Focus on what stands to be achieved after the handshake

President Uhuru Kenyatta with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga when they addressed the media at Harambee House, Nairobi on March 9, 2018. [Photo/Standard]

More than anything else, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s apology to Kenyans during Wednesday’s State of the Nation address has elicited many reactions.

As usual, the reactions are mixed because it is inconceivable that the March 9 handshake between the President and Opposition leader Raila Odinga could overcome biases that have taken decades to build by a single stroke. The undertones of political differences before and after the repeat October 26, 2017 presidential election still linger.

Yet it is those doubts and the bitterness that the handshake and apology seek to address. In particular, what has featured most in national discourse is why an apology was not directed at specific individuals, like the families of all those who died in the chaos that ensued after the disputed August 2017 elections, but more specifically, the family of Chris Msando, an officer of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission who was killed shortly before the elections, creating a lot of speculation around his death.

The President’s apology is unprecedented in the country's history, and as citizens, we need to appreciate what it took for him to utter that public apology. Needless to say, it was a good gesture that signalled his intent to remedy wrongs attributed to his leadership through omission or commission.

As a country, it will be in our interests to focus on what we stand to achieve from the two leaders' agreement to work together than on what should or shouldn’t have been. If we choose the latter, we will lose focus and dwell more on the bitterness that nearly ruined our country.

The economy has taken a beating because of the lack of investor confidence, and under-performing businesses have been operating in an uncertain environment.

The massive rifts in the country need bridging, which can only be achieved in a serene environment. The handshake disarmed those politicians who thrive on invective and discord. Without their polarising utterances, there is now calm across the country.

In themselves, the handshake and apology might not amount to much without genuine follow-up action. Indeed, the ball is in the hands of Uhuru and Raila to prove to all that it is not about them. It is upon them to take their new-found rapport a notch higher to debunk the notion gaining traction that the families of former prominent leaders are ganging up to keep the presidency in their grasp.

Those opposed to the handshake, and who have picked on Raila’s visits to former presidents Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki, will try to peddle this line of thought in the hope of creating fear among citizens, perhaps to precipitate some form of rebellion.

While the handshake should seek to address outstanding issues like electoral injustices and to create a governance structure that recognises the critical roles of both sides of the political divide, talk of creating additional layers of governance and the office of a prime minister have alarmed citizens, perhaps even poured cold water on the hopes they had allowed themselves to entertain. The economy, many argue, cannot shoulder the burden of a referendum, which seems to be the politicians’ push.

There is a lot the common man has to deal with - the high costs of living, education, insecurity and medical care among others.

Working together towards addressing these issues will earn the President and Raila not just accolades, but the trust of citizens, and this is necessary to make their efforts worthwhile.

The fascination citizens have with politicians arises from poverty and the poor living standards that compel constituents to seek handouts from politicians who in turn use the chance to loot public coffers.

Speaking of which, tackling rampant corruption will take more than public statements and warnings from the head of State. People want to see more concrete action. Arrests without convictions are not convincing. They only serve to make citizens view the Government’s action as attempts to throw wool over their eyes.

If there there was a time when our leaders must get up and boldly walk the talk, that time is now, particularly in the wake of that handshake and apology, and the goodwill that has greeted those actions so far.