Withdraw referendum drive if it is to benefit already bloated political class

After waiting so long for the Council of Governors to release the detailed proposal of the Pesa Mashinani referendum campaign, I was disappointed last week with their draft Constitutional Bill.

Right now I cannot figure out which has been more of damp squib: the governors' campaign or the separate Okoa Kenya referendum initiative driven by the opposition Cord alliance.

It appeared from the onset that both campaigns were grounded in noble objectives to protect devolution and the rights of the people, help create a more just and equitable society, and put more effective safeguards against government excesses.

However, the original objectives appear to have been abandoned and replaced by mere political posturing and power struggles.

Both the governors and the Cord referendum proposal are littered with myriad questions that amount to nothing more than bribes intended to appease members of the county assemblies at the bottom of the food chain, all the way up to the president at the top of the pile, and all other political crooks in between.

A just and noble cause cannot be fought with cheap tactics that reek of desperation and complete lack of moral scruple.

GREEDY POLITICAL CLASSES

No constitutional proposals that claim to be intended for the benefit of the people can pass muster if the amendments we are being asked to vote for will first benefit our greedy political classes in the MCAs, MPs, senators, governors and the president.

Kenyans would like to vote on a referendum that cuts the grossly obscene pay, benefits, and privileges of their political representatives and makes effective the disregarded ethics and integrity clauses that were meant to ensure that those indicted on criminal charges cannot vie for or hold leadership office.

If they want to regain the moral high ground for their referendum campaigns, Cord leader Raila Odinga and Council of Governor’s chairman Isaac Ruto must step back and revive the original justifications offered for the initiatives.

They might be thinking that it is vital to bribe politicians, whose support is needed on the campaign platform, but they must not forget that ultimately, it is the voters who carry vastly more numbers than a handful of greedy and self-serving members of the parasitic classes.

It is the responsibility of the leaders of the separate initiatives to persuade us to vote for Okoa Kenya and Pesa Mashinani rather than Okoa Wabenzi and Pesa kwa Wabenzi.

*****

This insecure and paranoid Jubilee administration is not done with trying to silence every independent voice.

After earlier bowing to pressure and backing down on anti-NGO laws, the ruling coalition is again trying to introduce curbs on civil society through legislation fronted by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s MP, Moses Kuria.

While the administration is happy to go cap-in-hand to New York, Tokyo, London, Beijing, Berlin, Paris, it wants to limit foreign funding for NGOs, many of which are vital for development in northern and eastern Kenya and other traditionally marginalised and denied schools, hospitals, piped water, electricity, and other amenities and utilities. 

It also wants to mandate that if a philanthropist wants to give to a good cause, the intention must first be scrutinised by some bureaucrat, who will determine whether it fits in with government development plans.

Looks to me like the thieving politicians trying to bring back the culture of harambee cash handouts of the Nyayo kleptocracy do not want competition.

*****

Watching Luiz Suarez during El Clásico confirmed my long-held theory that de-fanging a sportsman kills his competitive drive.

The Barcelona striker, in his first competitive match since a four-month ban for biting, displayed hints of his undoubted brilliance, but was otherwise strangely subdued, as if afraid that he might bare his fangs again.

Reminded me of Mike Tyson and Tiger Woods, who after being forced on anger-management and sex-addition therapy, respectively, came back neutered and clearly lacking the natural drive and aggression that made them such fearsome competitors.

e-mail: [email protected]. Twitter: @MachariaGaitho