Once again, the sins of commission and omission of Uhuru Kenyatta have come to haunt the nation.
As I started pointing out in these same streets an year or so ago, Uhuru’s laid-back approach to governance holds the potential to plunge this country into chaos. When I pointed this out, incidentally, I was called a watermelon, a guy who blew neither cold nor warm.
Now, of course, the chickens are coming home to roost.
The fact is, there now may not be an election on October 26. If the chairman, Chebukati, resigns as he has indicated he will shortly, there will be no presidential returning officer to announce the results. It is important to note that the CONSTITUTION says that presidential returning officer is the chair of the IEBC who MUST have the same qualifications of a High Court judge.
Ominously, only Chebukati holds that rank among the remaining 6 commissioners; just how Uhuru’s government did not see this coming beats me.
It is, in the first place, Uhuru’s laikadaisical approach to power and governance that allowed a malignant and incredibly well-resourced network of shadowy operatives roping in sections of the media, evil society, intelligence operatives, and civil servants including judges, to take root and flourish, imperilling the very survival of the state.
How else can you explain that Chebukati was allowed to become the chair of the IEBC when it was well-known he was an ODM life member? Or Akombe to become such a powerful commissioner when NIS could easily have established that, contrary to the law, she held dual citizenship? The pain for the common Uhuru supporter is compounded by the fact that the two - like 3 of the Supreme Court judges that nullified Uhuru’s genuine win - were employed by a Parliament totally controlled by the president’s cronies. How?
As we in Jubilee fight a rear-guard action, we must first acknowledge this: our leader Uhuru Kenyatta has proved singularly inept and incapable of practicing effective statecraft. When you think of it, this is why he could, for example, say that he couldn’t effectively fight corruption allegedly because the Constitution constrained his powers. Which president with more than 300,000 armed men under his command can allow simple words on a piece of paper, interpreted by a simple magistrate who possibly who has never paid all his taxes to deter him?
Be that as it may. That is water under the bridge. What is the way forward?
In my view, Uhuru MUST redeem himself. He must prove himself a leader deserving of all the 8.2 million votes he got and the millions others - over 65% of the country - who silently support him.
While all individuals and institutions that have pushed us to the current imbroglio must be revisited in due time, the priority now is to return the nation to an even keel.
I propose Uhuru does this in this manner:
One, he MUST ask Chebukati to resign immediately, tonight. Coercive measures should be used if necessary.
Second, tomorrow at 9am he must appoint an acting IEBC chair, preferably Isaak Hassan, through Parliament if need be who meets the Constitutional requirements of a presidential returning officer.
Third, he must declare a state of emergency in all overwhelmingly Nasa-supporting counties and deploy the entire GSU and AP forces there.
Fourth, he must ensure that elections are held in the rest of the country and encourage a turn-out higher than 8/8 so that he garners more than half of all registered votes for legitimacy.
Fifth, he must ensure that the Supreme Court does not seat to hear any ensuing petition by making sure it does not achieve the quorum of 5 judges.
Sixth, he must ensure that when the period for the SC to hear a petition elapses he is sworn in under the laws recently enacted by Parliament.
Kitakachozaliwa baadaye tutanyonyesha!
Although the above could be refined by legal and other wiser minds, they constitute the only way in which Uhuru and his overwhelming number of supporters can regain the initiative. To keep listening to petty judges make funny rulings when the other side is busy disrupting IEBC training sessions or threatening the lives of POs and ROs (nikama kucheza mpira wewe u-observe FIFA rules na opposing team inakuchezea na rules za kick-boxing) shows lack of spine. When a rabid dog confronts you, you stare it down. You do not flinch or run.
At the same time, Uhuru MUST bring back the prestige and power of the state. When petty thugs like Wanjigi go on telly and threaten the nation-state they must be put in their place. Kenyans have very short memories any way.
Statecraft is many things - generosity, barbarity, duplicity, coercion, romance, courtship, back-stabbing, betrayal etc etc - but what it is NOT is spineless cowardice and ingratiating ‘sociliatism’.
Uhuru MUST man up or make way for the man who can: WILLIAM SAMOEI ARAP RUTO.