Why Marende has suddenly lost his Solomonic wisdom

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Posted  Saturday, July 16 2011 at 18:38

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I don’t know whether King Solomon’s wisdom was myth or fact. But I know one thing.

If Speaker Kenneth Marende was ever Solomon, I submit that he’s lost his wisdom. But perhaps the better analogy is to the biblical Samson.

Mr Marende’s “great powers of mental acuity” — much like Samson’s legendary strength — seem to have deserted him.
But the paradox is that, unlike Samson, no one has “shaved” Mr Marende’s head. Which begs the question — why has the honourable Speaker taken leave of reason? Why would he insist — contrary to the Constitution — that MPs shouldn’t pay back taxes? I have five reasons to explain his bizarre “logic”.

But let me first dispense with some basics. Mr Marende, a lawyer of no mean repute, is no one’s dummy. He knows that the Constitution is unambiguous about the iron-clad obligation on MPs to pay back taxes.

But he argues — incredibly — that President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga “promised” that MPs would not be taxed.

He then cites a letter by Attorney-General Amos Wako opining that MPs wouldn’t have to pay taxes under the new Constitution.
Shock of all shocks

I know that Mr Marende can’t believe that the “promises” by principals and the “letter” by Mr Wako override the Constitution.

But a horde of MPs insist — shock of all shocks — that’s why they supported the Constitution. Unbelievable!

Until his tax debacle, Mr Marende was carving out a towering legacy. Among the feckless political class, the Speaker had emerged as the tallest oak in the forest. On several occasions, he even made the President and PM appear petty. Their unending coalition squabbles have more than once brought Kenya to the brink.

Yet it was Mr Marende who would deftly and single-handedly defuse constitutional crises, and set reforms back on course.
That’s why several of his rulings from the Speaker’s chair were Solomonic. When MPs and the Executive lost their senses, Mr Marende was the moral compass. He seemed to always act in the national — not personal — interest. So, why has he fallen off the wagon?

First, I believe that Mr Marende has become selfish. He’s scared about his future. The man is experiencing a politician’s “mid-life” professional crisis. He doesn’t know what he will do, or where he will be, after 2012. He has a number of options, but none is assured.

Could be unemployed

He could seek the Speaker’s chair again. Or he might run for governor or senator. Perhaps he could be tapped as a running mate to one of the presidential candidates.

But Mr Marende could be unemployed in 2012 if none of these options pan out. I guess he could always return to legal practice. Like other politicians, Mr Marende’s 2012 crystal ball has been rendered foggy by the new Constitution.

Second, Mr Marende may have concluded that he wants to seek the Speaker’s chair again.

If so, why not pander to the ravenous MPs?
That may explain why — contrary to law, reason, and popular opinion — Mr Marende has decided to play to the MPs’ gallery. He believes that they would reward him in 2012 if he “defends” their “right” to keep their loot from the taxman.

However, Mr Marende is fooling the MPs because he knows they will have to pay back taxes.

That’s why his “support” for their untenable position is cynical. He thinks MPs are too dim-witted to figure out his ploy. He believes he has nothing to lose — and everything to gain — by “supporting” them.

Third, Mr Marende has apparently decided that he doesn’t really care about public opinion. He knows he’s riding sky high in the polls. But he probably may not want to run for a national directly elected office. If so, why give a fig’s leaf about national polls?

The only poll that counts is that of MPs who will elect the next Speaker.

Mr Marende wants to avoid the fate that befell former Speaker Francis ole Kaparo. In 2008, Mr Marende beat Mr Kaparo by a whisker. He knows how fickle MPs can be. But he hopes that they’ll remember how he “stood by them” over their tax woes. Mr Marende has chosen the MPs over the people.

Fourth, what we are seeing — which smacks of political opportunism — may be the real Mr Marende.

It’s entirely possible that Mr Marende’s Solomonic rulings have been purely opportunistic. Perhaps they had nothing to do with his fidelity to the national interest.

May be the man was simply ego-driven, and that we’ve misread him all along. What if he simply wanted to “show up” President Kibaki and PM Odinga?

Eye on State House

What a better way to “put the principals” in their place than by rising above petty bickering? May be Mr Marende always wanted to be viewed as “one of three principals”.

Perhaps he has visions of State House.

Fifth, and last, Mr Marende may be no different from some MPs. Like them, he may be gluttonous and unprincipled.

He may believe — like those MPs — that they shouldn’t pay taxes because they are “special”.

Let’s not forget what Mr Marende was mostly known for being elected Speaker.

In the Ninth Parliament, Mr Marende supported the amendment to the Sexual Offences Bill to decriminalise marital rape.

He infamously said that “Kenyans can still have sex with their partners even when they are asleep so long as they are married”.

May be that’s the real Mr Marende. As the clock ticks towards 2012, one of the last “heroes” in Parliament may have “gone rogue”.

Makau Mutua is Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School and Chair of the KHRC.