Rein in combatants to give national dialogue a chance

Raila Odinga’s ire at those who heckled mourners bearing messages of condolences from the President and other government officials during last weeks burial of his son, Fidel Castro, was palpable. And it was not just the village simpletons and Men in Black who behaved badly, but also CORD leaders whose names are preceded by fancy prefixes as well.

Their bullish mentality robs them of the cognitive powers of time, season and occasion. They derive ghoulish satisfaction from rattling sabres even in the presence of angles and, while in their delusional and hallucinatory states, aspire to high office. Unfortunately though, we elect them only to lament for the next five years.

The government offers an easy, broad target, which accounts for why anybody with a grievance, from a stomach ache, sore thumb to marital problems will throw barbs at it with the assurance of not missing the target. That does not, of necessity, imply the government is incorrigible, hence the futility of the vitriol directed at it by some individuals in Bondo.

This new year promises to be a tough one for the beleaguered government.

Momentarily, Fidel’s demise brought the warring factions together but I’m persuaded it was dictated by inherent traditional and Christian respect for the dead.

Most likely, many of those who called for a truce did not mean a word of it; they were playing to the public gallery as such previous calls will bear witness. While the echoes from calls for dialogue were still reverberating, Kithure Kindiki and Aden Duale predictably rubbished them. Nevertheless, what I found loathsome was Duale’s unfortunate assertion that Raila insulted the president ‘at his own sons burial’ (sic); it was the cheapest of populist misrepresentations this year so far.

The ICC case against Deputy President William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua Sang resumed last week amid wild speculation on the disappearance and murder of witnesses. After ICC witness Meshack Yebei’s murder, the Leader of Majority in Parliament called a press conference where he insinuated that human rights activist Ken Wafula, knew the cause of Yebei’s death.

The twin referendum push will be on in earnest this year and the government must prepare itself to counter the expected onslaught from the Opposition. The monster of ‘lack of equity’ in public appointments will not go away, no matter how long the government buries its head in the sand, thus giving the Opposition ammunition to fire at it.

The Senate, having been ‘overlooked’ long enough by the government and National Assembly, intends to bare its fangs, starting with the vetting of the Inspector General of Police. Yet despite this, Moses Kuria, a greenhorn in Kenyan politics; a man still trying to assimilate the concepts of Standing Orders and the shared functions of the bicameral Parliament has the temerity to all but declare the Senate superfluous.

The year began with the teachers strike and the Leader of Majority in Parliament came up with a laughable, simplistic solution; devolve education and let governors handle the headache. Will that neuter the agitation for better pay? Counties not being at par, won’t it be fractious and preposterous for teachers on the same grade to be paid different salaries dependent on the county’s financial capability? What becomes of Knut in such a scenario? Haven’t those in authority learned from the fiasco of devolving medical services?

National dialogue for the country’s good is everybody’s fervent prayer. That, however, will not be actualised with the likes of Bonny Khalwale, Johnstone Muthama, Moses Kuria, Kithure Kindiki and Duale antagonising the opposite camps and deliberately hindering an enabling environment for dialogue.

I have no doubt in my mind the President is well meaning and amenable to national dialogue as much as Raila is. The biggest obstacles are the circles of mean spirited party diehards and confidants around the two leaders who address opponents using epithets unlike President Kenyatta and Raila who refer to each other as ‘my brother’.