Legacies are not made through declarations

“For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives”. Hebrews 9:17.

Public discourse in Kenya is presently consumed by incessant legacy talk. If it is not President Uhuru Kenyatta pontificating on the four pillars of his legacy when his term ends, it is some Government functionary harping on the benefits to national housing, healthcare, food security and manufacturing.

Others have demonstrated, with facts and figures, how the President’s bequest is utopian. Whatever the view, one thing seems clear: The legacy may not be obtained within the remainder Uhuru’s final term.

The President seems to acknowledge as much. At the recent official opening of the M-Pesa Foundation Academy in Thika, he spoke of unifying the country and winning the war on corruption. This was in response to a student who asked him what he wanted to be remembered for. Going by the number of arrests and arraignments of persons implicated in corruption, this has now become the subtext of what the President hopes will be his endowment to Kenyans.

While Kenyans welcome the notion of a corruption-free society, there is a growing exasperation with the myriad loud proclamations of intended action that have come a cropper.

People want more action and less talk. Many even find talk of a legacy premature and unseemly, preferring that such talk be the preserve of Kenyans who will audit this current administration’s performance after it leaves office. 

Pursuing them

Mathias Mbogori, a friend, captures the frustrations of many when he says: “I am wondering about those who left legacies. Did they set their minds to leave a good legacy, or did they just go about their business? I tend to think that our President will be known for trying to leave a legacy.”

The finance director at the World Vision Ethiopia, Catherine Omange, says: “You can’t leave what you don’t have. Legacy comes from living out your beliefs and personal convictions and pursuing them at great (personal) cost. Look at Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai and her trees. She did not fight for them because she wanted to leave a legacy but because she loved them and was convinced of the need to protect them.”

An examination of the legacies of past presidents of Kenya shows them to be aligned with their careers before politics or, according to their training, personalities and natural gifts. Former president Daniel Moi was a retired teacher. His passion for education showed through the building of numerous schools.

From just one university in Kenya when he took over as president, Moi expanded the university space to seven public universities and several private ones by the time he retired. His education legacy is also seen in the reformation of Kenya’s education system from the previous 7-6-2-3 to the outgoing 8-4-4.

Commercial banks

Retired president Kibaki’s training as an economist came to the fore when he was at the helm of the country. Kibaki taught Kenyans about the value of money and how to make it work. He scorned the culture of handouts prevalent at the time and taught Kenyans to recourse to commercial banks for investment borrowing. He also eschewed profligate public spending, preferring to run the country well within the national budget. Under him, the economy flourished to near double-digit growth. Kenyans are still partaking of the economic benefits of his legacy.

Perhaps it is fitting that President Uhuru has chosen to focus on the eradication of corruption. This could be the defining moment that determines whether he leaves a legacy.

At the onset of his administration, he was perceived by many Kenyans to be the ideal president because of the assumption that, having come from a wealthy background, he would have no desire for self-aggrandisement through illicitly obtained wealth.

So far, he has not been mentioned in the numerous scandals involving public figures. However, many close to him are at the core of malfeasance. How he deals with them in the coming days will be instructive in the legacy he leaves.

The flurry of activity has yet to result in convictions in courts of law, leaving many Kenyans to speculate that these may be the usual flash-bang tactics, with more flash than bang.

Celebrated playwright Wole Soyinka once said, “a tiger does not proclaim his tigritude, he pounces.” Kenyans are waiting for the President to stop proclaiming his “tigritude” and pounce on the corrupt. That will be the yardstick by which his testament to them is examined and his legacy audited after he leaves office.

Mr Khafafa is vice chairman, Kenya-Turkey Business Council