A Cabinet at war with itself

By Oscar ObonyoOn this day, three years ago, the country got a Prime Minister, only the second in history, as ODM leader Raila Odinga led members from his party to a swearing in ceremony on the lawns of State House.
Among Raila’s closest lieutenants and third within the party hierarchy was Eldoret North MP William Ruto, who was appointed to the plum docket of Agriculture. But Ruto has since bolted out of Raila’s corner and is today among the key figures leading a political crusade against the PM.
This dramatic shift of alliances is part of what has made politics dynamic and exciting. But it has also poisoned the political atmosphere, particularly in the Cabinet that is so fractious and has little to celebrate today.
In separate interviews with The Standard On Sunday, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, who is allied to the PNU affiliate parties, and Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi of ODM, confess to intense competition and incessant disagreements in Cabinet.
In an apparent swipe at the current Coalition arrangement, the VP maintained the best arrangement in a democracy is having a strong government with an effective opposition to check its excesses.
Top positionsBut, Mudavadi views such sentiments as part of the larger thinking of PNU rivals who still consider ODM MPs as strangers who forcibly joined the Kibaki Government.
"This ‘joint government’ coinage seems to be part of the stigmatised minds in the Coalition who don’t appreciate the circumstances under which it came to be and will probably never appreciate the dire situation we were in 2007/8. They want to operate as if we have never learned any adverse lessons," said Mudavadi.
Their top positions in the Grand Coalition notwithstanding, Kalonzo and Mudavadi are not known to have an abrasive approach to politics. But that they hold such strong divergent views is a sobering pointer to a divided and volatile house that is the Coalition Cabinet.
Presently, all manner of filth is flying around as the PM, VP, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto, engage in a vicious political competition. Other ministers, serving in the same Government, have taken cue by attacking each other in the public.
Some of the abuses have been so personal, compelling the President to step in last Thursday. Speaking while officially opening the Emali-Loitoktok Road in Eastern Province, the President castigated politicians over use of foul language.
The President’s personal intervention is understandable, considering that two high level committees initially established to help recurrent wrangles within the Coalition, have since collapsed.
Deep-rooted suspicionThe committees – the Grand Coalition Co-ordination Board and the Grand Coalition Management Committee – were to act as dispute resolution bodies.
While Kibaki and Raila Odinga sat on the co-ordination board, the management committee was to be chaired by the two DPMs, Mudavadi and Uhuru. But owing to deep-rooted suspicions and vested interests, the teams have not met for long, leaving the Cabinet in a quandary and at war with itself.
Amidst the confusion, crucial reform agenda, constitutional implementation and resettlement of IDPs have taken the backseat with other interests such as the Kibaki succession taking precedence.
"I wish, for instance, the Uhuru-Ruto union could solve the IDP situation. But it is a purely pact of personalities with a short-term political interest – next year’s presidential elections," reacts Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo.
Justice soughtThe MP opines that if the union between the two was genuine, then the same should trickle down to their communities, with the Kalenjin accommodating most of the IDPs from the Kikuyu community back to Rift Valley.
"But for that to happen, victims and perpetrators must open up to the truth and then justice sought. And for the IDPs to be resettled in their former homes, their security must be assured before reconciliation is finally addressed. But in their hurry for political reasons, Uhuru and Ruto are trying to bypass all these," advises Gumbo.
No doubt, a dysfunctional Cabinet is largely to blame for the IDP resettlement mess and the continuous politicking at the expense of the reform agenda. And this blame lies squarely in the hands of the principals, and primarily the PM, whose duty is to supervise and coordinate Cabinet affairs.
But Mudavadi blames it on factional politics claiming some in PNU have made it difficult for the PM to operate. According to Mudavadi, "those elements remain with a similar mindset, that ODM is uninvited in Government!"
DocumentaryNonetheless, Kalonzo and Mudavadi are optimistic that the principals can handle the hitches at hand. The VP particularly describes Kibaki as a most amiable and accommodating political leader.
Adds Mudavadi: "You could say they share almost a similar vision, especially with regard to economic prosperity. But their demeanour is different when it comes to the way things have to be done. One tolerates red tape; the other is impatient with unnecessary foot-dragging."
The hiccups in Government notwithstanding, PS in the Home Affairs ministry, Ludeki Chweya, maintains Kenyans have reaped some valuable benefits from the Coalition arrangement.
"It has not been gloom all through. One of the most important and historic benefits was the realisation of a new Constitution. We tried in 2005 and failed but when circumstances placed all players in one Government we did it resoundingly last year," Dr Chweya told The Standard On Sunday.