Kenya’s 2013 general election will go in history as one of the most vicious for the established political class. It felled more Cabinet ministers than one can remember.
It appears the voter was upset with the greedy Tenth Parliament that robbed them blind day in day out for five years. And when the opportunity presented itself, they grabbed it and inflicted maximum pain. Out of 210 MPs, only 40 made a comeback.
Let us start with the former ODM Pentagon members who campaigned with Raila Odinga against Mwai Kibaki in 2007. These members were William Ruto of Rift Valley, Charity Ngilu of Kitui Central, James Orengo, Joe Nyagah of Embu, Musalia Mudavadi of Western Province, and Najib Balala of the Coast.
Four of these individuals became part of the Annan Peace Team that negotiated a shared power arrangement with Kibaki’s Party of National Unity.
And for their efforts that year, they were rewarded with ministerial posts — James Orengo (Lands), Charity Ngilu (Water), Joe Nyagah- (Cooperatives), William Ruto (Agriculture), Musalia Mudavadi (Local Government) and Najib Balala (Tourism).
However, as the impact of the 2007-8 post-election violence began to take effect with the possibility of prosecution of planners dawned on the political class, cracks started developing on both sides of the grand coalition.
These cracks got wider as they realised that Kibaki was serving his last term and a successor was required in late 2012. This necessitated political realignments.
With time, we had all sorts of political groupings such as G47 Alliance, G7Alliance and Simama Kenya. At the end of 2012, these alliances had mutated into Cord , Jubilee, Amani and Eagle alliances.
With these formations, Raila lost all his Pentagon members most of whom joined Jubilee and Amani headed by Uhuru and Mudavadi, his two former deputy prime ministers.
Meanwhile another ODM kingpin, Ruto who was also the ODM Deputy Party Leader had defected to three different parties, finally settling in Jubilee Alliance with Balala, Ngilu and Nyagah.
However, when the election results were announced, all former ODM Pentagon ministers mysteriously lost their seats! Was this poetic justice?
The grand coalition right from February 28, 2008 had one of the largest Cabinets in Africa considering the small population of Kenya with its modest economy.
Of the 42 Cabinet ministers, a good number of them will not see the inside of parliament when it opens later this month. The casualties of this voter ange are ministers for Justice, Foreign Affairs, Transport, Communications, Finance, Water, Roads, Regional Development, Trade, Agriculture, Local Government, Housing, Cooperatives, Heritage, Environment and Forestry and Wildlife.
Other notable losers included Martha Karua, former Justice minister , former assistant minister Wakoli BIfwoli, former assistant minister Ayiecho Olweny, lawyer Gitobu Imanyara, Joshua Kuttuny, assistant minister Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, Danson Mungatana, Kiema Kilonzo and Ekwee Ethuro from Turkana.
Incidentally most of the ministers that lost the elections were either supporters of Jubilee Alliance or came from Jubilee and Amani zones.
For example in Ukambani, Ngilu a Jubilee affiliate was the only Cabinet casualty there. In Mombasa, Ali Chirau Makwere’s closeness to Ruto and Uhuru did not save him. In Kisii, Jubilee strongman Sam Ongeri lost.
Another lot of antagonistic MPs whose stock in trade was to insult and embarrass the President and Prime Minister must have danced their legs lame on the political platform. They over performed as national clowns to the chagrin of their electorate.
This lot included Joshua Kuttuny of Cherangany, Mungatana of Garsen, Kiema Kilonzo of Kitui and his namesake Charles Kilonzo and Turkana counterpart Ethuro all of who were shown the door by the electorate.
What angered the electorate so much? One explanation is that most of the senior MPs that had for decades mismanaged national resources such as CDF, Latif, education funds, youth Funds had chosen to move up the political ladder from constituency to senate or county governments where the new constitution was allocating more resources.
Having seen how the same MPs had raided the Treasury from time to time to pay themselves lavishly while refusing to pay taxes, Kenyans chose to teach them a lesson.
Whether this lesson will deter future elected leaders from engaging in economic crimes remains to be seen. Meanwhile these fallen leaders must cool themselves under a banana stem for the next five years if they want to come back to the public arena.
However, as we wait for the outcome of the CORD petition against the IEBC election results that gave Uhuru victory; for now it would look like the results have sent Rail-a home as Mutahi Ngunyi and other high priests of Kenyan election politics predicted. If the results are overturned, we must brace ourselves for another round of grueling political contest.
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