Why Kiyiapi’s shot at the presidency has been overlooked

By MAKAU MUTUA  ( email the author)

Posted  Saturday, February 9  2013 at  19:11

In Summary

• Earned it: He’s one of the few public servants who’s truly earned his place in government
• The RBK candidate is a victim of tribal math on which presidential elections are won and lost

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Professor James ole Kiyiapi’s entry in Wikipedia is a scant two sentences. That’s about the attention he’s received as candidate for State House – scant, very scant.

The big question is why. The Restore and Build Kenya presidential candidate is a scrappy fighter. He rose from the valleys of life to the peaks of the academy and bureaucracy.

Now his eyes are trained on the inner sanctum of power. But no one expects the son of a Maasai warrior to come within shouting distance of State House. Why is one of the most ethical and best educated candidates a mere blip on the radar screen? Is he just a “bad” candidate, or does he have a debilitating Achille’s heel?

Prof Kiyiapi’s biography is a rugs-to-riches story. It’s a magical story of a dream come true. In 1977, he attained a record 36 points in his CPE examination. He was appointed school captain at the legendary Alliance High School. In 1988, he obtained a First Class Honours Bachelor of Science degree from Moi University.

In 1993, at the tender age of 32, Mr Kiyiapi received a Ph.D in Forestry at the University of Toronto. From 1994 to 2006, he taught at Moi University where he rose to associate professor in 2004.

There, he published over 30 papers in referred academic journals and supervised over 20 masters and doctoral theses. Prof Kiyiapi is a reputed scholar who has earned his stripes in the academy.

Recently, a candidate for public office claimed she’s called “doctor” because she “has” a doctorate. Prof Kiyiapi’s academic credentials aren’t in doubt, and no one would even think of questioning them.

He’s one of the few public servants who have truly earned their place in government.

In 2006, he was appointed PS in the ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. He was later moved to Medical Services before ending up in Education from where he resigned last year to run for President of the Republic of Kenya.

He’s a self-made man who epitomises merit and professionalism. I don’t think Prof Kiyiapi’s candidature would have been possible but for the new Constitution. He’s a harbinger of the politician of the future.

But we know that impeccable academic credentials do not a successful politician make. In fact, most academics are ill-suited to be politicians. That’s because while politics is “dirty,” academics are based on the integrity of research.

The latter is “science” while the former is “voodoo”. That’s why politicians are perhaps the least trusted people in most countries. They lie, cheat, steal – and often kill – to capture or keep power. Many academics that cross over into politics become shells of their former selves, or pathetically degenerate into tragic figures.

But a few become stellar public servants. The late Mwalimu Nyerere of Tanzania, or President Barack Obama, come to mind.

This isn’t to say that academics shouldn’t make the leap. They should – especially if Kenya will transform its political class. I know many are watching to see how Prof Kiyiapi will fare in 2017 – not 2013. I think he’s been written off for the March elections.

He’s not one of the “horses” thought plausible, although he has more on the ball than most of the candidates. This is the question we must ask – is Prof Kiyiapi stunted by forces beyond him? If so, what are those forces, and how can they be overcome?

What needs to change between now and 2017 to make him a credible candidate? Could – should – he have become running mate to one of the big “horses?”

I have a theory why Prof Kiyiapi hasn’t gained traction. He has a simple curse, and it is his accidental birth as a Maasai.

Tribal math

Prof Kiyiapi is a victim of tribal math on which presidential elections are won, and lost. Most Kenyans – most – vote along tribal lines. They either vote for the “tribal kingpin” or whomsoever the “tribal kingpin” tells them to vote for.

It sounds very sad – and moronic – but it’s the cold truth. This means that a candidate must – has to – come from one of the five major ethnic groups to be a serious contender.

Today, a Kenyan who isn’t Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kamba, or Kalenjin has a zero chance of being elected president. There’s no sugar-coating this horrible reality.

Candidates from the five large groups form alliances among themselves and then rope in smaller groups to dominate politics. That’s why Jubilee is a coalition of the Kikuyu and Kalenjin while Cord groups the Luo, the Kamba and the Luhya. In this scenario, the Maasai, Meru, Embu, Kisii, individual coastal groups, or even the Somali, are the “icing on the cake”.

They are mere desserts for the “Big Five”. Prof Kiyiapi is a victim of this cruel reality. He can be served as dessert, but not the main course. That’s why he couldn’t even be tapped for running mate because he’s got no tribal math to offer as dowry. He will remain a “political curiosity” until we detribalise our politics.

President Barack Obama would never have seen the White House was American politics as racialised as Kenyan politics is tribalised. The difference lies in political parties. American political parties are institutional, not the personal fictional “parties” which are “owned” by individual politicians in Kenya.

This means that an American – whether Black, White, Hispanic, or Asian – becomes a formidable candidate once they capture the nomination of the two major parties. Capturing the party nomination is the biggest hurdle.

Let’s work to detribalise politics under the new Constitution and create real parties to make Prof Kiyiapi – and others like him – a real candidate in 2017.

Makau Mutua is Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor at SUNY Buffalo Law School and Chair of the KHRC. Twitter @makaumutua