Elite Conspiring To Keep Power

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2012 - 00:00 -- BY PHEROZE NOWROJEE

Musalia told Uhuru, “You don’t go stealing from a friend.” (The Star, 19 October 2012). He said this after TNA failed in an attempt to get 30 UDF Mudavadi Councillors to defect to TNA.

But there is something far deeper here. TNA is doing now what its elite backers have been doing since Independence: this elite refuses to share power and refuses to rule in the interest of all Kenyans. This is the root cause of our nation’s perpetual disunity and poverty.

Presently, TNA and its elite backers have kept repeating that in Central Province there must be no party with a presidential candidate other than TNA. Also, all such parties must endorse its candidate, Uhuru.

The 30 Musalia councillors were going against this. Musalia is indeed another Central Province presidential candidate. The attempt in Vihiga may appear geographically distant, but politically it was a Central Province affair.

TNA sees Musalia as a project of someone in CP, (not as a ‘friend’). So “Uhuru was going to buy [the 30 councillors] as he has been doing,” (Ibid), “through TNA’s power of money,” (The Standard, 19 October 2012).

TNA’s monopolization of Central Province is the old opening gambit to the monopolization of Kenya itself. Here is the record: In 1963 there were two centres of power.

The Independence Cabinet had been chosen partly by Tom Mboya and partly by Jomo Kenyatta. This sharing was not acceptable to the elite behind Kenyatta.

Within 6 years, Mboya was dead, assassinated. Kenyatta and the favoured economic elite behind him no longer had to share power. They could then rule in their own interest instead of in the national interest.  

This elite had to regroup in the years 1982-1992. With the 1992 elections the opportunity came to remove Moi. Ford-Kenya was popular. Kibaki (of DP) was also a contender.

Ford-K entered into negotiations with Kibaki to offer Jaramogi Oginga Odinga as President and Mwai Kibaki as Vice-President. This would have ensured Moi’s defeat.

Among the negotiators for FORD-K were Prof. Anyang Nyong’o, Dr. John Khaminwa and James Orengo. Agreement was reached. When the Ford-K negotiators took the Memorandum of Understanding for signature to DP, DP’s elite blocked the signing.

The divided Opposition lost the elections. The nation’s impoverishment and suffering under Moi continued. The DP elite had preferred to stay out of power for further years rather than share power with Ford-K.

Their old concept of Government was being repeated: it would be only for themselves, even if they had to wait for it. This was confirmed when the 1997 elections came around.

Again, the DP elite refused to enter into any coalition with any other party, even though this would certainly have removed Moi. Over the 10 years, 1992-2002, this elite showed a clear disregard of the national interest and manifested their own interests as their priority.

By not sharing power they could dominate without any checks. This exposed their purpose in obtaining power. Till then, they would rather let Moi’s regime continue.

By 2002, DP’s elite had recouped enough to vie for power on their own. They sought no coalition, but got unsolicited support through NARC.

Once in power, they repudiated the famous MoU, gave themselves all the powerful Cabinet posts, and promptly launched into the Anglo-Leasing looting.

All this confirmed their basis: this elite would not share power with anyone and would not rule in the interest of all Kenyans. This elite, (DP – PNU now), entered 2007 on the same basis but with one desperate addition: it vowed not to give up what it had ‘regained’ after 24 years – exclusive political and economic domination.

The nights of the election results they moved in their own interest. The national interest was left to the vagaries of the PEV. Now it is 2013.

For this elite, (DP – PNU – TNA now), (always CP based), its aim remains the same: sole power in its own interest, no sharing with anyone.

Hence monopolization in Central Province; to lead to monopolization in Vihiga, to monopolization in the Cabinet, to monopolization in the Ministry of Finance (again), and so on, Constitution or no Constitution, the national interest or not. 

It is this pattern that was in play when the councillors were being bought. The attempt failed because the Constitution has inspirited us all against these old obscene ways.

The elite behind TNA has been holding up money and ethnic loyalty as the alternative to our Constitution. The Councillors rejected this. So must we all.