More than meets the eye in ongoing NYS changes
What you need to know:
- It is of great public concern that although the NYS is being transformed into a paramilitary agency, it is not subject to control by official security organs such as the Police Service.
- The Tontons were everywhere during the rigged 1961 Haitian elections, in which Duvalier was re-elected for another term. They appeared again at the 1964 polls in which Duvalier staged a rigged referendum that declared him President for life.
- An official document prepared by a known local political analyst, who was reportedly hired to propose the restructuring of NYS, reportedly relied on the operational organisation of the Mungiki gang, including activities such as oathing and pseudo-religion.
In late 2013, Kenyans received official communication from the Jubilee Government that the erstwhile civilian oriented National Youth Service (NYS) was being transformed into a paramilitary organisation complete with its own security firm to provide security services for hire.
Further, other suspect changes were rapidly effected. Such changes include unprocedural appointment of a new director-general, a huge budgetary allocation way above that of regular security organs such as Administration Police, Regular Police, etc.
Of particular interest was the transfer of NYS from the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Devolution, the enhanced interest of the Office of the President in NYS, the vested interests of the Chinese Government in the promised activities of the revamped NYS, and the glaring lack of legal mechanisms as well as Parliamentary approval to underpin the restructuring of the NYS.
COMMISSION OF INQUIRY
It is of great public concern that although the NYS is being transformed into a paramilitary agency, it is not subject to control by official security organs such as the Police Service. Equally, the necessity of its paramilitary nature is not clear nor the post-training deployment of NYS trainees.
Following the 2007/8 post-election violence which was traced, as per the reports of the Commission of Inquiry into Post Election Violence and the Kriegler Inquiry, to the illegal activities and assignments given to the AP, suspicion is mounting that part of the ruling clique has redesigned the NYS to camouflage political activities to be carried out by the organisation in the 2017 General Election.
Thus, in the wake of suspect developments at the NYS and also in the context of the turbulent nature of Kenya’s presidential polls, it is instructive to draw parallels to the establishment in Haiti in 1959 of Tontons Macoutes – a paramilitary organisation – by President Francois ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier and the aftermath of that action. Papa Doc created the paramilitary force two years after he became President. The Tontons Macoutes was only answerable to him since he perceived a threat to his regime from the regular armed forces.
He authorised the Tontons Macoutes to commit systematic violence and horrendous human rights abuses in order to suppress political opposition. The Tontons were responsible for murders and sexual abuses in Haiti. Political opponents often disappeared overnight or were sometimes attacked in broad daylight.
SUPERNATURAL AUTHORITY
The Tontons stoned and burned people alive. Sometimes they displayed the corpses of their victims for everyone to see and to serve as a deterrent to the opposition. The unrestrained state sanctioned terrorism by Tontons was accompanied by corruption, extortion and personal aggrandisement among the leadership. Analysts estimate that the Tontons Macoutes murdered more than 60,000 Haitians.
Some of the most important members of the Tontons Macoutes were voodoo leaders. This affiliation gave the Macoutes a kind of supernatural authority in the eyes of the public.
The Tontons were everywhere during the rigged 1961 Haitian elections, in which Duvalier was re-elected for another term. They appeared again at the 1964 polls in which Duvalier staged a rigged referendum that declared him President for life.
Already, it seems that a section of the Jubilee leadership has realised that the 2017 polls might prove too tough for them to rig and have, therefore, redesigned the NYS to serve as a camouflage for effecting rigging the Tontons Macoutes style.
First, by endearing them to the public through community-based activities; secondly, by training them on combat skills for violent activities; thirdly, by training them on rigging techniques and preparing them to work for IEBC at the 2017 polls; fourthly, providing them with military uniform to instill fear amongst the public.
An official document prepared by a known local political analyst, who was reportedly hired to propose the restructuring of NYS, reportedly relied on the operational organisation of the Mungiki gang, including activities such as oathing and pseudo-religion.
The writer is a management consultant based in Nairobi: Ahmednasir’s column resumes next week
