A quick perusal of online discussions reveals the extent to which Kenyans will try to exploit a tragic happening for selfish political ends, giving nary a thought to the grief of a bereaved family.
There were those who were quick to try to link the elderly doctor’s death to the recent tribulations he was subjected to, including three nights in police custody, when President William Ruto intervened in the tussle over control of the Nairobi Hospital board.
From the other side of the political spectrum, government social media mercenaries were mobilised to push counter-narratives seeking to point the finger of blame at the usual ethnic bogey, a confirmed obsession with the propaganda brigade.
The exchanges, however, came to serve as a stark reminder of how thoughtless statements and threats by powerful politicians often come back to haunt them. A trip down history provides a good example.
In August 1990, the then Minister for Labour in President Daniel arap Moi’s government, Peter Okondo, was forced to resign in disgrace about a week after the death, in a car accident, of outspoken Anglican clergyman Alexander Muge .
Bishop Muge was among church leaders of the time who were leading crusades against dictatorship, human rights violations, corruption and other excesses of the one-party Kanu regime.
When he indicated a desire to pay a visit to Busia District, where Okondo’s Budalang’i Constituency was located, the minister warned: “Do not step in Busia or you will not return alive.”
Bishop Muge defied the threat and travelled to Busia, but on his way came the fatal road accident that claimed his life.
In the public uproar that followed, Okondo—who the media had long labelled as the minister with a loose tongue—was abandoned by the very system he had so vociferously defended. He was thrown under the bus as the Moi regime moved to distance itself from his incendiary remarks, and also deflect accusations that it was responsible for Muge’s death.
Shunned by his former political colleagues, Okondo was reduced to a sad and lonely existence, losing his parliamentary seat in 1992, and carrying the stigma of his thoughtless comments on Muge to his own demise in 1996, and beyond. Even today, so many years later, a Google search on Peter Okondo brings up, high on the list, the death of Muge.
There was never any evidence that Okondo was even remotely connected to the unfortunate events that followed his threats. A truck driver who was convicted and jailed for the traffic accident died in jail, and there were no indications that it was anything more than an unfortunate coincidence. But these things tend to follow you.
Internet chatter since Dr Obwaka’s death incessantly brings up reference to President Ruto’s infamous and unfortunate “Mambo ni matatu” threats, first voiced on his intervention into feuds within the Rai family over control of the Mumias Sugar Company.
In a nutshell, Jaswant Singh Rai and his brother Sarabjeet Singh Rai were battling for control of the struggling State-owned enterprise. Why President Ruto inserted himself into the matter is not clear, but Jaswant was abducted on a Nairobi street by police officers in August 2023 and driven to a destination where he was warned to withdraw court cases challenging the award of a lease for the sugar miller to Sarabjeet’s firm.
President Ruto’s tendency to use the presidential bully pulpit to meddle in feuds outside his remit, often misusing pliant police and prosecution agencies to harass those resisting his manoeuvres, was seen again in the Nairobi Hospital leadership feud.
Dr Obwaka was one of those arrested and held on trumped-up charges as State House moved to install a board of its liking. That he was 83 and in frail health did not move his persecutors.
Now, there is no evidence that the State had anything to do with the tragic circumstances leading to his death, but the Mambo ni matatu threat, the last option being death, was swiftly dredged up.
The President will live with his careless, thoughtless remarks for a long time to come.
Mr Gaitho, an independent journalist, is former NMG Managing Editor for Special Projects. [email protected] .
