Kibaki’s handlers don’t mind darkening his legacy

By Joe Ombuor

Once more, Kenyans are staring stunned on a misstep by President Kibaki on the issue of constitutional appointments. Awfully, so to speak, this latest one is coming at a most critical moment when the country is on the threshold of watershed General Election.

As in past appointment slipups by President Kibaki done without consultations with the Prime Minister, the President’s handlers are on the spot. They include Head of the Civil Service and secretary to the cabinet Francis Kimemia and others below him still obsessed with the retention of status quo.

These nabobs do not want to accept that the ground has radically changed.

Hear Kimemia, vapidly and brazenly commenting on the latest ignominious presidential cockup: “The president cannot consult forever. The Prime Minister’s rejection is driven by the fact that his preferred choice was not appointed”.

That two of the officers the Prime Minister is rejecting had serious issues raised against them is nothing to Kimemia and those of his ilk. They instead view the Prime Minister from a tribal prism. Just as they did with Country Commissioners, these executive cabals are out to force their wish on Kenyans undeterred by the dictates of the jubilee constitution.

And was it not amusing that Justice Constitutional and Constitutional Affairs Minister Eugene Ludovic Wamalwa had the grit to support these unconstitutional appointments?

Yes, unconstitutional because the national accord, factored into the constitution dictates that the President mush consult the Prime Minister on such appointments. Other leaders opposed to the Prime Minister saw an opportunity to play politics with such a grave issue by painting him as gender hostile.

The president ought to know that it is his legacy that is at stake here. While Kimemia and company had their way with County Commissioners; it is the president who remained with lots of eggs allover his face. Earlier, the fiasco in constitutional appointments, courtesy of the president’s selfish and myopic handlers left President Kibaki holding onto shells of stinking eggs when he had to rescind the appointments of Senior judicial Staff and the Director of budget in the persons of Attorney general Githu Muigai, lawyer Kioko Kilukumi for Director of Public prosecutions, William Kirwa for controller of budget and Alnasir Visram for Chief justice. His reappointment of Justice Aaron Ringera as anti corruption tsar had similarly come a cropper. Now, President Kibaki, don’t you get tired of being driven into goofs by egoistic aides who are only messing up your legacy?

Smooth polls

As the country inches towards the first General Election after the 2007 imbroglio, a credible police force ranks high among the ingredients for smooth polls, given the way this force contributed to the mess that almost saw Kenya tumble over the cliff. That is why the arrival of Inspector General David Kimaiyo was a huge source of hope.

Grace Kaindi whom the President has crowned the Deputy Inspector of police in charge of regular police (Kenya Police) was adversely mentioned for the horrendous police killings of innocents who included pregnant women in Kisumu where she was the Nyanza Provincial Police Officer (PPO) during the post election violence while Ndegwa Muhoro’s credibility problems are well known and documented.

Recommending them to the president is anything but sincere. It his insincere to imply that the prime Minister’s objection was triggered by ethnic emotions. When will it dawn on the likes of Kimemia that Kibaki and Raila are equals as principals? For how long will they continue treating the Prime Minister as a subordinate to the President?

For a President who presided over muddled elections in 2007, the last thing Kibaki needs is being seen to negating efforts to clean the police force of elements with questionable credibility.

This is the time Kibaki and his handlers need to marshal all that they have to redeem his legacy, not to trash it into the dustbin of history.