I wish to congratulate President Kibaki for his bold decision to stand with the spirit of the Constitution and listen to the wishes of the people regarding law amendments. He declined to assent to an amended elections law that would, among other things, allow party hopping by MPs and also required MPs, senators and governors to be holders of a university degree.
However, I find fault with the Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s assertion that Kenya is unable to provide enough people with right educational qualification to vie for political offices.
While it is true that leadership can be a talent, education and training has a profound effect on the quality of leadership. The current political environment is charged with technological and ideological complexities that require strengthened competency particularly in diversity, knowledge and resource and information management.
To amicably address issues of global warming, environmental sanity and promote sustainable economic well being, there is need for high-skilled people to preside over legislations.
Education is also critical when Parliament transacts its business through Motions and Bills. It gives MPs capacity to introduce own legislations, guide and influence debate by asking relevant questions. Properly trained MPs have a clear history of exercising surveillance and achieving Government accountability and transparency.
There are cases where less trained MPs have sidelined the intellectuals in their constituencies due to inferiority complexes. Such MPs have fallen short of being an inspiration for the youth to harness their capacity for intellectual growth.
The critical role played by the Parliament in national governance, approval of bilateral and international agreements, treaties and conventions in a manner that does not violate the Constitution or hurt Kenyans’ interest demands quality high level education.
{Evans Nyesi, Mahomalek}
MPs had set the bar high for aspirants of higher political offices in the forthcoming elections. This was important because all other sectors of public service and private sector are already doing the same.
If primary schools are being headed by first degree holders, and secondary schools by master’s degree holders, how about Parliament, and a constituency that has thousands of Kenyans requiring your services?
In fact, since Parliament is a law making body, we could raise the bar higher and say in future, besides a bachelor’s degree, some knowledge of law should be made mandatory. Universities are now all over and accessible. Let people go back to learn for a better Kenya. The President should have assented to the Bill setting these standards.
{Thiaine Kubaison, Tigania West}
The draft law passed by the Parliament to allow party hopping was a perfect case of impunity by MPs. These leaders are, sadly, turning Parliament to centre of political mischief. Voters should note this and make a point come next year’s elections. Send these MPs packing.
{Hannington Cheburet, Mogotio}
Raising academic ceiling for both parliamentary and presidential candidates to degree level is as selfish as it is retrogressive to the letter and spirit of the Constitution.We adopted new laws so that we can have all Kenyans sharing the national cake equitably. Raising the academic bar is both exclusive as it is uncivil in the present world.
Case studies can confirm there is no correlation between leadership and academic qualification.
I congratulate the President for not appending his signature to retrogressive and selfish amendments.
{Anthony Alukhome Keya, Kericho}
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The paradox of our oppressive democracy
When the 16th President of the US Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as a government of the people, for the people and by the people, he probably never knew years later the Kenyan political leaders would define the people as the political elite.
The recent mutilation of national laws by MPs illustrate the tyranny of our Parliament. Even as President Kibaki rejected to sign the two Bills on presidential losers’ fate and minimum academic qualification for political office into law, mwananchi is still mouth agape at the rocket speed at which these amendments sailed through Parliament.
This happened as the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee is trying hard to push the MPs to see to it that the Constitution is operational by the end of this year. We have postponed our elections to next year to give room for MPs to continue their exchange of verbs, adverbs and adjectives on who is more or less learned in the House.
The pretence
To borrow the words of one Cameroonian philosopher and political scientist Achille Mbembe, Kenya has become a regime in which “the people pretend to obey and the rulers pretend to believe in their obedience, resulting in an inescapable cycle of pointless violence and cynical laughter”, the same cynical laughter that the late Wahome Mutahi of Whispers gave us. I don’t know from what point things went wrong in Kenyan politics, but looking at the way our politicians were behaving at Saitoti’s funeral ceremony, I couldn’t help but realise the sentimental touch that is still true of their human component.
Speeches were given, with each presidential aspirants together with their cronies, giving clues as to which direction the voter should cast their magic wand of vote next. But when President Kibaki stood up and said boldly they were all saying the same thing, I almost wept for my country.
Exactly, Mr President! But the next question that Kibaki asked was more inspiring: if truly all those good words represented what these leaders needed for the nation, why was it so difficult for them to live up to the words? Silence!
The paradox that is Kenya’s democracy lies in our silence over the right questions. We hear good speeches, thanks to the freedom of speech, but we see no action, thanks to the freedom of greed. Our politicians have abused their freedom to lie to us.
However, time has come that wananchi spoke up as well. Next year, I want to see the meaning of what we called the ‘Third Liberation’, otherwise we will start building for a ‘Fourth Liberation’, and to say the least, it will not be another miscarriage of freedom and hard-won democracy.
{Japheth Langat, Eldoret}
