President Uhuru Kenyatta recently suggested that he might propose the Kikuyu and Kalenjin, who have produced all four Kenyan presidents since Independence, be locked out in order to give other communities a chance at State House.
That was his antidote to Deputy President William Ruto’s #HustlerNation campaign, which excites underclass resentment against the supposed “dynasties” of entrenched political families. Dr Ruto and his allies reacted furiously, accusing the President of taking Kenya back to ethnic politics.
Not long afterwards, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the opposition leader, who has teamed up with President Kenyatta in an anti-Ruto alliance, stoked the embers by proposing that Kenya adopt a rotational presidency.
In the midst of all the brouhaha came a sustained assault against Dr Ruto’s Hustler narrative with preachers, politicians and all manner of commentators warning that it seeks to ignite a class war that would eventually spiral out of control. That could turn out to be the monkey on Dr Ruto’s back.
The political noise generated over the week stands as proof that Kenya is in urgent need of national dialogue.
Whatever President Kenyatta, Dr Ruto, Mr Odinga and their respective bands of cheerleaders and rabble-rousers have broached may sound like the normal political claptrap but raises serious issues that must be addressed to prevent Kenya from sliding into chaos.
The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) championed by President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga was, indeed, projected as the search for solutions to tribalism, violent politics, economic and development inequalities, marginalisation, historical injustices and other issues that often provide the spark for violence.
Unfortunately, the outcome, which is now set for a referendum on constitutional amendments, barely scratched the surface on key issues, emerging mostly as a ploy to enlarge the feeding trough to accommodate more ethnic eating chiefs.
The divisions wrought by BBI serve only to make nonsense of the ‘building bridges’ goal but President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga have invested so much in the initiative that they are unable to accept the harsh realities. The fact is that they have been unable to market BBI and face a serious risk of being humiliated at the referendum.
In my estimation, the ‘Yes’ vote can still win, but only because the ‘No’ side lacks strong political leadership and the resources to bring out the vote. With his strong national political following, Dr Ruto would be the natural leader of the campaign but his platform rhetoric against BBI is not matched by any indication that he is prepared to directly lead opposition to an initiative sponsored by the President. He wants to have his cake and eat it.
Chances are, those opposed to BBI will simply stay away from the poll in their numbers, ceding the vote to President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga, but in such a low turnout that it will be a hollow victory.
There is a way out: Postpone the referendum to allow an inclusive ‘Kenya We Want’ national conversation. We must go beyond dishonest platform histrionics to the search for real solutions.
President Kenyatta is right on the domination of State House by two communities but, if he is really genuine, he could have led by example in 2013 and sat out the race instead of belatedly realising the injustice in the waning days of his reign.
Dr Ruto is justified in taking umbrage at President Kenyatta’s ethnic solution but is rather dishonest insofar as his own presidential campaign is based on ethnic arithmetic. His team has also pushed the false narrative that the Kikuyu community collectively owes him.
As for Mr Odinga’s rotational presidency idea, that could actually be pretty appealing as a device to give all regions a sense of belonging. However, it would demand a significant revision of the BBI constitutional amendment proposals. A good enough reason to postpone the damn thing.
We could also discuss when it is that empowering the poor and downtrodden mutates into exploitation of poverty and incitement to class war.
Some enterprising fellows have established a distillery by the river at the base of our rural family home. We could get the authorities to shut down the illegal still.
But it might be better to encourage the fellows to go legit. I should seek them out for a partnership that would help the product to make the transition from illicit spirit to a brand of international repute.
After all, Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker, John Jameson, Captain Morgan, John Haig, Jim Beam and William Grant had humble beginnings.
Watch this space for Glenrware, quenching your thirst soon.
