As President, Uhuru has a duty to account for his record

Although he was officially on the presidential election ballot, few Kenyans had ever heard of Mr Eliud Muthiora Kariara until Monday night, when he bravely strode out as the sole participant in the depleted TV debate for second tier running mates.

With the other expected debaters opting out, Mr Kariara became an instant celebrity, taking full advantage of his 90 minutes alone on the podium to address a curious national TV audience on a wide variety of issues.

In the end, it is likely that many of those who had dismissed the debate as a total failure following no- shows by the other five minor candidate had been won over.

If social media chatter is anything to go by, by Mr Kariara earned plaudits for just showing up and taking the stage alone to field queries from moderators and members of the audience.

Many had been arguing that with all the other candidates snubbing the debate, it would have been better to scrap it altogether but the decision by Debates Media Ltd—the consortium of media houses behind the presidential debates—to go ahead even with only one candidate, seems to have worked.

A virtually unknown Mr Kariara earned his 90 minutes of free airtime on national television and is now even better known than his presidential candidate, Japheth Kavinga.

The other five running mates, by contrast, are seen to have spurned on a golden opportunity to introduce themselves to the voters, explain their platforms and why they deserve a chance.

That might also apply to the ones who chose to skip the top two face-off for the leading candidates, Deputy President William Ruto, who is President Uhuru Kenyatta’s running mate on the Jubilee ticket, and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, who is paired with Mr Raila Odinga carrying the National Super Alliance, or Nasa, flag.

If Mr Ruto and Mr Kalonzo now have reason to be concerned that they might be seen to have chickened out, focus now will turn to whether their respective principals, President Kenyatta and challenger Odinga, will similarly avoid the opportunity to open themselves to public scrutiny on the televised debate.

Contrary to the excuses offered, both camps were fully apprised of the debate by the organisers. Their campaign secretariats were briefed on the proposed dates, the debate format and the ground rules.

PUBLIC SCRUTINY

The main concern shared by both camps was that the two main candidates should not be forced to share the stage with a bunch of fringe contenders. That was why the debate was split into two, one for the candidates who garnered at least five per cent of the projected vote in an opinion poll, and another for the rest.

President Kenyatta was the first to pull out of the debate, pleading that his campaign had not been properly consulted, but that was after the head of communications had confirmed on a television show, NTV’s PressPass, that he would participate. A presidential security team had even inspected the debate venue.

After the President pulled out, Mr Odinga too beat a retreat, citing similar grounds such as inadequate consultation and lack of clarity over the format.  The majority of second tier candidates also pulled out citing discriminatory treatment.

After witnessing the impact the solo appearance had for Mr Kariara, chances are that the second-tier presidential candidates whose running mates skipped the event on Monday will now make a beeline for their own debate next Monday, July 24.

The big question is whether Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga will bother to make their way to the Catholic University of Eastern Africa venue.

In the run-up to the first debate, Mr Odinga’s spokesman, Salim Lone, said that the Nasa candidate was now ready to take part, but only if the President was also there and ready to face him, accusing his rival of dodging public scrutiny because he could not defend his term in office.

MANY HARDLINERS

President Kenyatta’s response, through the communications chief in the Deputy President’s office, David Mugonyi, was to accuse Mr Odinga of grandstanding and issuing ultimatums to try and force the President’s participation. He insisted that the President would not be railroaded into the debate.

If that obdurate stance holds, Mr Odinga might well do a Kariara and hog 90 minutes of live TV spotlights on his own.  There is still a chance, though, that the President might turn up. In the run-up to the 2013 presidential debate, his campaign team employed similar hardball tactics but eventually relented.

At that time, however, Mr Kenyatta was not the President and now there are many hardliners in his inner circle who argue that he would lower his standing by debating challengers for his office. There are also fears that as the incumbent, he would be the one under most pressure to account for his time in office.

But there are also optimists who have confidence that the President is a competent debater and need not be afraid of going head-to-head against Mr Odinga. This is the camp that believes President Kenyatta would have more to gain by taking part in the debate than by skipping the opportunity to defend his record and outline his plans for a second term.

If the optimists prevail, President Kenyatta will turn up next Monday.

Email: [email protected] Twitter: @MachariaGaitho