Country’s leadership must play a more active role in fostering unity

The coming days will require great restraint from politicians who must climb down from their dangerous posturing during campaigns now that balloters from most counties have voted in Thursday’s repeat presidential elections. The deaths associated with this year’s elections — now inching towards 50 — are the sharpest indication yet that the current tensions cannot be allowed to fester. The country is clearly edging closer to the precipice and the tipping point will soon come if the nation’s leadership does not work with others to find a way out.

We would like to believe that President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA leader Raila Odinga have set the tone going by the Head of State’s overtures that he is ready to talk with his rival who boycotted Thursday’s elections. Similarly, by reversing his clarion call for protests on election day, Mr Odinga may be signalling that he too, is ready to climb down.

Of course these two could be playing to the gallery. Going by the actions of Jubilee Party and the National Super Alliance’s (NASA) attack dogs, brinkmanship is still part of the modus operandi. Watching Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen of Jubilee and NASA’s Mathare MP Anthony Oluoch having a go at each other in front of live television was a new low even for the country’s hawkish politicians. Both sides have been goading each other for quite some time, but this is no longer acceptable given the steep social and economic cost. The NASA leadership has done well to call off disruption of voting in its strongholds, especially today when repeat elections are held in Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya and Migori counties. Previous such illegal acts have triggered unlawful and violent retaliation by police which has resulted in more than five deaths since Thursday. If such killings persist there will be no escaping accusations that Jubilee is using the brute force of government machinery to quell dissent.

The fissures that have emerged during campaigns to the General Election and deepened after the Supreme Court nullified the presidential poll of August 8 on account of the illegalities committed, must be sealed. Calls for dialogue by influential stakeholders could be a starting point.

It is expected that the IEBC will soon be announcing results of the repeat presidential elections once the exercise is held in regions where it could not proceed due to protests. As soon as this is done, Mr Kenyatta, who is expected to be declared winner in the absence of a credible challenger, must be in the forefront in efforts to heal the nation.

There is no time to waste. Already ethnic bigotry and intolerance has gone beyond the superficial differences manifest before these elections.

Odinga must rethink his call for civil disobedience after the elections as these actions will aggravate tensions and increase the likelihood of more bloody conflicts. Insensitive and abrasive comments by the top Jubilee leadership must also cease.

It is now quite clear that our politicians are unable to forge national unity. Past experience has demonstrated that leaving it up to them to resolve the stand-off will be like pouring fuel into a fire.

Trusted stakeholders from the business community, religious leaders, even statesmen from the continent should step out of the periphery and play a leading role in moderating the proposed engagement between the Jubilee and NASA leadership. Others can join this crusade. Even though the diplomatic community has lost the confidence of some of the protagonists to this conflict, the continent has no shortage of non-partisan eminent persons who can be part of the arbitration. The President and Mr Odinga must now realise that the intervention of outsiders is inevitable owing to the polarised political environment. They must accept any help they can get.