Kenyans deserve better than this charade from leaders

Once the shining star in this part of the world, Kenya’s star is dimming. Civilian rights are being violated by State agencies despite clear constitutional provisions that guarantee them and the politics has metomorphosed into a primitive contest for power and wealth.

If that were not the case, many Kenyans would still not be existing in conditions far worse than those their forefathers fought the colonialists: They are poor and hopeless.

In truth, the politics of exclusion is the bane of Independent Kenya: It is tribal and short-sighted; it is inimical to the wider interests of the country. The general feeling is that despite self-governance, the political space and competition remains hugely imperilled by vested interests; that politics has become a conduit for the elites to illicit riches, self-preservation and self-promotion rather than an enabler of a people’s vision and aspirations.

Corruption and impunity feeds off this form of corruption which in turn breeds disaffection and disunity.

Attempts have been made to change the way things are done. Evidently, that has not achieved much. For the struggle continues for many Kenyans for whom the stakes remain stacked against them.

The feeling by a huge section of the country is that the political class has short-changed them. By refusing to put country before self, the political class has continued to deny Kenyans the change they crave and rightfully deserve.

We cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand and pretend all is well: In truth, Kenya is hurting; suspicion based on tribe is rife and the political class is hellbent to foment trouble to advance their agenda of rising to power.

Put it another way, the political grandstanding from the major sides of the political divide is a dead end. It leads us nowhere.

Start with the demonstrations called by NASA to press for reforms at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. Invariably, the protests turned into street battles which at times ended tragically for some.

Last month, this newspaper warned that Mr Odinga’s call to overhaul the IEBC could lead to a stalemate that does more harm than good to the country. We exhoprted NASA to step back and assess the prevailing circumstances and consider the common good. This newspaper wondered: Will it help the country to prosecute election offenders in these fateful 60 days? Is a root and branch change at the IEBC possible within this time constraint?

With recent developments, we could still be proved right.

Or Jubilee’s reaction to hurriedly draw up the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2017 that by all intent and purposes is self-serving and short-termist.

Earlier, we saw Mr Kenyatta harangue judges of the Supreme Court after they annuled his win in the August 8 election. He even threatened to fix them. The scorched earth strategy his party mandarins adopted against the Judiciary, the NGOs and the media was akin to the one against the ICC where he and his deputy William Ruto faced crimes against humanity charges. Those charges were later abandoned for lack of evidence.

It therefore falls on those in leadership to demonstrate their mettle and cure the country.

And this is not just a call to the political class. No, religious, cultural and other community leaders must step forward and stand in the gap.

Perhaps realising the magnitude of things and as a sign of softening his hard-line stance, President Kenyatta has called for national prayers this coming Sunday. But that is not enough. It will take action to get the country moving together again.

Yet the buck stops with one man; Uhuru Kenyatta. If he cares about Kenya and his legacy, he needs to act urgently.

He needs to rein in  the reactionary forces in his party and demonstrate true leadership. In fact, Mr Kenyatta should invite his main competitor in the last election to a cup of tea at State House to send the signal that they are united. Let them shake hands and genuinely smile at each other.

Equally, Mr Odinga needs to rise to the occasion and call on his followers to exercise restraint.

Attacking IEBC officials conducting training for next week’s election or those going about their own business achieves little purpose because such mindless violence is a zero-sum game.