A fortnight ago, I argued in this column that the massive outburst of rejoicing in Central Kenya and the upper Rift Valley upon Uhuru Kenyatta being declared the duly elected president of Kenya, was premature (Halt the party: it is not yet Uhuru – March 14th 2013).
My point was that those celebrating seemed to be unaware, that we had entered a new era, in which presidential elections could be invalidated by the Supreme Court. And that it was only prudent to wait until the Supreme Court had pronounced on the question of whether or not Uhuru Kenyatta had been properly elected the fourth president of Kenya.
Last week, I felt obliged to emphasize that if the decision by the Supreme Court led to a fresh presidential election it was by no means obvious that the result of that election would be materially the same. (Raila sure to gain in fresh elections – March 21st 2013).
In this case, my argument was that there was clearly a profound cleavage in the nation’s politics; and that in the event of fresh elections, each of the two leading candidates, Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga, could expect to get almost all the votes in their strongholds, and virtually none in the rival voting blocs.
As such, if indeed unprecedented turnout is what had led to Uhuru’s victory, then he had effectively reached his peak in terms of potential total votes. While Raila could substantially raise his final tally if he were able to rouse his core support zones to the kind of turnout that Uhuru’s regional stronghold zones had managed.
So much for the words of caution to the Jubilee Coalition.
This week I would like to address the Cord Alliance supporters, specifically on the matter that seems to me to be quite perplexing: the irrational resentment and fear of an Uhuru presidency that sometimes rears its head in online discussion forums.
I do not know if this kind of view permeates all the way down to the rural grassroots where the majority of voters live. But it is clearly present in many minds.
The odd thing is, there is really no mystery about Uhuru Kenyatta: he has been in public life for about 15 years now, and that is long enough to reveal what we may expect of him, in his new role as president.
Most significant is that he is no dyed-in the-wool tribalist: and any allegation that Uhuru is committed to an agenda of indefinite Kikuyu hegemony, is pure nonsense.
You only need consider that as recently as the 2005 referendum, Uhuru was to be found with the "Orange" (No) side which successfully carried the day. This happened at a time when President Mwai Kibaki had led all of Central Kenya into the “Banana” (Yes) side of the political divide in support of the “new constitution” of that time.
There are very few top politicians in Kenya, who have shown this willingness to oppose the position held by a great majority of their tribesmen.
Secondly, I think far too much has been made of Uhuru riding around in presidential limousines and official aircraft, while yet he is only president-elect. I think critics forget that Kenya has an army of occupation settled in Somalia; and that the Al-Shabaab militia that formerly ruled large parts of that country, has vowed to strike back. In the circumstances, it is only appropriate that in matters of security, the president-elect should receive just as much protection as the president himself.
But no less significant is what we have seen of Uhuru in the days since the IEBC declared him the legally elected president of Kenya.
Of course, there are always undercurrents in politics which we ordinary Kenyans are not aware of. But as far as I can judge, Uhuru has been actively reaching out to Kenyans from all corners of the country, and proposes to set up an inclusive government.
And I would add that unlike Kibaki who at one stage seemed to be ambivalent about a second term in office, Uhuru almost certainly dreams of a second term. Preferably one preceded by as clear cut a victory as that which Kibaki achieved in 2002.
What does all this mean?
Simply that whether you voted for Uhuru or not, you have nothing to fear from him.
The president-elect is an easygoing guy, who craves the affection of his fellow-Kenyans; and sooner or later, he will be asking for our votes again.
As such, he has no choice, but to be fair to all of us.
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