A to Z of key events, personalities and oddities that shaped the year 2018
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Since his declaration early in the year that he would dedicate all his energy, time and resources to the Big Four, President Uhuru Kenyatta furnished the Kenyan political space with a new catchphrase. Every political loser started harping on the Big Four for redemption. Every person who opposed Uhuru even on the most basic things such as media freedom became enemy of the Big 4. C for Cabinet and its dramas The reconstitution of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s second term Cabinet had its fair share of drama, from some CSs being dropped and dispatched thousands of miles away from the community elders they used to intercede for them, to others appointed as “afterthoughts”. Throughout the year, CSs Rashid Echesa, Mwangi Kiunjuri, Sicily Kariuki and Aden Mohamed carried the “controversy” trophy for the Cabinet. D Demolitions A new wave of demolition of buildings on riparian or grabbed land swept the city by storm. Orchestrated by an earthmover branded SANY, the exercise caused nightmares among many who had thrived on the impunity and chaos of City Hall. When SANY came calling, Ukay tumbled, Airgate Mall crumbled, Manor Hotel went down and South End mal plummeted to the ground.SEE ALSO :Embrace the handshake, but don't let it stifle democracy
E for Extradition of the Akasha’s sons When its patience with courts ran out early this year, the government seized the two Akasha brothers – Baktash, Ibrahim and their accomplices Ghulam Hussein and Vijaygiri Goswami at night, forced them onto Transatlantic plane and made them face superpower justice. In a matter of months, the brothers had pleaded guilty, sending shockwaves to their powerful accomplices in Kenya. F for Foreign Debt The debate on ballooning foreign debt sparked a hitherto unexpressed public anger, especially when debate on 16 per cent Value Added Tax debate cropped up. In media, Finance CS Henry Rotich was dubbed “master of debts” while President Uhuru Kenyatta was thwacked mercilessly by Kenyans on Twitter during his September US visit, so much so that his communication unit had to rest the UN General Assembly (UNGA) hashtag they were using to report his activities. G for GovernorsSEE ALSO :Handshakes, hugs mask what we need to get country moving
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko starred in 2018 for his spectacles; from ditching City Hall for his Mua Hills home, fallout with Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe, take-down on his Kiambu counterpart Ferdinand Waititu to ill-advised move to ban matatus from CBD. Governor Waititu also had a fair share of grim acts; from spotting a ridiculous Father Christmas attire which blocked his mouth to his crazy pronouncements on diversion of rivers to save grabbed properties. H for Handshake Unarguably the biggest political act of 2018 when President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nasa leader Raila Odinga surprised everyone with a political handshake on the steps of Harambee House. Suddenly and without much ado, State House began to refer to Raila as “His Excellency” and all his co-principals were toppling themselves for or against the handshake. On international scene, US President Donald Trump and his North Korea counterpart Kim Jong Un had their own handshake preceded by a nasty member- measuring contest. I for implosion in IEBC Indubitably 2018’s Tower of Babel, the IEBC headquarters dropped the concord façade and assumed its true theatre of the absurd face. From a section of Commission resigning with “immediately” effect, chairman Wafula Chebukati locking out CEO Ezra Chiloba from office and to eventual booting of the CEO, the commission closes the year with very little reputation left.SEE ALSO :Miguna Miguna a Kenyan, court rules
J for justice at last In several instances, 2018 was the year justice was served raw and cold to some unlucky bigwigs. In police circles, the conviction of celebrated crime buster Titus Ngamau aka Katitu sent chills and drove home the folly of trusting the mobs. Later, another top cop Nahashon Mutua was convicted of killing an inmate. It was also the year bigwigs like former City Town Clerk John Gakuo, former Senator Joy Gwendo were convicted and many MPs, Governors and CEO’s hauled before courts. K for Kamata Kamata Fridays The exploits of lethal duo of Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti and Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji in cuffing one VIP or another every Friday coined this catchphrase. All the CEOs, PSs, politicians, celebrities and notables who were charged in court this year were rounded up on Fridays and domiciled in the various city police stations awaiting production in court. L for Lords of Impunity Not once and not twice, select top state officials proved themselves to be above the law and outside jurisdiction of the courts. This was the case where orders of the court were flatly ignored in the matter involving lawyer Miguna Miguna and extradition of the Akasha brothers. One bold headline dropped all the pretenses and branded Interior CS Fred Matiang’i, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet and PS Gordon Kihalagwa as the “Lords of Impunity.” M for Miguna Miguna The forceful deportation of lawyer Miguna Miguna from the country of his birth and contrary to legal orders of the court shocked the country. The drama accompanying the whole fiasco was no less: A helpless Raila Odinga, a bleating Miguna and the destitute rule of law. The declaration that “I am not boarding! Where is my passport! The Captain cannot fly!” affirmed Miguna’s valiance in the face of adversity. N for No to NTSA President Uhuru Kenyatta personally kicked out National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) officials off the Kenyan roads following a bout of criticism over the agency’s inability to curb road carnage. Kenyans celebrated the move which left the agency counting the losses of having to ground hundreds of NTSA branded patrol cars. The Kenyan voice was loud and clear: They’d rather deal with the police.
