Kenyan politics and charlatans who owe nothing to any ideology

There is no doubt that the main opposition grouping is experiencing a serious haemorrhage as the countdown begins towards a General Election just over one year away.

Cord, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy, is reeling under orchestrated defections of key figures in its western, eastern and coastal Kenya strongholds, and its leaders are crying foul.
Opposition chief Raila Odinga, who heads the dominant ODM party, and his coalition partners Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper) and Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya) have every right to be suspicious that the decamping members of Parliament and other leaders have fallen prey to inducement from the Jubilee coalition.

After all, the culture of political prostitution is deeply ingrained in Kenya. Former President Daniel arap Moi was particularly adept at opening the wallets in order to decimate opposition ranks.

In President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto, the governing Jubilee alliance has keen students who learnt the darker arts of politics at the feet of the master of the game.

One key lesson from the Moi era is that those in power never use their own money to finance their political manoeuvres. They have ready access to unlimited cash from the public purse, diverted from health, education, agriculture, infrastructure and other basic needs to line campaign coffers. And of course with such stolen funds, the bigger portions will go directly into private pockets.

Another key lesson, which many tend to close their eyes to, is that politicians who agree to be bought are treated with contempt even by their purchasers. After all, no one wants to bring a harlot into the house. It is use and dump.

Mr Moi explained this very well in the mid-1990s when he was asked about some unfulfilled promises on having poached veteran opposition John Keen from the side of then opposition leader, future President Mwai Kibaki.

“When wooing a girl, you can promise her the heaven and the earth”, he told a political rally Kajiado, “but once she is safely ‘in the pocket’ you don’t have to keep any more promises”. Something to that effect.

Well, persons of easy virtue think of “the here the now, the pickings for today”.

But as much as they wail and gnash their teeth, Mr Odinga and company have no evidence that dirty money has been used to poach from their ranks.

The other thing is that they have little grounds on which to complain, for they willingly consorted with nefarious, unprincipled characters who were sure to sooner or later put themselves on the market.

SELFISH GOALS

And that is the tragedy of Kenyan politics. It is populated by charlatans who owe nothing to any ideology, principle, programme or moral standpoint.

There was a time when the opposition was seen to stand for high principles and ideals in the struggle against dictatorship and kleptocracy.

Today, there is hardly anything to distinguish between the government and the opposition. All are driven by nothing more than the pure competition for power.

The Kenyan political animal will kill, loot, rape and plunder to achieve his selfish goals that amount to nothing.

Even those who claim to stand as champions and defenders of their people, their communities, their tribes — and I use this term deliberately — will trample on this very same constituents on their ascent to power.

Those mindless souls who cheer on ethnic chiefs and obey commands to take up arms against other communities are no more than cannon fodder.

Today, we are at the mercy of a coalition of ethnic chieftains who will be ready to use every dirty trick in the book to retain power.

But the fact is that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto have activated very precise game plans to ensure they secure a second term, while the opposition chiefs continue to flounder around like headless chicken.

Their ranks are confused, disjointed, divided, disorganised, offering little evidence that they are ready for a serious stab at the 2017 elections.

No wonder then that so many rats have started to jump out of what looks like a sinking ship.

Unless the Cord leaders and their constituent parties get themselves organised, they will continue to suffer many more defections.

And they will have no cause to complain if decimated at the polls in 13 months to come.

[email protected] @MachariaGaitho