State House has found strong allies in ODM’s Raila Odinga and Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka. The two are the proverbial outsiders who weep louder than the bereaved. They have gone beyond their political “sell by” date. Raila and Kalonzo are a liability to citizens. They can only be relevant by blackmailing the nation with mayhem if they are not included in the State banquet.
If the democratic voices in the three parties do not stand up to the big man syndrome, Kenya is headed to a bad place. We have been here before. We were in high school – some of us – when the Jomo Kenyatta regime began the mission to kill Parliament. In October 1975 the government was smarting from public outrage following the murder of JM Kariuki in March. A parliamentary select committee had implicated senior state officials in the murder.
Today, the attitude of the Executive towards Parliament brings back memories of those horrific times. The only political party in the country had become the property of the Executive, following the banning of the Kenya People’s Union (KPU) in 1969. Starting with the infamous Limuru power play of 1966, Kanu had become an oppressive imp against independent minds. It would blossom into a full-blown monster.
Has Kenya returned to the dark days? If she has, is the attempt to kill Parliament more vicious than it was in the Kanu years? For all their sins against democracy, the Kenyatta and Moi governments kept State House out of direct meddling with Parliament. They were a lot subtler in their misuse of the Legislature. Uhuru and Raila are blatant and tactless in theirs. They don’t really care what you think of them.
They are the bosses and their word has the power of life and death over your cowardly political career. They have no need for subtlety in forcing their will down your throat. Yes, there was scheming at State House and in Gatundu in the bad old years. Cabinet Ministers Mbiyu Koinange, Njoroge Mungai and Attorney General Charles Njonjo were all the President’s men. They positioned state-sponsored schemes and whims before Parliament, using regular sycophants, bullies and gadflies. In the fullness of time, Kenya had a dud Parliament.
The Legislature became the excrement of society. The Executive was the mad dog, eating the excreta. Yet even in their most wretched times, the bad old order never summoned MPs to State House to read to them the Riot Act. The Jubilee habit of summoning MPs to State House to direct them on how to conduct business is bad for Kenya.
Kenya needs to be vigilant against creeping autocracy and, especially, the bid to kill Parliament. The urgency of the situation is underscored by the reality that they have wolves in sheep’s clothing, pretending to be with them. They run with the rabbits and hunt with the wolves. It was refreshing to see Parliament, against all odds stand firm even as the State smuggled the contentious Finance Bill through the House. Parliament must remain firm and reclaim its supremacy, for it is the voice of the people.
Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka were bribed to ensure that NASA MPs support President Uhuru Kenyatta’s 8% VAT on petroleum products. Shame on them and our MPs Kenyans are on their own
— The Kenyan Parrot ?? (@TheParrotKE) September 18, 2018
Raila, Kalonzo, Cofek views on Uhuru VAT proposal: There have been calls for lower governance costs and a firmer hand to deal with the culture of waste and plunder. https://t.co/7Q29GMoRmf
— Breaking News (@News_Kenya) September 17, 2018