With all your arrogance, Mutua, you had it coming

The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) CEO Ezekiel Mutua addresses a press conference at Uchumi House in Nairobi on May 23, 2016. He is proof that in Kenya, you do not need to be remarkably brilliant, well-educated and eloquent to hold high office. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Ezekiel Mutua is the quintessential government fat cat sitting in an air-conditioned office thanks to taxpayers’ money and belching loudly on social media.
  • He lacks the grit and emotional intelligence necessary for a man entrusted with one of Kenya’s youngest industries (film).

Dear Ezekiel Mutua, pride comes before a fall!

For a man so petulant and with no talent to write home about, Ezekiel Mutua is doing very well for himself.

He is proof that in Kenya, you do not need to be remarkably brilliant, well-educated and eloquent to hold high office.

You just need the wherewithal to sail through to the highest government offices.

Mutua represents everything that is wrong with the Kenyan society today.

How we reward people like Mutua to wear the tag of “moral policeman” like a badge of honour, while he really is the poster child for the rot in our public service.

How people are handed opportunities in high public office not for their skill or brilliance, but for their political connections and “regional balance”.

Ezekiel Mutua is the quintessential government fat cat sitting in an air-conditioned office thanks to taxpayers’ money and belching loudly on social media.

It’s been a while since Kenyans witnessed such astonishing levels of arrogance from a government official of his calibre.

For a public servant to gloat so blatantly on social media about his undeserved diplomatic passport, and for him to swagger his opulent globetrots on Facebook, is to insult the hard work of millions of poor Kenyans who are bankrolling his lifestyle with their tax money.

Mutua possesses the spectacular gift of burning to the ground every opportunity handed to him.

His years in public office have been riddled with social media braggadocio, attention-seeking theatrics and selfies at VIP lounges.

As the information secretary, he did nothing much to prove his worth and the few years he has been at the helm of the Kenya Film Classification Board he has only selfies to show for it.

What exactly does Mutua do in his day job, seeing as he spends most of his time on Facebook and blocking Twitter users who question his moves?

His work has remained largely untouched and it is clear for all to see; the Kenyan film industry is struggling while Mexican and Nigerian Naija soaps dominate in many TV stations.

All the while, the man in charge is busy taking pictures of his irregular diplomatic passport and signing off his Facebook posts with “Praise be to God”.

Mutua is indubitably not public service material.

HYPOCRISY

He lacks the grit and emotional intelligence necessary for a man entrusted with one of Kenya’s youngest industries (film).

He is a PR-driven character, a drama queen and an amateur bon vivant who is occupied with the trappings of public office.

He basks and thrives in the attention that comes from trending on Twitter and deserves to be on the public service scrapheap.

But his grip and so-called power is receding faster than his hairline.

His exhibitionism has cost him the diplomatic passport and on behalf of Kenyans, I would like to commend the Immigration Department for acting swiftly and withdrawing his undeserved passport.

Kenyans have more pressing matters to attend to rather than listen to a man who has been accused of withholding TV sets meant for awarding exceptional journalists (he claims the sets were returned to the suppliers, Samsung, where the winners were supposed to collect them).

This ignominious public display of Mutua must stop.

If you are Mutua’s friend, please translate this for him to Kiswahili. You are 49, not 19. It is time to drop the theatrics and act like a man your age.

Apologise to long-suffering Kenyans who have put up with your antics on social media.

Telling us about your going to San Francisco, where gay rights first took root before spreading to the rest of the US and the world, the very same rights you scorn here at home, smacks of hypocrisy.

As you sign off today’s Facebook post with “Praise be to God!” I suggest you join a prosperity gospel church near you because I think you would be a perfect fit.