Now is not the time to politicise the military

By Ken Opalo

The Rt Honourable Raila Odinga is solidly among the top five most important politicians in Kenya’s post-independence history. It is largely on account of his efforts that we have a liberal Constitution that has the potential of making Kenya a freer, more democratic and prosperous nation.

He is definitely not a saint, but his balancing act of being an elite insider while at the same time championing the cause of the common man is unmatched in Kenyan politics.

It is for this reason that in the past during campaigns he has been referred to as the “People’s President.” His position in the pantheon of Kenya’s most illustrious leaders is firmly secured.

But Odinga’s star has lately been on a downward trajectory. Uncharacteristic disorganisation and political amateurishness cost him the 2013 presidential election. In the end he was left outfoxed and with no one else to blame but his own inadequacies as a leader of a moribund political movement and those he hired to be in charge of his campaign. But instead of looking inward, the former prime minister chose to look for scapegoats.

Yes, the IEBC’s performance left a lot to be desired. But CORD could have prepared better for that very eventuality. Why didn’t the party have agents to tally results at the constituency level? Why didn’t the petition at the Supreme Court home in on the question of whether Mr Uhuru Kenyatta hit the constitutionally mandated 50 perc ent plus one? Why was the CORD campaign so badly run? These are the questions that CORD members should be asking themselves. Trying to re-litigate the outcome of the 2013 election by blaming institutions like the military and the Judiciary will do nothing but unnecessarily polarise the country. It is also bad politics and will lose CORD many votes.

Most reasonable Kenyans would agree that the former Prime Minister’s remarks in Kisumu last week were beneath a public figure of his stature. Politics may be a nasty contact sport, but a savvy politician like Raila should know when to delegate to his political attack dogs.

Raila’s statements were particularly alarming because they touched on the military, accusing them of having played a hand in rigging in President Uhuru. Since independence Kenya has only had three major episodes of unrest in the military – the mutiny in 1964, the low key attempted coup in 1971, and the 1982 attempted coup that we all know about. Compared to our neighbours, this is a great record. And we got there by keeping the military out of politics, at least in the public sphere. This is a tradition that should continue.

In any case, right now would be a bad time to politicise the military, an institution whose influence on state policy is rising by the day on account of the security situation in the country and the wider region. As the stature of their institution grows, the generals will become even more sensitive to what politicians think of them. This means that any politician who wants to be Commander in Chief would be well advised to not rock the military boat too much. In other words, now is not the time to politicise the military. Our democracy is still young. And as the Westgate fiasco showed, civilian control over the military remains tenuous. For the sake of Kenyan democracy, let’s keep the generals out of politics.

As a student of politics, I realise that it is proving hard for the former Prime Minister to remain relevant in Kenyan politics while out of political office. It is therefore tempting to keep people’s minds fixated on the last election, and the one before it. But there is another path Raila could take. His party controls a plurality of the governorships in the country. What if he and coalition leaders Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula acted as coordinators for the CORD counties? Kalonzo and Raila could lead the coordination drive at the grassroots, connecting directly with voters; while Wetangula could lead the legislative effort from the Senate. The three can, if they want to, prove to Kenyans that they can deliver on the things that matter most to ordinary wananchi – housing, healthcare, education and the cost of living. Raila is not too old to run for president in 2017. But if he wants to be a serious contender he has to change tact, and perhaps change advisers. Above all, he has to protect the brand of the champion of social democratic values that he has worked so hard to build. Raila the radical can never be President of Kenya, but Raila the steady social democrat can.