A shouting match , handshake deemed ineffective

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A shouting match is itself a poor effort at bridge building. President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM Leader, Raila Odinga, have these past six months been talking about a bridge-building initiative (BBI) for Kenya. It all began with their March 9 handshake. They called their initiative “Building bridges to a new Kenyan nation.” They promised to close up various gaps in the country’s life. The most obvious gap has been the emotional space between the two. If nothing else has been achieved thus far, President Kenyatta and Raila are undoubtedly now emotionally closer.

They no longer treat the nation to public outbursts of anger against each other. Other bridges are expected to close up the gaps in ethnic relations and competitions, negative politics and lack of national ethos – and the corruption and violence that go with all that. Also identified are gaps in participation “in development initiatives and political activity,” as well as devolved government. The two leaders said, in March, “Politically, devolution has led to exclusivity in some counties where some local communities have found themselves isolated and excluded by the more populous ones, creating marginalisation.” To be bridged, too, are horrendous gaps that lead to divisive elections.

President Kenyatta and Raila observed that every four years the country comes to a standstill as violence takes center stage. This is a factor of gaps in our attitude towards elections and how elections should be conducted. And there are other areas where closing up of ranks has been promised in the BBI. Six months later, however, it is clear that all is not well. Every so often, Raila says one thing, only for the people around the President to rile against him with ugly loud words. In the latest show, Raila has recently said that there will be a constitutional referendum next year. Predictably, the Leader of the Majority in the National Assembly, Aden Duale, has come out screaming against Raila. He has disowned the referendum thing. Others have picked up Mr Duale’s vitriol against the ODM Leader.

They are taking the decibels higher. The emotional ranks between the President and the ODM Leader may have closed. Yet, serious gaps still exist around them. There is no common understanding of what the BBI is and what it is not. This is the first bridge that the initiative must build. What is the BBI? Provided that disturbing gaps exist in what this thing is, it must be regarded – in the words of Caribbean novelist V S Naipaul in Miguel Street, as “the thing without a name.” The trouble with the Kenyatta-Odinga “thing without a name” is that it remains shrouded in mystery, six months later.

 

 

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