Some free advice for President Uhuru: Don’t defend the indefensible

By Ababu Namwamba

When Messer Annibale Bentivogli…was ruler in Bologna, the Canneschi clan formed a conspiracy and murdered him; and even though no members of his family survived except the infant Giovanni, the people rose up and slew all of the Canneschi. This was a consequence of the popularity the Bentivogli then enjoyed in Bologna. Their popularity was so great, in fact, that, with no member of the family left to rule in Bologna, the people sent to Florence where, according to report, there was an illegitimate offspring of the Bentivogli who had been brought up by a blacksmith. They summoned him back to Bologna and entrusted him with the rule until Giovanni reached his age of majority.

This 1445 tale is used by Niccolo Machiavelli in his 1513 political masterpiece, The Prince, to illustrate the supreme premium every leader must place on the trust of his people and the esteem in which they hold him.

The basic essence of Machiavelli’s thesis here is that a leader (prince) must endeavour to avoid those things that would make him the object of hatred and contempt. So long as he avoids these, he will have done his part and will encounter no risk at all from other vices…he should conduct himself in such a way that greatness, boldness, gravity, and strength will be observed in his actions.

In dealing with individual subjects, his decisions must be irrevocable; and he must maintain himself in such high regard that no one will ever think of cheating him or misleading him. A prince who gives this account of himself will be highly esteemed; and against someone who is highly esteemed, conspiracy is unlikely. Attack is also unlikely, so long as he is known to be respected by his subjects as an excellent man.

For a prince has only two things to fear: one is internal and concerns his subjects; the other is external and concerns foreign powers. As for his subjects, when there is no external attack, the prince must worry about hidden conspiracies, against which he will find security by avoiding hatred and contempt and by keeping the people satisfied…indeed, the most potent remedy a prince can have against conspiracies lies in his not being hated by the populace, for those who conspire always believe the death of the prince will please the people. When they suspect that their action will anger the people, they will not be so rash as to undertake it.

“I conclude, then, that a prince need take little account of conspiracies if the people are disposed in his favor. If they are opposed and hate him, however, he must fear every incident and every individual...But men of little prudence will do a thing for immediate gain without recognising the poison it bears for the future…the man who does not recognize ills at their inception does not have true wisdom, and this is given to few”, Machiavelli says.

After two hundred days in office, it is safe to say that President Uhuru Kenyatta is already establishing some clear, inherent trends by which his leadership demeanour and style can be determined. He has, without a doubt, come across as approachable and amiable…striking the pose of what mayouths call “easy”. And that is pretty cool, very fresh, especially coming hot on the heels of Kibaki’s eternal aloofness and Nyayo’s enduring stiffness.

But, on a more serious note, Uhuru appears to be settling into a rather disturbing habit of excusing the inexcusable, the latest incident being his publicly stated stance on the bungled Westgate rescue mission and that Stonehenge threat to press freedom from his police chief. This is the kind of stuff that alienates the people.

Mr. President, do not court public contempt by tolerating the intolerable. You can never go wrong by walking on the right side of history, with the people.

Robert Green best highlights my point here when he says: “Occasional mistakes are inevitable. People in power, however, are undone not by the mistakes they make, but by the way they deal with them. Like surgeons, they must cut away the tumor with speed and finality. Excuses and apologies are much too blunt tools for this delicate operation... Excuses satisfy no one and apologies make everyone uncomfortable. The mistake does not vanish with an apology; it deepens and festers. Better cut it off instantly, distract attention from yourself…”