Uhuru must sack Waiguru to ease the pressure on him

Even the most stubborn rulers know when to cut their losses. Throw in the towel, and choke it up to pragmatism. It isn’t about weakness, or waffling — indecision. No — it’s about realpolitik. A strategic mind knows when to advance, and when to retreat. TNA’s Uhuru Kenyatta should read — and internalise — Chinese general Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. There’s one pithy wisdom from that millennia-old book for Mr Kenyatta — “Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.” Right now, Mr Kenyatta should appear weak, although he’s strong. That’s why he needs to cave in and sack Devolution CS Anne Waiguru. My crystal ball tells me without equivocation that Kamwana won’t be this strong again before 2017.

After the November visit by Pope Francis, it’s all going to be downhill for Mr Kenyatta. That’s because the silly season will begin in earnest. He reached his high water-mark with President Barack Obama’s visit. The Pope will be icing on the cake. Forget the rumored visit by British PM David Cameron next year. The United Kingdom is a second-tier power, and its leaders don’t matter that much. Mr Cameron’s visit won’t be that different from that of Italy’s PM Matteo Renzi who clownishly wore a bullet proof vest to State House. That’s why I don’t know why Mr Kenyatta is craving Mr Cameron’s visit so much. But I digress — Mr Kenyatta needs to show Ms Waiguru the door now.

There are several hazards that are making Mr Kenyatta’s ship list. He’s taking water, and will sink unless he can act now to stem the tide. For all I know — which isn’t much — Ms Waiguru is a good person. But bad things have been happening — and continue to do so — on her watch. Money is leaking mysteriously from her docket. It’s either been stolen, or misappropriated. She’s admitted as much, and purported to blow the whistle. But in reality, she’s actually blown the whistle against herself because the buck stops with her. That’s why she must either commit political hari-kari, or suffer Mr Kenyatta’s tactical guillotine. Either way, she shouldn’t let the door hit her on her way out.

Ms Waiguru is a wound that Mr Kenyatta needs to lance. That’s because she’s one of two festering sores that he must address if he wants a chance at re-election. The other is the simmering feud within Jubilee which has Waiguru overtones. Ms Waiguru has become such a mammoth distraction that she’s sucking all the wind out of Mr Kenyatta’s sails. CORD, the implacable opposition, has latched on to her as a lightning rod. If you doubt me, just listen to the video of Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama spewing projectiles against Ms Waiguru at a recent rally. True, or not, his allegations against her and Mr Kenyatta are political body blows. You know CORD won’t let that bone go.

Mr Kenyatta might brush off CORD’s attacks were they not being echoed by URP dissidents within Jubilee. Methinks URP’s attacks on Ms Waiguru — in spite of claims to the contrary by Majority Leader Aden Duale — speak of deep discord between URP’s William Ruto and Mr Kenyatta. It’s no secret Mr Kenyatta has flatly rebuffed Mr Ruto’s demands that Agriculture CS Felix Koskei and Energy CS Davies Chirchir — both Kalenjins — be reinstated after corruption claims. Mr Kenyatta is telling Mr Ruto who is boss. The way President Mwai Kibaki used to do to PM Raila Odinga in the coalition government. In street language, Mr Kenyatta is telling Mr Ruto – uta do? [an equivalent of “I am the boss”]. Mr Kenyatta must be careful unless he wants Mr Ruto to bolt into Mr Odinga’s arms. Perhaps that’s what he wants. In a titanic political shift, Mr Kenyatta could woo back Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka, Amani’s Musalia Mudavadi, and Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetang’ula. That’s how he would make URP and Mr Ruto irrelevant. But barring such a seismic shift, Mr Kenyatta should cut Ms Waiguru loose and do a rapprochement with Mr Ruto and URP. Either that, or he foolishly squanders his new-found mojo. After all, he’s dodged the bullet of the striking teachers. The courts saved his bacon by ordering that teachers return to the classroom. Nor does it serve Mr Kenyatta to be seen to apply double standards.

It’s true Mr Ruto and URP may not be mollified by Ms Waiguru’s sacking or the reinstatement of Mr Chirchir and Mr Koskei. That’s because the ICC weighs heavily on Mr Ruto and his backers. Since the ICC let Mr Kenyatta off the hook, TNA has quietly resolved that Mr Ruto must hang separately.

Don’t believe all the crocodile tears and bleating from the likes of MP Moses Kuria. That’s nothing but blather — hot air. But will Mr Kenyatta axe Ms Waiguru?