Why Ruto and UDA must not host delegates at State House

State House Nairobi Photo:Courtesy

Is the State House under President William Ruto beginning to lose its character as a non-partisan national sanctuary?

Is it beginning to look like a narrow UDA headquarters? Are both the State and the State House becoming the property of the ruling faction?  

This ambiguity is dangerous. In fragile democracies like Kenya, symbolism is not decorative. It is loaded with meaning. By global standards, we are a relatively delicate young nation.

We are striving to gain character, definition, and stability. We are groping for space in the global arena of nation-states. 

We have borrowed Western liberal institutions. But not yet the discipline and rigour that go with them. This, alone, often leads us into confusion, strife, and even violence. Symbols of exercise of power are critical in countries like ours.

When the State House hosts partisan UDA political party delegates, as is beginning to happen, the nation walks a slippery path. 

What is the President telling the country? Is he driven by the simple convenience of function and venue? Or is there something more sinister afoot? President Ruto is absorbing the Kenyan State into the UDA party.

This is his most brazen political statement yet. Political party power belongs to those who control the party, but State power belongs to the people. Article One of the Constitution vests all sovereign power in the people. The President is only an authorised agent in the exercise of this power. That is why the law speaks of “authority.”

Beyond being authorised, he has no power of his own. The State House is the highest symbol of the authorised exercise of sovereignty. 

When the President convenes UDA delegates meetings and other caucuses in Ikulu, the house begins losing its neutrality. UDA’s partisan activities begin painting national sovereignty in the colours of the party.

Ikulu is distorted from its status as Kenya’s civic temple to UDA’s throne room. If you do not belong to UDA, you have no stake in the State House. While Kenya under UDA has not exactly become authoritarian, it is already embroiled in the kind of grammar that writes both authoritarianism and totalitarianism.   

Party meetings

The ruling party, the President, and the State are becoming one. There ought to be strict separation among the three in the institution and space at all times! No established democracy does what President Ruto and UDA are doing.

In the US, party meetings are held in hotels and convention centres. They never stray into the White House. In Germany, the chancellery is a no-go space for party activities; while in the UK, they do not take such meetings to No. 10 Downing Street or Buckingham Palace! 

The President is paving the way for Kenya to migrate from a constitutional democracy to the politics of political party dominance. In constitutional symbolism and in political theory, the State House is not just a geographical address. It is the very emblem of the State itself. What does this mean? 

State House represents the permanence of the Kenyan nation, regardless of which individuals are in power. It also speaks to the continuity of Government, regardless of whether a new political party takes over; and it also represents indivisibility of the Kenyan people, and their sovereignty. It is the one entity that stays above the passing interests of an individual, no matter how powerful he becomes.  

President William Ruto is authorised to reside in State House and conduct Government business from there. However, he is not authorised to bring his political party matters to this place.

As Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania often said, Ikulu is a sacrosanct place; it must be protected from individual whims and appetites.  

In a word, the State House represents the collective authority of the Kenyan people. This cannot be misconstrued as the same as partisan political power.

Yes, the President is the Head of State and Government. He is the custodian of the Republic, yes. And yes, he is also the UDA Party leader, the custodian of a partisan political machine. Yet, even the vesting of these two roles in one individual does not allow him to conflate the relationship.  

President Ruto must know when and where he stops being the UDA boss and becomes the President of the Republic of Kenya, despite the affiliation of the two. Repeat, State House is not about geography and logistics.

It is not about convenience. Nor should sovereign public funds be applied to host political party honchos and delegates in the State House. These things are the proverbial dog that will return to bite the ex-master.

-Dr Muluka is a strategic communications adviser. www.barrackmuluka.co.ke