With William Ruto at the helm, Uhuru will be best placed to lead Opposition

Ben Manski, an American lawyer and democracy, argues that "democracy demands an opposition party." This supposition is vital because no leadership can audit itself effectively. The way things are going, it is possible that outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta is mounting an opposition force to check William Ruto's hustler regime. If that is true, all is not lost for the defenders of democracy. Indeed, Raila Odinga might not have the zeal to lead an opposition as he did before. Therefore, as the chairman of Azimio la Umoja, Uhuru is best placed to lead the opposition. The 2010 Constitution reduced presidential power through devolution and the creation of independent institutions. The Constitution, which was hailed as progressive, aimed at providing checks and balances by separating the powers of the three branches of government: the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature. The president can still control the executive and the legislature if they have the so-called tyranny of numbers. In our case, only the Judiciary has shown some elements of independence. Political poaching The need to control the legislature is what William Ruto was preparing for in his immediate political poaching. At last, the bicameral legislative houses are now under Kenya Kwanza. Although the speakers work for all, the fact that Kenya kwanza could outdo Azimio in the speaker's elections reflects what is likely to happen with bills in the next five years unless something changes. Kenya Kwanza was alert to this fact from when elections were concluded. A few hours after electoral commission chairman Wafula Chebukati declared William Ruto president-elect, the outgoing deputy president hit the road - first, munching Kawira Mwangaza, an independent Meru County governor-elect, then 10 independent MPs. Finally, Ruto unexpectedly extended his onslaught to Azimio's bedroom, pillaging two elected governors, two senators, seven MPs, and 35 Members of the County Assembly, all of the United Democratic Movement (UDM). These manoeuvres sent a chill in the spines of concerned Kenyans who argued he was technically shutting down the opposition and undermining democracy. Strong opposition Multiparty era history shows that we only had the most robust opposition between 1992 and 2002. Since then, the opposition proper has always been lured into 'handshakes' and power brokerage. These interests obscure the ideologies supposed to be the foundations of opposition politics. So, after the 2007, 2013 and 2017 elections, we have never had radically different ideologies in political outfits. Instead, our political parties band together every five years into ethno-political oligarchs in the name of coalitions and alliances. These groupings allow politicians to jump from one side to another without ideological considerations. Resultantly, Kenyans have suffered under a weakened opposition. We had created a culture where our politicians pose as oppositions to arm-twist the government for their interests. These are breeds of leaders who unite when fighting for their benefit, even when it hurts citizens. Take a practical example. Days before the August 9 elections, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) abolished allowances for Senate and National Assembly members, a move that aims to ease the current annual wage bill that stands at Sh930.5 billion. But now that the legislators are sworn in, their first unified task will be to reinstate and increase their allowances. At that time, they will be united. But, they will ignore the citizens who carry the heavy burden of the wage bill-we hope the coalescing opposition will save the people! One-party system? In my weekly column in The Standard on July 23, 2021, entitled "Clearly, politicians are craving for return of one-party system", I red flagged the Uhuru-Raila handshake impunity that pro-handshake politicians exhibited. They were against any opposition, whether from within or without, regarding the affairs that the establishment proposed. They never cared whether such proposals made sense. I also observed that ODM and Jubilee did not share any ideology-they came together, each with its interests. Uhuru was interested in hiring soldiers and auxiliaries to help him fight his deputy. At the same time, Raila and his ODM echelons wanted to feel the warmth of power and control-they had salivated from outside while their nemeses were 'eating meat' long enough. Therefore, they were more than willing to compromise ideologies for their interests. They offered themselves as more trustworthy than the rebel Jubilee legislators. As a result, the opposition was murdered at the altar of political interests. This move has haunted them because William Ruto assumed a pseudo opposition and distanced himself from the government, while ODM carried the burden of incumbency to their loss. Whose mandate? So, has Ruto been undermining democracy? We should not expect any regime to advance democracy-the earlier we come to terms with this political truth, the better for us. The unconscious desire of any regime is to rule with impunity. Thus, politically speaking, Ruto's moves are strategic for his governing. He has been preparing for a robust regime to control the bicameral legislative houses. It is only that way that he can execute and implement his Kenya Kwanza manifesto. It is not his mandate to establish an opposition. It takes such approaches to take political dominion, and this is not new in modern politics; it is an art of war. That is why without persistent opposition, the nation and the people are doomed! Interestingly, Ruto is learning this approach from Uhuru. The trend of drawing enemies closer in seeking to dominate. But Ruto is also a proselyte of President Daniel Moi. After the 1997 elections, Ruto's arch-mentor Moi decoyed the opposition to board his government. Moi had a handshake with Raila, who disbanded his National Democratic Party (NDP) for Kanu. He was awarded Minister of Energy and later elected Kanu Secretary General. The professor of politics (a moniker accorded to Moi) bosomed all problematic young Turks of the 1990s. All were appeased through 2002 when they openly fell out after Moi threw his weight on the then political tenderfoot, Uhuru. Since then, the young Turks have never recovered. Instead, they scattered and split into activism, politics and obscurity. Fast forward to 2022, President Kenyatta lured the 'Young Turks' of 1990's remnants again for a morsel-he captured Raila, their 1990s principal, in a handshake. I'm unsure whether Uhuru was conscious of what he was doing. But one thing we know for sure is that his handshake with Raila brought the nation together but struck Raila's political loins-we still hope he can heave again. What should the opposition look like?The opposition should endeavour to oppose policies and intrigues that hurt citizens-I am deliberately saying only citizens' interests. However, they should not prioritise their interests because this makes citizens lose confidence in their mandates. Can Uhuru lead the opposition? Christopher Eric Hitchens, a British-American author and journalist, once averred, "To be in opposition is not to be a nihilist." A political nihilist could be a person or institution bent on opposing for the sake of it. This has been my quarrel with opposition parties in Kenya-they sometimes do so for the sake of it. President Kenyatta has not congratulated president-elect Ruto. Instead, he has come out publicly and said that he still will recognise Raila as his leader as he hands over power. What we are seeing is a bitter outgoing president. As such, if the opposition he might lead will be anchored on bitterness, it might fail in its mission. Moreover, given that the 13th Parliament is evidently, binary opposition, with equal numbers, any mission to sabotage the government of Ruto will resort to a turf that will curtail the government service delivery for the next five years. Who will suffer? The citizen will suffer as the political titans engage in tags of wars. If Ruto envisions a solid legacy, he must, in the remaining less than 1,800 days he will be in power, allow alternative voices from the opposition, civil society, the media and individuals of good will. The writer is a lecturer in the School of Music and Media at Kabarak University

With William Ruto at the helm, Uhuru will be best placed to lead Opposition

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