Why Kenyans have little to hope for in Kaparo’s pledge to fight hate-mongers

By all means, Mr Kaparo, go right ahead and name those criminals who will not let Kenyans have any peace. This task will become even more urgent when the ambitions of warmongers become uncontrollable in the run-up to the next General Election.

But like many other cynics, I am not waiting with bated breath. I am convinced that at this time next year, those fellows will still be making great trouble for everyone else.

The trouble is, there is very little that Mr Kaparo and his outfit, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), can do about it.

According to the commission, politicians are sponsoring armed violence and promoting hatred between various ethnic groups in the pastoral lands. “We cannot continue to be captives of politicians and warlords perpetrating violence in the name of cattle-rustling,” thundered Mr Kaparo in high pique.

Indeed, but beyond naming these malefactors, what else? What kind of immunity from the law do they enjoy?

It has long been rumoured that the people actually responsible for keeping a huge swathe of this country ungovernable are those who buy guns from the lawless territories to our north and arm bands of militia to wreak havoc among fellow Kenyans.

But apparently these warlords have proved untouchable. Could it be they are devilishly clever at covering their tracks or do they reign unmolested with the active connivance of senior security officers on the take? These are questions that need to be asked and answered if insecurity is to be addressed.

Perhaps these criminals thrive because, as Mr Kaparo surmised, police officers who are supposed to secure our neighbourhoods are fast asleep. But what remains unsaid is that the NCIC itself is moribund, a toothless bulldog that cannot even push for the prosecution of people who openly incite others or use hate speech as a political tool.

There are good reasons for cynicism. A couple of months ago, after a particularly nasty massacre in Garissa, a senior legislator went public to proclaim that he and his fellow leaders would name those people in his county supporting terrorism, and even gave them a deadline, presumably so that they can give up their evil ways. Well, Majority Leader Aden Duale has not fulfilled his promise to date.

There is also the (in)famous List of Shame released by the President. As far as I know, nobody has been successfully prosecuted over corruption or incitement to violence. Even if it happens some day, chances are that matters will drag on in the law courts for eons, thanks to obstructionist tricks used by sleek lawyers to defeat the ends of justice.

One of our problems is that too many constitutional institutions have outlived their usefulness, or they have been emasculated to the point that they are just a waste of public funds. Nobody is disputing that the NCIC commissioners are doing a useful job. But it is time we started asking whether some of these institutions should not be allowed to wither away.

Let me put it this way. Even if Mr Kaparo gathers the courage to identify the mass murderers of the north, it is doubtful that a commission with no prosecution powers will achieve anything. Peace and security can never be guaranteed until the financiers of mayhem are apprehended and put behind bars for lengthy periods.

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Poor Anne Waiguru; looks like she can never do anything right. The gentlefolk of Kibra have been doing without toilets for eons and so when they get one open to the public as part of a slum upgrade project, they decide it is an affront to their sensibilities and they must teach the Cabinet secretary a lesson for undermining Cord leader Raila Odinga. So they hit upon the brilliant plan of reducing the toilet, and a new dispensary, to ashes.

Reminds me of reports that at the height of the post-election violence, some people vandalised the Kenya-Uganda railway line to teach Uganda’s President Museveni a lesson for supporting President Kibaki, and then went to wait for the train the following morning. There really is no end to madness.

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