Uhuru And Ruto Should Rethink Their Ambitions

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto at a recent rally

BY DENISE KODHE
SUNDAY, 23 DECEMBER, 2012

Leadership is not about winning seats and positions through numerical strength. It has a lot to do with acumen, focus, intelligence and ability to analyse situations correctly and without being in denial.

Both Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto should evaluate their ambitions to become President and Deputy President respectively. Under the Jubilee Alliance both Ruto and Uhuru have a golden chance to declare somebody tosha for the presidency, just like Raila did with Kibaki in 2002. Such a person, when elected, will automatically take care of their interests and may assist them during the ICC trial. They need to explore this option more robustly.

The URP leader’s hypocrisy came out clearly during a media breakfast show on the implication of ICC trial in his and Uhuru’s leadership when elected President and Deputy President respectively. ICC trial is real and therefore any justification to go around it whether elected president or deputy president will not yield any fruitful result as long as Kenya is a statutory member. William Ruto is intelligent enough to know that ICC is not Kibera or Milimani courts where he can attend court proceedings at will. It is a court controlled by the international community. Anybody aspiring for presidency must be a serious person with impeccable integrity. Leadership is not about winning seats and positions through numerical strength. It has a lot to do with acumen, focus, intelligence and ability to analyse situations correctly and without being in denial. The situation would have been easier if the ICC suspects were defending their parliamentary seats or going for the Governor or Senator but not the presidency.

Suspects facing trial at the ICC are innocent until proven guilty. Recently the ICC judges set free former DRC rebel leader for lack of evidence therefore the Kenyan suspects should be courageous enough and face ICC with facts. Kenyans lost their lives and property. Many people are still living as internally displaced persons. It is wrong for politicians to assume that all is well and that the mayhem of 2007-008 is forgotten. The apathy in voter registration was an indication that people are still bitter and not happy with the outgoing leadership. Families who were burnt in Naivasha, Burnt Forest and other places are waiting for justice and ICC is their only hope. The coming together of Uhuru and Ruto politically is not the justice, peace and reconciliation Kenyans are yearning for in relation to the post-election violence of 2007-2008. Casual and irresponsible utterances by politicians and more so suspects facing charges before ICC is the least Kenyans would like to hear about.

The International Criminal Court should widen its net to include all those sus- pected to have been behind the post-election mayhem. You do not need to be a judge or lawyer to know that it was not only Uhuru, Ruto, Sang, Muthaura , Kosgey and Ali who were behind the post-election violence of 2007-008. Many people were involved and therefore justice must be seen to be done and not just heard. Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and his Wiper Democratic party should also be investigated for entering into partnerships through secret Memorandum of Understanding to support an ineligible government so that they can be in power illegally.

Chapter Six on Integrity and Leadership should not be applied in isolation. It should go beyond corruption related cases to address morality and the character of individuals. Impunity, lack of seriousness is not only destroying but also killing good governance practice and democracy in Africa. Despite many serious corruption allegations in the government of South Africa, President Zuma was still re-elected leader of African Na- tional Congress to seek re-election for another term as the president of South Africa. African people should wake up and call a spoon a spoon and not a big spade.

Leaders associated with corruption, nepotism and crimes against humanity should all be rejected and not given a chance or whatsoever to lead a nation. South Africa, like Kenya, has an opportunity of its own kind through the forthcoming General Elections to sweep their house clean by voting out leaders associated with corruption. The economic hardships facing many Africans today are a result of bad governance and corruption. Poor people are really poor and are getting poorer while the rich are really rich and are getting richer.

When talking about President Kibaki’s legacy, it is for the poor people to evaluate him and not the rich. The poor know how their lives have improved and changed under Kibaki’s regime and not politicians who have been part of his government. Slum dwellers, street hawkers and jua kali artisans should be asked whether their lives have improved under Kibaki. I am sure the response will be revealing. It is not fair for the middle and upper class people to evaluate Kibaki’s performance. Our hope and dream should be of making Kenya look like South Africa, Cairo or Japan and China for that matter. The writer is the Executive Director, Institute for Democracy and Leadership in Africa.