Uhuru’s words, actions don’t depict leader assured of victory

President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House. The IEBC has gazetted him as the winner of the October 26 repeat presidential election. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Ddesperate moves by President Uhuru Kenyatta don’t portray a person confident of winning fairly and legitimately.
  • So we must ask: what does he know that we don’t?

Politicians are a baffling lot. It is often very hard to understand their motivations when they do and say some incredible things.

Most polls have consistently shown President Uhuru Kenyatta with a sizable lead in the State House race. With this lead, most rational people would adopt a benevolent statesman-like approach, aiming to win over the undecided. Most rational people would display a sense of confidence and inevitability in their campaigns, showing a steady and calm hand.

But President Kenyatta is doing the exact opposite and showing a worried, scared and angry side. His angry insults may work well with his unshakeable base but could make the undecided nervous.

Now, his insults are trained against governors who disagree with him, and who publicly expose some of the administration’s lies. Why should Governor Josphat Nanok not want his Turkana peoples to get 10 per cent of the oil wealth under their soil, especially when the region has been marginalised and forgotten from before independence to date?

Given the everyday looting of public resources by this administration, there is little doubt that reducing the proportion of benefits to the Turkana will only benefit those close to power and in Nairobi.

Remember that it was Mr Kenyatta who refused to sign the Bill allocating 10 per cent of the oil wealth to the County, so the Jubilee trolls better not recite Mr Kenyatta’s flawed argument that he does not make laws!

MORE BEWILDERING

The standoff with Governor Ali Hassan Joho of Mombasa is even more bewildering. Mr Joho corrected Mr Kenyatta’s assertion that the projects he was launching were Jubilee’s and then he debunked all the drug baron rumours by visiting the US and not getting arrested. It seems that the bold move to visit the US – thus depriving his opponents of their strongest weapon against him – ruffled President Kenyatta enough to lead him down the path of insults and abuse.

The unleashing of the Kenya Revenue Authority on Mr Joho is worse, coming after the president vowed he would teach the governor a lesson. That gets pretty close to abuse of office and a violation of the Constitution. And it is disappointing that KRA has joined the band of political tools, presently comprising of the illegal NGO Board, and the sorry Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission that are used to bludgeon and weaken political opponents.

As anyone could have predicted, this persecution of Governor Joho, including stopping his rallies – only strengthens and increases his political value. So much so that even if there are real issues that KRA could be concerned about, it will all seem like a political witch-hunt.

Mr Joho’s stock is up and he would be well advised to expand his influence to North-eastern Kenya, Eastleigh and other places where people value courage.

A FAVOUR

These institutions may think they are doing President Kenyatta a favour, but they are weakening the structure of our society, and shaking the foundations of our Constitution, which is the social contract between the State and its people. The consequence of that could be that many Kenyans will reject, by actions or omissions, and as we did with the Moi administration, the legitimacy of the State, which is always a prelude to chaos.

And then there is the bringing up of the Post-Election Violence in Kisii of all places! This is a region hosting tens of thousands of Internally Displaced People who have barely been recognised or accepted by the regime.

They have pleaded. They have protested. They have petitioned. All to no avail.

They know that a majority of their fellow IDPs displaced from Eldoret have been compensated either with cash or land. And they know that squatters evicted from Embobut Forest in Cherangany – who were not IDPs from the PEV – have been compensated. But for some unclear reason they – and their fellow IDPs in Nyanza and western regions – have been ignored.

They know who caused the deaths of their loved ones, their torture and displacement, with most of them displaced from Kericho, Nandi Hills, Limuru and other tea-growing zones.

The desperate moves by President Kenyatta don’t portray a person confident of winning fairly and legitimately. On the contrary. So we must ask: what does he know that we don’t?