Had CS Amina won, we would have exported impunity to AU

Leaders welcome Amina Mohamed (left), the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, to her luncheon at InterContinental Nairobi Hotel on February 1, 2017. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Only a few months ago, the Jubilee administration was lecturing us about sovereignty.

  • The argument was that Kenya is a sovereign country and must remain free of marauding imperialists.

  • Unfortunately, sovereignty is a double-edged sword.

The word patriotism has been bandied around too much this past week. Based on the assumption that not supporting Amina Mohamed’s bid for chairperson of the African Union Commission was unpatriotic, some social media enthusiasts have accused anyone critical of this bid of lacking in patriotism. But what does patriotism mean?

Chinua Achebe wrote a little book titled The Trouble with Nigeria. In it, he defined patriotism in the Nigerian context: “Who is a patriot? He is a person who loves his country. He is a not a person who says he loves his country. He is not even a person who shouts or swears or recites or sings his love of his country. He is one who cares deeply about the happiness and well-being of his country and all its people.” Shouldn’t this put paid to the noisy but uncritical reference to patriotism?

“Patriotism” Achebe continues, “Is an emotion of love directed by a critical intelligence. A true patriot will always demand the highest standards of his country and accept nothing but the best for and from his people. He will be outspoken in condemnation of their short-comings without giving way to superiority, despair or cynicism.”

There are many questions one can ask about the patriotism that suddenly mobilised around the Amina campaign. One question is whether Amina was the best candidate for the chair? I explored this question in two previous columns and demonstrated that she was not. And even though my preferred candidate didn’t win, the fact that the constellation of forces of impunity organised around the Kenyan campaign also failed was a good verdict. For if these forces had won, Kenyan citizens would henceforth be blamed for everything going wrong in Addis Ababa.

KENYA'S WORST

Yet, there is no denying that impunity was organising around this candidature and if successful, we would have exported the worst of Kenya to the African Union. In any case, as we got closer to the vote, it became clear that Mohamed was more a candidate representing a cabal within the Jubilee government than a candidate representing the best of Kenya. This became clearer as she defended Jubilee on matters that are indefensible were she a person whose conscience was synchronised with our constitution and its integrity clauses. Particularly unforgivable was her insensitively dismissive attitude when asked about rampant corruption or her views on the internment of ethnic Somali at Safaricom Stadium Kasarani.

But what has been more disappointing is the reaction to the loss. Amina Mohamed called for interrogation of neighbours who did not vote for us while her supporters subsequently discovered "patriotism", a word they use with such carelessness one wonders if it has meaning at all. Many of them think that it is patriotic to support a fellow citizen even if you do not share the basics of what makes both of you citizens. For me, the measure of patriotism must remain the stipulations of our constitution. When fidelity to the constitution is lacking, patriotism has little meaning.

Even more surprising are those Kenyans who, I used to think, understand the notion of accept and move on. They are now finding out how tough it is to accept the outcome of an electoral process and move on. But on this one, they must accept and move on. No interrogation of a ‘friendly neighbouring country’ will ensue.

Only a few months ago, the Jubilee administration was lecturing us about sovereignty. The argument was that Kenya is a sovereign country and must remain free of marauding imperialists. Unfortunately, sovereignty is a double-edged sword. It cuts both ways. If you invoke the sovereign card to defend your interest, you must also allow sovereign countries to vote as they please even if they promised you a minute before the vote that they will vote your candidate. Sovereignty cushions one country to lie to another with impunity.

Godwin R. Murunga teaches at the University of Nairobi.