity was so real that some led by the current Prime Minister refused to swear loyalty to the president but rather to the constitution.
It was time once again to test this level of loyalty. Mention of the doctrine of collective responsibility by government ministers attracted the wrath of a number of ministers who sharply argued on the contrary saying that they were not ready to pay for the sins of their boss on grounds that collective responsibility does not impune collective suicide.

Semantics, Grammatical Basics and Legalise

Indeed the former minister for Justice, Constitution and National Cohesion, Martha Karua took the House through some basics in grammar on the difference between appointment and reappointment. The Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo had earlier on defended the president's decision that reappointment of KACC chair and deputies did not need direction from the advisory board and parliament as is the case with appointment. The difference between the two is pronunciation, spelling, character count. To reappoint is to appoint for the second time, the Gichugu MP informed the House.

It is in this definition that the MP declared the Justice minister and all of his camp as sycophants rather than loyalist. Loyalists, she says tell the president on the face that he is wrong while sycophants mislead him for political expediency.

Life Line Cut

The House finally decided to cut the life line of the anti graft body by blocking the minister of finance from presenting the Appropriations Bill which would have given KACC funding to the tune of 1.2 billion shillings for the next fiscal year.

Rule of Law

For a long time in Kenya, those exercising executive authority from the president and his cabinet have always broken the law whenever it suited their whims but yesterday's show in parlimanent is a warning that the rule of law must prevail at all times even if personal interest are at stake.
It is the expectation of many therefore that the tenth parliament will act in the same zeal and zest to right wrongs and guide the country towards the respect of rule of law.

A Life well Lived Maruge

In obedience of age and beckoning of time, the curtains have finally come down for Kenya's oldest pupil Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge.
His demise is significant in many ways. His life and times too is significant much more perhaps than his death.
Maruge's life is a clear picture of Africa's history traversing the political, social and economic spheres. It is a life well lived but informing in many ways. His late life sojourn for knowledge is a real testimony of many Africans struggling to fulfill a life's vision which is about to be shattered by so many mitigating factors which cuts across the aforesaid spectrum.

A Reflection of Despair and Neglect

His life represents the ambitions of many a struggling lot in society which have remained a distant dream consigned to limbo by African leadership to a large extent and also Western greed and alienation which has seen many dreams shattered.

Maruge also represents the lost chance which surfaced during independence in most African countries only to disappear shortly after and in its place power, with its attendant prodigy-greed, selfishness, discrimination, paranoia and finally extermination of the shared vision which kept the freedom fighters going on in the forests of Africa.

The elite and their relatives and friends secluded themselves from the common destiny and made the African struggle a masterpiece of fiction. It is no wonder in most African elite families the liberation struggle is only revisited during national holidays marked with pomp and colour while the underlying realities are better handled as an African man's sympathy tale tell.

Hope personified

On a positive note, Marugi represents a virtue best exemplified in the undying spirit of a man trying to pursue a vision once written in the template of his heart more than eight decades ago. That he enrolled for primary school at the age of eighty five is an encouraging thing that time is no hindrance to man's achievement.
In September 2008 Marugi was in New York under the auspices of the Global Campaign for Education to address the United Nations on the importance of free primary education. With the custodians of power and authority, he shared a platform. Himself a beneficiary of free primary education, Marugi called on the UN to help some 115 million children denied education because of poverty. "To me, Liberty is going to school and learning," he said.

A Life well lived

A week ago, Marugi's candle went off after close to a century of struggle, hard work and determination chasing his dream. His travails in pursuit of a fulfilling life were halted when he finally submitted to an eternal call of nature. He had indeed lived a life worth emulating. Time could not allow him to see his dream come to pass. He had once intimated that he wanted to learn arithmetic to enable him count the money he was to receive from the British government as reparation for loss during the colonial period. He holds the Guinness World Record.

A Dream frustrated, resisted and ultimately killed

In his sunset years, Marugi lived a horrible life subjected to terror, lack and menace. He had been rendered a refugee in his own country and consigned to an internally displaced persons camp as a result of post poll violence which visited the country in 2008. Perhaps it reminded him of moments in the cold fighting the white man whom he was to take the podium and address years later on in New York. This time around though, his motherland had gained self rule and was independent from a direct colonial power.

His health was frail, a dream disappearing into the oblivion by the minute, a reminiscence of a struggle of a lifetime, a quest to conquer life's challenges then, finally, the candle went off and Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge's sojourn in the sands of time came to an end.

The Forum salutes you Monsiuer Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge for a life well lived.

Cabinet Fails to Disappoint

The search for justice on post poll violence in Kenya has taken a new twist. The cabinet has finally made its position known that indeed it does not have the guts to let any of its own brought to books.
Yesterday, (July 30, 2009), the president with a lieutenant of cabinet ministers made his stand known regarding the fate of the post election violence perpetrators, dealing a big blow to a large section of the Kenyan population who have called for the Hague option.

The cabinet seem to have been categorical in its view of the situation. The president indeed made it clear to the media and the public at large that a Hague or local tribunal option does not come in the picture.

What then is the way forward for the debate on prosecution of the perpetrators? The cabinet proposals revolve around an old idea whose mention has deafened ears by now. It's all about reforms in the judiciary, police force and related institutions to pave way for an effective court system to try the post poll suspects. The choice for the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission is no stranger to many a watchful Kenyan. Its hurried formation despite hue and cry from a section of the Kenyan society was suggestive enough of a choreographed idea.

Different Story,shared destiny

For a long time now cabinet has not come out with a common front on this issue but yesterday seems to have signaled a turn of events on a compromised position indicating that the Kenyan cabinet is not ready for any directions either from Koffi Annan, Ocampo or any other foreign body or person out to suggest or dictate the modus operandi of the whole justice process.
Indeed as it has been pointed by many people across the divide, the idea of giving government a leeway to decide on the process was indicative of the cow given a choice of a slaughter house. The Waki report contains names of the high and mighty in the political and business scene and as such therefore, interests have to be protected.
The 2012 race reminds us that we need each other as politicians and businessmen, none is indispensable. It is in this spirit of give and take therefore that cabinet has found it wise to rubbish calls for international prosecution and any other instruments of justice that are likely to be detrimental to status quo.
What is left for Ocampo? A pull out from ICC a tenable option?

Reality Bites

The fate of alleged post election violence suspects in Kenya is now very real than never before and every minute of the day reminds suspects of the prospects of spending years arguing out a case in the Hague.
It has never sounded or seemed like this. For sometime now, politicians across the political divide have exchanged bitter words and others even bragged of their courage and ability to handle the possibility of being a visitor of the world court.
Like never before, life of many a politician in Kenya looks dull and confounding. The courage and power to ignore threats seems to be fizzling out by the day. The analogy of the cat hiding behind the lion and threatening to unleash terror on would be enemies only to chicken out when the lion leaves the stage perhaps explains the scenario in Kenya.
It is no wonder therefore that even those who drummed up support for ICC seems to be backing off and instead calling for a Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). Moreso, others are ready forewarning the public about their names appearing in the envelop and seemingly exonerating themselves way in advance.
The power to read what is inside a closed envelop is Kenya's newest discovery and may be worth recommendation by the tourism board to potential tourists and to scholars, a fertile ground for research.
The international community's intervention led by the EU is a significant move towards the conclusion of the big debate between the envelop and the local tribunal which interestingly is taking the way of the age old argument on the egg and the chicken.
However on a lighter note the prosecutor at ICC has given the country another six months to come up with the necessary mechanisms to handle try the post election perpetrators, a case which helps engage the public discourse for quite a considerable time again.
The interesting thing though is that 2012 is not far and the way of the ballot will soon be nigh. Therefore the fate of many politicians in the next general elections will be dictated to a great extend by the outcome of this case. Perhaps many will lose out and to others a major victory since many will ride on the results of the Waki report.

Finally, the Envelope is Gone

Gone with the wind to the desk of Moreno O'Campo. Indeed it is gone and the rest is O'Campo's.
Yes finally, the former UN Chief and peace negotiator in post poll violence in Kenya Dr. Koffi Annan has ultimately put the case to rest.
He has finally handed over Kenya's Pandora's Box to the International Criminal Court, the land of teeth gnashing and groaning.
A Twist of Fate
This perhaps partially closes the chapter of horse trading, threats, divided loyalty and anguish among many a politician in the Kenyan arena where for the last ten months or so politicians have been engaged in war of words and shifting loyalties as others seemed to have used the envelop to fight their perceived political enemies.
In the public domain also there has been a lot of speculation as to whose name would be in the list. This development seems to have paved way for Kangaroo Courts where politicians of various shades have been handed very tough judgments by members of the public who in one way or the other were forced to come up with tentative measures in place of ICC or a local tribunal.
A Hope for Solace
Recently there have been very interesting moves in the country regarding this envelope. Bare a week ago, a team of ministers headed by the Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo sojourned to O'Campo's office in the Hague to discuss possible options of dealing with the menace of the post poll violence. This was occasioned by the tough and seemingly common stand taken by most members of parliament to reject a local tribunal and hand the envelop to ICC. This move seems not to have sank well with the two leaders of the coalition-PM and President and also Koffi Annan who has called for a local tribunal as well.
Twelve Months More...
Interestingly, the Prosecutor at ICC gave Kenya another grace period of twelve months to come up with a panacea which in the mind of the government included a third option of setting up a UN backed Special Tribunal in a different country.
Today(July 8, 2009), the chief negotiator has thrown the spanner into the works and further complicated the whole issue. Many questions are bound to resurface now and indeed those questions are fundamental: Did the Prosecutor at ICC overlook Annan's ultimatum? Was the ICC obliged to go by Annan's ultimatum? Could this be suggestive then of a futile effort by Koffi Annan to hand over the envelop to a man who has given suspects more leeway?

Credibility Test
It is also worth noting that ICC is facing a great credibility test from African leaders. A few days ago, the African Union (AU) unanimously agreed not to hand over the Sudanese leader Omar Elbashir whom a warrant of arrest had been issued against by the International Court some time last year.
From the Kenyan front, the air is full of suspense more than ever before regarding the envelop. It is in this breath that President Mwai Kibaki has today called an impromptu cabinet meeting to chart the way forward.

No reprieve yet
The president and the Prime Minister had been exonerated by the Waki Report which investigated the post election violence and subsequently prepared the envelop. Against this backdrop, it is imperative to note that the Rome Statute, which created ICC provides for prosecution of not only those directly involved but also those who abated and more importantly those who neglected responsibility of averting the crime, read:

In the case of civilian superiors, a superiors’ inadvertently negligent disregard of information indicating that a crime of their subordinates is impending does not suffice for their responsibility. Therefore, it is their “conscious disregard” of such information (recklessness) that the Rome Statute sets as the lower limit of their responsibility. This means that according to the Rome Statute, a superior can be held responsible on the basis of his negligence for an intentional crime or even for a crime which requires coloured intent (dolus coloratus, such as in case of genocide from the article 6 of the Rome Statute). Article 28 b (i-iii)

Like more than never before, the reality of joining the ranks of other sixteen African leaders and politicians in the ICC list is a reality.
The proverbial Sword of Damocles once again hangs precariously in the Houses of parliament, Cabinet offices and all corridors of power awaiting who to devour come a pronouncement from the Hague.