Full military uniform on elected leader sends the wrong message

Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta is by virtue of being the Head of State, the Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces. That’s what Section 131 (1) (c) of the 2010 Constitution says in black and white. But the commander-in-chief isn’t a military rank in a civilian democracy. In the nomenclature, it’s not a promotion from a field marshal or a general. Rather, the commander-in-chief in a political democracy denotes the submission of the military to civilian authority. Put differently, the democratically elected head of state superintends the military on behalf of the voters. The citizenry controls the military through him. That’s why Mr Kenyatta was wrong to don full military regalia on Jamhuri Day. Let me break it down.

The Constitution isn’t confused about the source of authority in Kenya. It’s crystal that clear all sovereignty resides in the people. It’s not invested in leaders, state institutions, or in the security or armed forces. No – Kenya is a civilian democracy in which duly elected leaders are empowered by the people to govern. The military is the people’s servant. The military serves at the direction of the civilian authority invested in the natural person and the office of the president and head of state. The military answers to the head of state not because he is a military officer, but because the people have given him command over the military as a civilian leader. It’s an open and shut case.