Why President Kibaki should be called to order

Sometimes I miss Mzee Moi. Honestly. He did not revive the economy or give us ‘‘posh politics’’ like President Kibaki has. But, in his simple ways, he held the country together.

Even Mungiki was scared of Moi. Not as commander-in-chief, but as Moi. The reverse is true of President Kibaki. He is commander-in-chief, alright, but Mungiki is beheading peasants in his Othaya home turf.

Just this week, two people were executed a few meters from State House, where the President sleeps. But this is not all.

Three weeks ago, some UN professor showed up. Together with his international ‘‘sisters’’, this foreigner lectured us on good political manners.

Around the same time, Mr Kofi Annan summoned the two principals to Geneva through his assistant. Then he dismissed as ‘‘political nonsense’’ the proposal by some MPs to have a modified tribunal. In sum, we have been invaded.

And what is more: the President has abdicated his role to the “Mungiki types” and the “Annan types”. It is free for all, and we are on our own!

But there is one more thing: The President sank to his lowest this week. When he called a press conference at State House, I was curious. Then he spoke. I was embarrassed beyond words.

And my reasons were two. One, the matter he addressed was irrelevant. It is not in the Constitution, has nothing to do with his oath of office or his role as commander-in-chief. What is more: we do not want to know, and we do not care.

If Mr Paul Muite accused him of having two wives, this has nothing to do with IDPs and the price of unga. I was embarrassed by how low he had sunk: That at 77, going on 80, he would pick a fight with Mr Muite over such a matter.

Reverse argument

Now, and on my second point, I need to reverse the argument. The President is a devoted family man.
He feels deeply for his family and protects it. The only time he gets emotional is when his family is under siege. I was embarrassed by how weak he looked at the press conference.

And, in my view, we should respect his personal space. In fact, Mr Muite would do well to back off. Doing a fight with the President over his love life will not win him a Nobel Peace Prize.

Similarly, it diverts attention from urgent national matters. But if we give the President his space, we must also note the following: his devotion to Kenya is zero.

If he can show such devotion to family, he is capable of showing devotion to the IDPs and the country at large. But if he continues on the “abdication route”, we will serve him notice on two matters.

One, he told us that he was in a foul mood. Well, the country is also in a foul mood. In fact, holding an irrelevant press conference as Mungiki attacked us aggravated our moods. What is more: he is not reading the moods.

And this is the tragedy of President Kibaki. He does not seem to read the spirit of the times! Nothing illustrates this better than a story I have told before by Lieh Tzu in The Chinese Looking Glass.

This was about a man by the name of Shih and his two boys. One loved learning, the other loved war. And so the father took the first son to the court of ‘‘Chi’’ where he excelled in his search for knowledge.

The King was very pleased and made him a tutor. The second son was taken to the court of ‘‘Chu’’ where he learnt war and strategy.

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