Thursday, June 21, 2012

Were These Praises For Saitoti Genuine?


Were These Praises For Saitoti Genuine?

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Professor George Saitoti has finally been laid to rest. During the funeral politicians waxed themselves lyrical in praise of Saitoti. Moi, Raila, Kalonzo, Orengo, Karua and Ntimama seemed bent on outdoing each other in praise of Saitoti. President Kibaki proved why he, not the rest of the choir is President by challenging them to walk the talk and not simply say nice words about the fallen Professor.
The praise, claims and counter claims of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with George Saitoti were simply out of place. Moi stated a few days ago that he was supporting Saitoti for the Presidency. Now both Kalonzo and Raila claim the Professor had signed an MOU with them before he died. Was the professor double dealing them or are these politicians being typical to their character? Were they genuine or were they just shooting from the hip. One thing that came out clearly is that these fellows all tried to play the character Brutus in Shakespeare’s play ‘ Julius Caesar.’
As I listened to the speeches at Saitoti’s funeral I could only hear Mark Anthony’s warning as he addressed the gathering at Caesar’s funeral. He said: "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones. He was my friend, faithful and just to me. But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome, Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man..." Mark Anthony’s funeral orations after the murder of emperor Caesar in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.
In the play, Brutus and his cronies stabbed Julius Caesar because he stood in their way politically. At Caesar’s funeral, Brutus and his gang praised Caesar and acted like his most ardent supporters. How ironic?
Though I can hardly be likened to the valiant Mark Anthony, the consonance of political rhetoric surrounding Saitoti’s mourning resonates much with these lines from Julius Caesar. As I watched former President Moi condole with the late Professor George Saitoti’s wife on Wednesday I could not help but hear Brutus praising Caesar at the back of my mind. Moi spoke softly of how he was helping Saitoti clinch the Presidency of Kenya. Dead people do not tell tales but if Professor Saitoti were to rise from the dead he most probably would give another “There comes a time when the nation is more important than an individual…” speech.
President Moi’s timing was horrible as it came even before the departed Professor’s remains got cold. Moi, once again reminded everyone that he is not about to give up his control over Saitoti even in death. His words were either a product of selective amnesia or a deliberate act of rubbing it in.
Just ten years prior Moi made it crystal clear that he believed in Saitoti as his “foot soldier” but did not have confidence that the Professor had what it takes to lead the country. He humiliated him publicly at Kasarani in 2002 saying thus “ Huyu Profesa ni rafiki yangu lakini urafiki na uongozi ni tofauti. What has changed since. Similarly, both Orengo and Raila were known to have been the greatest crusaders of “hang Saitoti” clarion calls while he was alive. Ole Ntimama on the other hand never really accepted Saitoti as a Maasai yet he was waxing himself on Saturday. Perhaps the only genuine friends of Saitoti giving funeral services were Francis ole Kaparo, Sally Kosgey and Kalonzo Musyoka.
It is pointless to belabor the fact that President Moi humiliated Professor Saitoti on more than one occasion. Moi had Saitoti contradict himself on an attempted assassination through food poisoning in 1990. Years later, Moi would reappoint and dismiss Saitoti as veep casually on the roadside. These and other instances are not characteristics of a friendship as Moi would want us to believe. Rather the relationship between Moi and Saitoti was a master-servant relationship at its best.
It is taboo in all African societies to talk ill of the dead. Saitoti may have left lots of skeletons in the closet but this is not the time to enumerate them. Human beings attend their departed friends and foes wakes and funerals for all sorts of reasons. Some do it to fit in while others do it because they are truly mourning the dead. Yet, others may wail the loudest and take the front seat at their arch enemy’s funeral just to make sure that they are dead for real. Let us give Moi the benefit of the doubt and assume that his loss is as “heartfelt” as he claims.
Let bygones be bygones but people have a duty to respect the dead. Moi might have taken the initiative to redeem himself and make peace with the Professor’s remains before his burial. Whatever the case, Moi, Orengo, Raila, Uhuru and company played Shakespeare’s Brutus at Saitoti’s funeral. Like Mark Anthony I must say “We should have buried Saitoti, not praised him.”
Timothy Kabera who is based in Washington comments on topical issues.

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