Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Allow UhuRuto to work. Don’t do anything that makes them look bad

By EMEKA-MAYAKA GEKARA
Posted  Sunday, June 16   2013 at  15:25
Two men were visibly agitated at a social place the day this newspaper exposed Deputy President William Ruto’s luxurious travels.
I could overhear their conversation from the nearby table where a friend had volunteered lessons about some Indian league cricket match on the TV screen.
From their talk, you could tell that the men were Jubilee damu. One of them wondered how the government can allow the Sunday Nation to publish such a “damaging and embarrassing” story.
For them, media should be cheering the new administration and the unprecedented camaraderie of its principals. I kept my fingers crossed hoping nobody whispers to them anything about my association with the “offensive” publication. This is the tragedy of Jubilee political support.
It is Jubilee supporters who invested emotionally and materially to deliver the UhuRuto government.
An army of youth volunteers turned out to campaign, defend and vote for the ticket. It at times concerns me whether President Uhuru feels the weight of youth expectations on his leadership and promise.
Of course other Kenyans retain their right to argue that the election was an ethnic census.
Using the advantage of numbers, two big tribes herded their own to the ballot, delivered victory and asked the rest of the country to live with it.
That is politics; it’s a game of numbers. And those are some of the pitfalls of a democracy in an environment where tribalism dominates every facet of life. Nobody owes you an apology on the choices he made.
But I am more worried about accountability. Once you have invested in putting a government in place, the cheer leading ends.
You sit back and call the political leadership to account by demanding delivery of its development agenda within the pledged timelines.
Jubilee supporters are some of the biggest stakeholders in this government. But you don’t discern a realisation that it is in their interest to seek accountability and returns on investment.
There is this disturbing lack of consciousness that they have the first moral and civic duty to put UhuRuto in check.
Instead, the Jubilee supporter comes out as insecure, thin-skinned, extremely hostile to divergent view in social platforms and irritatingly sycophantic.
They are yet to cut the campaign talk and taunts. If anything, they have stepped up the vitriol.
The sycophancy of the Jubilee supporter today makes JJ Kamotho and Oloo Aringo of the Nyayo era sound like amateur court jesters.
Watching President Kenyatta for the past two months, he doesn’t strike me as particularly keen to entertain raw, shameless Kanu-era type sycophancy. I have seen him uncomfortable with foolish accolades in conferences.
One would be reluctant to reckon that the President would celebrate you for the kind of hatred and tribal chauvinism which you propagate and wear as if it were a badge of honour — all in his name.
For Heaven’s sake, get busy and let Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto work. You make them look bad.
Come on guys, you won the election but this government belongs to all Kenyans. It is also a fact that more than five million other Kenyans voted for Raila Odinga.
They, too, sing Kenya. Accept that reality and let’s move on. Respect those Kenyans who did not share your political choices but who have now settled to live with the consequences of the majority decision.
You also seem unable to live with the reality that the Supreme Court declared that Raila validly lost the election. But you seem haunted by Raila’s shadow. What with all the hysterical name calling in the social media.
Democratic competition and rules of civilised war carries a big test of maturity on the victors. You don’t step on a man when he is already down.
President Kenyatta has been magnanimous in victory. MPs from rival political sides have closed ranks in greed as you rant at perceived opponents in the social media.
A mature, focused, united and constructive crusade for political accountability by the citizenry should be the norm.
Especially when we are dealing with a Legislature that not only readily panders to the dictates of the political leadership but is also an overzealous and true servant of the Executive.
gmayaka@ke.nationmedia.com Gitau Warigi’s column resumes next week

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