Change cannot come from descendants of the old order

Insight,
Kenya times

By John Cheruiyot

ODM-K has undergone a drastic change since one of its presidential contenders Mr. Raila Odinga launched his vision at the KICC two weeks ago. It was aired live by local TV station and watched by millions of Kenyans. His competitors seem to have since panicked about his presidential ambitions.

Seventeen MPs from Rift Valley Province led by Mr. William Ruto were recently at a rally in Kuresoi and they took the opportunity to accuse Raila and Kalonzo Musyoka of being responsible for the current wrangles in ODM-K. They also rejected consensus as a method of nominating the party’s presidential baton bearer.

Dr. Julia Ojiambo, another ODM-K aspirant has threatened to quit the party while LDP secretary-general Joseph Kamotho has for the first time endorsed Mwai Kibaki for re-election in this year’s General Election. These are the signs of a divided house, a house in disarray.

The truth of the matter is that ODM-K is not held together by an ideology or a philosophy but personal interests camouflaged in a tribal cloak. Personal gain is the engine of every ambitious political leader today in Kenya .

Kenya’s political elite is used to manipulating the masses for personal gain. Hence a radical departure from the norm for decades is a disaster for many leaders. Rift Valley political leaders like all others countrywide are totally in disarray. They lack political stand and political ideology. Even as their people want devolution and federal dispensation they are disoriented. They prefer personal gain to community gain. Rift Valley has a lot to gain in devolution than the current unitary system.

For decades Rift Valley leaders, more so the Mafia, have always been after power and wealth for themselves at the expense of the interests of the people. They prefer patronage to democracy and empowerment of the people. They prefer accumulation of wealth while their people wallow in poverty and abject penury. They would rather support a system that marginalises their people but propels their whims. The same is true for all the leaders in Kenya .

Our leaders prefer a corrupt and undemocratic systems which allows them latitude to pursue their whims at the expense of the people. If ODM-K was thus driven by the common good of the nation it would not be a problem to rally behind any of their own as long as they achieve national goals. Our leaders are not bothered or embarrassed by the poverty ravaging the nation . They would rather fly choppers over poor villages and offer handouts to the villagers than empower them to fend for themselves.

ODM-K and Narc-K are outfits of undemocratic individuals seeking to appease their greed and lust for power. It is no wonder that leaders are oscillating from one party to another looking for the highest bidder. It is not surprising that Rift Valley leaders are not necessarily after the top job but after whoever can offer cash and more patronage.

If President Mwai Kibaki can offer them handouts they are ready to support him. It is now clear that the Kibaki administration is at home with patronage and power-broking. Every presidential aspirant in ODM-K is a product of patronage and power broking which was perfected during Nyayo era. For example, Kalonzo Musyoka is a disciple of Mulu Mutisya while Mutisya was a creature of Nyayo system.

The same is true for Mr. Musalia Mudavadi. His powerful father, the King of Mulili, was a creature of the Nyayo system. William Ruto, who was an official of YK 92, was a creature of the Nyayo system. The same is true for Jirongo the chair for the infamous YK 92, a monster that drunk the blood out of the country’s economic artery. Uhuru Kenyatta was the project of Nyayo vision.

This may explain why Kibaki, in a recent tour of the South Rift, openly suggested that as many institutions as possible bear Moi’s name. In essence he was declaring that he was a Moist at heart.

The old elite yearning for old order has held this nation hostage. Yet Kenya is tired of the old order of patronage and hypocrisy. Kenya since independence has not landed in her Canaan and prosperity. She has been meandering in economic, political and social wilderness for 44 years..

Kenya has failed to cross her River Jordan into her economic Canaan the way Singapore and Asian tigers have done. The country needs radical change in order to avert chaos and civil unrest. Kenya is today a nation of Mungiki, Taliban and Matheri- lawless non-state outfits that threaten the very fabric of nation existence.

Yet that change cannot come from descendants of the old order. Kenya needs a new dispensation and a new era. An era of revolutionary reform in all aspects of our nationhood. We need change in all our institutions. Change has eluded the nation for over 44 years. Jomo Kenyatta failed to deliver that change. His successor Moi failed to deliver it. For four years Kibaki has failed to do the same-for he, too, was part of the old order.

It is only Raila Odinga who in real sense is not a descendant of Kenya’s political genetics. His political genes and genealogy are totally incompatible to the status quo in the nation for four decades. He is probably like Museveni of Uganda who came into the political scene after Obote I&II, Idi Amin, Prof. Lule, Binaisa and Okello.

The five men before Museveni failed to bring the desired change in Uganda . They were part of the old order. Many a Ugandan ruling elite feared Museveni the way our own fear Raila. In Uganda today devolution is the order of the day. Districts are autonomous. People have say in their affairs and the nation is more prosperous than Kenya -a nation that escaped civil chaos but suffered political patronage.

jcruiyo@yahoo.com