Dear Mister President...

Njoki Karuoya

 

I hope this letter finds you well. I have been watching you keenly over the past three-and-a-half years and I know you are determined to leave behind a positive, long-lasting legacy after your term in office in 2012, God willing.

You steered a very successful referendum campaign for the new Constitution and promulgated it with great aplomb last year.

You also gave us free primary education and approved the provision of water through construction of dams and wells throughout the country.

Following our dark period early 2008, you instructed that the internally displaced be provided with shelter, protection and other amenities.

And daily, people laud you for the construction of roads and other infrastructure all over the country when they cruise on new roads.

 

New roads

There are many more good things that you have made possible since you took over the reins of power ten years ago, but what I find strange is your laid-back attitude when people you have entrusted with specific development agendas or projects let you down and tarnish your good, progressive reputation.

Let’s start with this biting drought that is killing your people, the ones who gave you the mandate to rule us for two terms. According to reports, the Kenya Meteorological Department warned your office and all ministries that both the short and long rains would fail last year and this one, and advised relevant ministries to strategise to counter the devastating effects of the drought.

Further reports indicate that development partners and the Kenya Red Cross consistently warned officials of your Government to prepare for both the drought and the famine in order to save lives. Some of these organisations even started their own funds drive to collate resources that would be used to eventually help your people.

Meanwhile, your officers slept on their job, waiting for the famine to hit then do something about it. As a result, the blood of 20-plus Kenyans who have died from hunger (and whom your Government Spokesman has dismissed as rumours) are on your hands. More Kenyans are on their deathbed and will die before the ‘official’ confirmations your Government Spokesman is waiting for are passed on to him.

 

Loss of lives

Aren’t you livid about this? Globally, this blight will tarnish your good name and dampen your development work record. Do you want, for instance, for your expansive road network initiative to be remembered in the same breath with the loss of lives from hunger?

I sure hope not. Shouldn’t you, therefore, be chopping off someone’s head so you can show Kenyans and the rest of the world that you are a serious leader who will not let cr***y fellows who claim to be your ministers or government officials to besmirch your good track record?

Allow me to let you in on a little secret.... we Kenyans are thirsty for blood and want to see some heads roll. And not just in this famine/drought saga, but with all the scandals in the ministries of Education, Water, Lands, Immigration, Environment, Transport, Livestock, Special Programmes, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and so on.

Don’t allow people who don’t respect your presidency or who are hellbent on destroying your legacy get away with it. Fire them or, at the very least, suspend them. Let us see you act authoritatively to stamp out impunity and corruption in your Government and I guarantee you, we shall cheer you by the roadside. Stop being nice and smiley to the people and show them you are the boss, and we shall all respect you.

Right now though, we just see you as a man with a big title who is, sadly, afraid of his foot soldiers. Your foot soldiers seem to have grasped this fact and have been (and still are) treating you with contempt. Only you, Mr President, can put a stop to this.

You have the power to change people’s attitude about your legacy, and time is fast running out for you as soon you will have to hand over the baton to the next leader. Show us who’s the president now! Tick...Tock!