Opalo: Jubilee missteps due to having charlatans for advisors

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga is finally back in the country. Raila comes home to an opposition alliance that has been at sixes and sevens both within and outside of Parliament. It is no wonder that an elaborate welcoming party has been planned, with the hopes of resetting CORD’s agenda as the alternative government in waiting.

The only saving grace for CORD has been Jubilee’s knack for unforced errors. It appears that Jubilee foot soldiers are operating in a previous era, when government officials fell over each other to catch the eye of the president with silly acts of loyalty. This is the logic behind the anti-West statement that came out of Harambee House, Nairobi, a few months ago; and may have been the motivation behind this week’s ban on political rallies by the Inspector General of Police. It also explains why otherwise respectable people have come to find no shame in prostrating themselves as sycophants of their fellow politicians.

Put together, these incidences point to gaps in the political affairs office at State House. Not only is the president’s team unable to professionally manage the domestic political situation, they are also bungling Kenya’s foreign policy and the standing of the country in the world. Instead of building political bridges both domestically and internationally, Jubilee has found itself hostage to its own siege mentality. Under these conditions the narrative that the UhuRuto administration is, to quote the late J M Kariuki, “of a few for a few on behalf of the many” is quickly gaining credence. And as both the Rugut and Anglo-Leasing sagas have shown, these sentiments cut across the political divide. Also, it doesn’t help matters that despite all the talk of national unity what the public sees is that senior government jobs are the preserve of the Ruguts and Githinjis of this world. In other words, for people who pass what I call the “Kalonzo Musyoka Last Name Test.”

Of course it doesn’t matter whether this narrative is true or not. Ultimately, politics is about perceptions. And it is the duty of the president’s team to make sure that they shape Kenyans’ perceptions in a manner that is favorable to the president. Unfortunately for the president, he has a digitally savvy communications team but whose content is wanting.

It is no surprise that the political affairs team at State House has so far been unable to best handle a disorganised opposition, and is also failing in its handling intra-Jubilee affairs. We should not expect more from a team largely composed of failed politicians who mill around the president and his deputy primarily as influence peddlers. These quacks have failed to capitalise on one opportunity after another to rally the country behind the president. Instead of devising strategies of directly engaging the Kenyan people, the same team has opted to stick with the tried and tested means of politicking through self-appointed ethnic chiefs. How do we expect to end “tribalism” if we only engage one another as members of particular ethnic groups?

On the international front, the president’s political affairs team could do with a small lesson in game theory. You see, in any negotiating situation the party with the least number of outside options always gets the short end of the stick. Put simply, having options is empowering.

This is why even as we turn eastwards we should not burn bridges with the West. Furthermore, the Jubilee Administration must realise that both the Chinese and the West are not here out of the benevolence of their hearts. They are here to reap benefits for their home countries. To understand this you just need to hear what they think about Africans. On May 27 the Financial Times reported on interviews with Chinese business people who opined that Africans are “lazy” and are “not good at getting things done.” From Washington to Brussels to Beijing, many still view Africans as indolent and African leaders as ineffective and corruptible petty tyrants. It is for this reason that we should not blindly embrace either side of the East-West geopolitical divide. We must keep our options open and use our global alliances as leverage to get the best possible deals for the Kenyan people.

In the final analysis, the failure to articulate a coherent political agenda both domestically and internationally is a symptom of the fact that we claim to have professionalised our government but still run it jua kali. The president says he has delegated authority to various state organs and institutions yet things still run in the “orders from above” mode from a bygone era. If this trend of one misstep after another continues, Kenyans will soon stop blaming the president’s men and women and focus their ire at the Chief Executive himself.