How Uhuru took Raila’s bait in corruption spat

President Uhuru Kenyatta doesn’t often get enough credit for his easygoing mannerisms in public that tend to make everyone around him feel comfortable.

The authentically African firm handshakes and the free laughter contrast sharply with the snobbish body language of his predecessor, Mwai Kibaki, whose struggle with humour somehow made his favourite ‘mafi ya kuku’ put-downs sound less vulgar. Or former President Daniel arap Moi’s stiff neck and stone face.

But Mr Kenyatta is also given to the occasional mood swing, from one extreme to the other. So one time he might be laughing his heart out while watching a Gospel artiste perform, and the next time he is letting rip at the microphone.

The problem for the President is that the few moments he loses his cool tend to expose – even magnify – his deep-seated personal insecurities and vulnerabilities.

Away from the highly entertaining American political drama which ended with them electing a mad dog president last Wednesday, the most memorable scene on Kenyan national television this past week has to be the moment Mr Kenyatta went hammer and tongs against Opposition leader Raila Odinga during a Jubilee Party meeting in Nairobi.

Mr Odinga, who scuttled Mr Kenyatta’s first presidential bid in 2002 and lost to him in 2013, has a history of getting under his rival’s skin. The two are also scions of Kenya’s biggest political dynasties whose feuds date back to the 1960s.

PUBLIC REACTION

The only difference this time around is the level of media scrutiny and the public reaction Mr Kenyatta’s recent personal attack on the Opposition leader generated.

Of course, a lot of people still think the President came off as way too angry for a man of his status.

But that is no big deal; he is human after all. The issue is why he appeared so angry.

He alluded to the many corruption scandals Mr Odinga has lately sought to link the Jubilee government to. But that doesn’t tell the whole story given the indifferent manner his Jubilee administration has treated accusations of corruption over the past four years.

To understand the President’s latest fit of anger one has to look back to the moment in 2009 when as Finance minister he threw tantrums publicly over the ‘computer error’ controversy.

The lesson from the ‘computer error’ debacle is that Mr Kenyatta will always come out fighting ferociously whenever accusations of graft hit close.

And it is a personal vulnerability Mr Odinga is only too aware of and is happy to exploit.

In his latest tiff with Mr Kenyatta, the ODM party leader saw an opportunity to link the President’s kin to the Ministry of Health scandal and the controversial water dam projects in Murang’a and Kuresoi to the Kenyatta family business interests.

Mr Odinga took his chance, and the President took the bait.

Otieno Otieno is chief sub-editor, Business Daily. [email protected]. @otienootieno