Keep presidential frauds out of State House

Keep presidential frauds out of State House


It is no longer safe to dress like a sheep to enter the chicken coop. You could be stripped to expose the rot in the deep recesses of your conscience.

Reform pretentions did not work for judges who wanted promotion as Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice, with Judicial Service commissioners asking dreaded questions.

False pretences should not work for presidential frauds scheming for the Kibaki Succession. They can buy the loyalty of your MPs, but tell them you need more than mere handouts. Tell them you want your country freed from the stranglehold of the impudent.

Presidential aspirants should be similarly interrogated to expose integrity frauds masquerading as new generation saviours. Some presidential aspirants are children and beneficiaries of impunity.

Some are working for ‘impunists’ to reclaim the past. There is a coalition against change expected to come with full implementation of the new Constitution.

Panelists to interrogate presidential pretenders shall be you — the electorate — who often eat fruits of bad leadership. It is this poor leadership that causes infectious sadness. Famine, unemployment, disease, drought, inflation, ignorance, and impunity romp the countryside with the rage of a randy bull. Someone of courage must slay this beast of impunity.

You have a chance to probe reform credentials of this clutter of wannabe presidents. With the new Constitution, and especially Chapter Six placing a premium on integrity, there is a detergent to sanitise public consciousness for greater civic responsibility.

The electorate — you and I — must resolve to ban change frauds from State House. You have to respect this resolution by registering as a voter and making informed choices. A single vote for a national cause counts. It counts because popular vote for change begins with individual citizens who are conscious of their civic responsibilities. You develop a critical mass of change agents by mobilising right-thinking individuals to buy into the cause.

The 2002 election fraud is a good reminder. The con was possible because fundamental questions were not asked. Change of guard at the top did not translate into change of values. Wolves were allowed to dress in sheepskin with impunity. The same wolves are grooming wolverines for succession.

The dream of a rainbow nation working for the national good was hijacked. Many politicians changed coat during the 2002 election, pretending to be what they were not, with promises they did not intend to keep. They signed accords they trashed at the first opportunity. They thanked you on day one, but locked the doors on your expectations once they entered the citadel.

"I feel extremely happy to address you today. I am overwhelmed by your love. I am emboldened by your support and enthusiasm. I am thrilled by your sense of dedication and commitment. You have renewed my hope and strengthened my belief in the greatness of this country. Now, all of us, both young and old, men and women, Kenyans of every ethnic group, race or creed, have embarked on a journey to a promising future with unshakeable determination and faith in God and in ourselves."

Easier said than done. They may not even want you to remember the glowing gratitude to an electorate that, within weeks became victims of unexamined leadership choices.

The sacred cows

If corruption had been slain as pledged, and impunity banished as promised, justice would not be stealing sacred cows from our midst about ten years into a regime that promised a new beginning.

First justice came for the ‘Ocampo Six’ to answer changes related to 2007 post-election violence. And now it is seeking rendition of the ‘Jersey Two’ to answer to multiple corruption charges and causing power outages.

"Corruption will now cease to be a way of life in Kenya and I call upon all those members of my government and public officers accustomed to corrupt practices to understand there will be no sacred cows under my government."

The mess is there for everyone with eyes to see, and ears to hear, about a decade into the new beginning. You know history is littered with leaders who promise new beginnings but end up drawing inspiration from the past. Silas the albino monk of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code cannot be in a safer company.

It is you to decide whether to continue doing the same things the same way, and still expect different results. A people get the leaders they deserve. Several times bitten, we should know better.

The culmination of the greatest leadership fraud was the nation-wrecking violence that followed the mangled 2007 presidential election. Wolves had discarded sheepskins.

Status quo established its dominance, with security agencies defending party and ethnic interests. Impunity had stamped its authority. Corruption and abuse of office become the dominant ways of life.

There is hope the past could be locked out, with probity gaining momentum to wash out wet wax from the ears of the voting masses.

Rank outsiders are gaining acceptance as antidotes for impunity and the Judiciary could admit two fire-spitting reformers to the Bench. It is the turn of wananchi to interrogate reform credentials and integrity of politicians nursing presidential pretentions.

Never again should we allow ourselves to be manipulated.

Writer is The Standard’s Managing Editor, Quality and Production.