It appears few lessons were learnt from horrors of 2007/8

The presence of Kofi Annan and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa in the country is significant. They are here as members of the African Union Panel of Eminent Persons.

It will be remembered that this is the group that helped mediate an end to the 2008 post-election violence.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, but it seems that on our political stage at least, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Kenya is now more ethnically divided than before the ill-fated 2007 General Election.

One would have thought that our leaders would have veered away from corralling their communities into ethnic cocoons to create tribal voting blocs, but they have done the exact opposite. The voting patterns are thus almost similar to if not the same as five years ago.

True reconciliation between communities most affected by the post-election chaos of 2008 was pushed to the backburner in favour of political alliances to lock others out of State House.

There is the threat of disruption of national examinations and even the General Election in parts of Coast Province.

Lawyers, judges and politicians with vested interests are sabotaging vetting of judges and magistrates. Parliament and the Executive are now the biggest threats to the implementation of the Constitution. They have succeeded in sidestepping Chapter Six of the Constitution with what are undoubtedly unconstitutional amendments.

Ethnic jingoism

Meanwhile, there are internally displaced persons still in camps who are being used as figurines on a political chessboard even as parties engage in “mine is bigger than yours” contests in the name of defections and retreats.

The impending trials of four Kenyans indicted by The Hague for crimes against humanity now causes even well educated and enlightened men and women to froth at the mouth in defence of ethnic jingoism. From where Annan and Mkapa are sitting, the words are: “Oh no, not again.”