By AHMEDNASIR ABDULLAHI
Posted Saturday, February 18 2012 at 19:45
Posted Saturday, February 18 2012 at 19:45
The conduct of Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr William Ruto in their hounding of Mr Kalonzo Musyoka and Mr Mutula Kilonzo is the epitome of arrogance and the height of political hubris.
Uhuru and Ruto have become siamese twins joined at the hip due to the confirmation of their charges at the International Criminal Court and are engaging in the politics of slash and burn. They have decided to clear the political scene of all competition.
Strangely, whereas everyone thought the two gentlemen would be humbled by the gravity of the charges facing them and mellow in the process, The Hague process seems to have brought out a dialectical political reaction.
They have, instead, become more militant, belligerent, intolerant, more demanding of absolute loyalty from all, and especially those they think are beholden to them.
The treatment of Mr Kalonzo and Mr Kilonzo is grossly unfair and reminds one of the Kanu-era politics of sycophancy and destruction.
The troubles of the two gentlemen and the pariah status they have been assigned are not difficult to fathom.
It all started with the Justice minister making a statement to the effect that Uhuru should resign as Deputy Prime Minister. The Justice minister also made a number of statements to the effect that Uhuru and Ruto, in light of the cases they face at the ICC, cannot run for president in the coming election.
These two statements have offended the powers that be. The silence maintained by the Vice-President in the face of these statements, coupled with an alleged speech made by a close aide to the effect that the Vice-President will enormously benefit from The Hague process, have led to Uhuru and Ruto laying a political siege of the VP and his allies.
The subsequent sidelining of the VP is a grim pointer to an offensive political ideology that revolves solely around the personality cults of Uhuru and Ruto and premised on their personal self-preservation.
The strategy is premised on a number postulates. First is to ensure that any politician who has contrary views on The Hague process is politically sidelined and ostracised.
This intolerance is designed to create a siege mentality amongst the political elites that support them. It is also designed to have the same effects on their respective communities.
The second pillar of the Uhuru Ruto axis involves a laboratory experiment to create a political wimp beholden to their political guidance and patronage.
They have just started the process of creating a designer politician to run as their candidate for president. Uhuru and Ruto have probably realised that their candidatures are not viable in light of The Hague process.
They also seem to mistrust a majority of the current high-profile politicians.
Their calculations are to create a designer politician perfect to their image and liking and present him as a surrogate candidate.
The well rehearsed sidelining of the Vice-President and his allies is informed by this strategy.
Another major component of the Uhuru-Ruto strategy is to constantly hog the limelight and deny others the oxygen of publicity.
The countrywide “prayer” sessions for Uhuru and Ruto, which at times provide some comic relief, are cleverly designed to ensure that the two enjoy constant media coverage.
Uhuru and Ruto have, through a very clever political design, ensured that they are setting the agenda for the country.
For example, they have turned The Hague process upside down and are writing its narrative to their political liking.
They have cleverly moulded the entire process as one designed specifically to finish their political career.
It is to their credit as masterful political strategists that the two are seen as martyrs and not villains of The Hague process.
It is to their credit as masterful political strategists that the two are seen as martyrs and not villains of The Hague process.
Mr Abdullahi is the publisher, Nairobi Law Monthly ahmednasir@ahmedabdi.com
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