Why President Kibaki should be called to order

The King liked him and made him a general. Hearing this success, a man called Meng decided to follow suit. He sent his two sons to pursue knowledge and war.

The first expounded his teachings at the court of ‘‘Chi’’ and performed with distinction. But the King was anxious and insecure at the time. His cleverness made him sound like a dissident. Instead of making him a tutor, therefore, the King had him castrated. The second son displayed his military genius at the court of “Wei”. The King was very impressed.

But he argued that his kingdom was weak and if he relied on force instead of diplomacy, he would be swept out. And if he did not give the boy a job, this genius soldier would offer his services to other states and cause his kingdom a lot of trouble. So the King had his legs cut off. Both Mr Shih and Mr Meng did the same thing with their sons.

However, one had the right timing, while the other had his timing all wrong. President Kibaki is probably doing the right things, but his timing is all wrong. Like the case of Meng, his political ‘‘boys’’ will be castrated and their legs cut off. More so, if he fails to read the spirit of the times. And, currently, the spirit is hostile and the national mood is foul!

The second matter on which we must serve notice is practical. If the President has abdicated to ‘‘Mungiki types’’ and ‘‘Annan types,’’ we must raise capability questions.
More fundamentally, we must ask this question: Can we go on like this for another four years?

In my view, we cannot. The President should take charge. And if he does not, someone will.

No, he should actually dissolve Parliament and call for snap elections. A fresh election will resolve all our problems. It will render Mr Annan and his accord irrelevant.
And if we manage it well, it will give us the fresh beginning we crave as a country.

However, is President Kibaki nationalistic enough to do this? I doubt it. But who knows, maybe he is!

mutahi@myself.com