The deaths of Internal Security Minister Prof George Saitoti and his assistant Orwa Ojode have given their political colleagues and Kenyans in general much food for thought.

The tragic accident opened the door for an avalanche of conspiracy theories regarding who and what might have killed them and why.

None of these are proven and some stretch the imagination. Nevertheless most of them point to political rivalry.

Given that Prof Saitoti was a potential presidential candidate and he and Ojode were naturally privy to matters touching on national security that were not in the public limelight, the Government must move with speed to establish the cause of the helicopter crash that killed the two.

It must immediately publish the terms of reference for the public inquiry team to be led by Justice Kalpana Rawal so it can get to work immediately.

This is important because aspersions have already been cast on the appointment with several respected MPs saying it was improperly done because Chief Justice Willy Mutunga was not consulted, making a mockery of the doctrine of separation of powers as outlined in the Constitution.

Poisoned chalice

The terms of reference for the Justice Rawal-led team must be broad enough and the team must receive the full cooperation of the police,

In the past, public inquiries have been used as cover-ups to divert the attention of the public from the truth, and in some cases, the outcome of such inquiries has been suppressed.

It does not help that in a previous matter, Justice Rawal’s efforts to assist State officials record statements with International Criminal Court investigators ended prematurely after the High Court blocked the ICC officials from interrogating the 10 provincial commissioners who served in areas that experienced post-election violence in 2008.

Despite this frustration, the judge has again been handed what could turn out to be a poisoned chalice, given the many conflicting accounts of the events of the day and the political heat from all sides.

In order for Justice Rawal and her team to dispel any doubts over their mandate, they must be seen to be fair, open and professional and resist any attempts from without to direct the inquiry in a certain direction.

They must be strictly guided by and stick to their terms of reference. As a matter of course, the Government should insist that the investigators sent by the maker of the crash chopper share the results of their probe that is running concurrently with that of the police.

It is notable that their funerals provided a catharsis of sorts, with President Mwai Kibaki, former President Daniel Arap Moi, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka revealing their deep sense of loss at the deaths.

But President Kibaki’s challenge to leaders to follow the footsteps of the two fallen political giants was the clincher, encapsulating the mood of the entire nation with regard to the state of Kenyan politics today.

It was a reminder that we should not fool ourselves into imagining that all is well. Before the deaths of the two leaders, politicians vying for the presidency had divided the country by whipping up ethnic emotions.

Bloated Cabinet

Whether or not they will desist from pushing the tribal card in their campaigns and put the welfare of their country ahead of their selfish thirst for power remains to be seen.

Nevertheless, it is clear that Saitoti and Ojode provided a glimpse into the kind of Cabinet Kenyans hoped for when they voted in the Narc Government in 2002.

Rather than regard their dockets as the preserve of their political parties, the two built an excellent working relationship that defied the polarisation that has characterised the bloated Cabinet of the Grand Coalition Government in the spirit of collective responsibility.

The politics of ethnicity that have ruled the current pre-election presidential contest must not be allowed free reign and temperatures must come down between the perceived frontrunners.