Dress down the military and put them in charge to democratise

Loneliness is the worst form of poverty, and Kenya risks falling into irredeemable democratic deficiency by refusing to follow the example of numerous other states on the African continent.

Excepting a handful countries, African military men have been shedding their jungle fatigues for a civilian dress to camouflage their toughness in embracing democracy and progress.

Early bloomers like Ghana and Nigeria have turned the absorption of the security services in civilian administration into an art form, all to great success.

All around, Kenya is surrounded by neighbours reaping the benefits of strong leadership with a military background. South Sudan has Gen Salva Kiir, Sudan Gen Omar el Bashir and Eritrea Isaias Aferworki to the north; with Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda to the east.

MILITARY RULERS

Uganda has had a galaxy of military rulers, crowned by Yoweri Museveni who has transitioned successfully to civilian life complete as a renowned cattle keeper.

Although Tanzania is not ruled by a man in uniform, the whiff of security hangs in the State House air after the departure of  former spy chief Jakaya Kikwete.

Edgar Lungu, another former spy chief, is now boss in Zambia. Next door in Zimbabwe, Army boss Constantino Chiwenga is Vice President after protecting the protestors who removed dictator Robert Mugabe from power. It was a page ripped straight out of the Arab Spring, which saw Egypt and Tunisia change government through peaceful protest as the military watched. Gen al Sisi is in charge in Egypt.

Older versions like Joseph Kabila, scion of Laurent Kabila who marched on Kinshasa with boys in wellingtons, are gently transitioning to competitive politics.

JAMMEH

The battles in the Central African Republic confirm that the Gambia was only trying to deny its DNA by booting out Yahya Jammeh, but in the end it took the presence of a Senegalese force for the defeated former military ruler to leave political power.

The same can be said of a basketful of forgettable republics held together by the glue of military discipline and a firm leadership hand such as Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Madagscar, Seychelles and Togo. The less said about Djibouti, Chad, Morocco and Algeria, the better for African solidarity.

Willie Esterhuyse’s End Game reveals  the behind the scenes negotiations that gave South Africa its first democratic government, complete with the intimate involvement of the security intelligence and military leadership. Botswana, another shining example of democracy, has a former commander of the defence forces  at the helm.

CONFLICT

About 10 years ago, when Kenya was gripped by the paroxysms of violent conflict, Rwandese President Paul Kagame, himself a former general, suggested that the nonsense could be ended through military intervention. More recently, the ruling party has done all in its power to ensure that former military people are happy and don’t go to seed. A military man runs the intelligence service and another the immigration department. Clearly, that is not enough to deliver democracy and progress.

Only last year in the grip of another anxiety over whether or not there would be an election on October 26 2017 in Kenya, the often taciturn General Samson Mwathethe settled the matter at a funeral by stating that he had observed war at close range in numerous quarters, and that as a result, there would be an election as planned.

All over the continent, men and women in uniform charged with protecting the territorial integrity of their nations have a higher stake in their countries than ordinary ignorant citizens demanding rights without shouldering any responsibilities, and should rightly have greater say in how those societies move forward.

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