We are not purveyors of doom and gloom but the intra-Jubilee Party tensions are beginning to create chilly undercurrents that left unchecked will fan disruptive suspicions.
The Tanga Tanga group associated with Deputy President William Ruto and its nemesis Kieleweke cannot be begrudged their right to political loyalty but the line between visionaries and blackguards could be becoming blurred. We appeal to political players to go out for the handbrake and retrospect.
There are echoes of the past and reason to pause and reflect on. The strained relations in the Grand Coalition Government between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga following bloody 2007 election and the politics of nusu mkate as cracks widened over real and imaginary shortchanging.
The truth notwithstanding, reports of alleged toxic relations between Ruto and a section of top public service mandarins threatens to suck in the rank and file service machinery with negative implications on development and security.
Some politicians in the DP’s corner have openly berated specific targets, blaming them for giving orders to allegedly derail Ruto’s 2022 presidential ambitions.
This has left National Government Administration Officers in Catch’22 situation and herein lies the massive challenge and attendant danger; Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Fear and uncertainty among public officials affects service delivery. The Deputy President has a constitutionally defined role and so have public servants, irrespective of rank.
It would be a folly not to build on strengths that make Kenya great and instead widen our vulnerability when it comes to politics. Our resilience, our sense of common purpose, our determination in the face of adversity to surge ahead and the significant steps made in all spheres and our flexibility to move away from the edge.
These dividends must be buttressed by pursuing objectives of unity, equity, justice, inclusivity, and confronting graft. Once we embrace these values, the path to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s legacy, specifically the Big Four agenda will have been smoothened.
We can ill afford to behave as if we exist in diametrically opposed orbits over an election which is three-plus years away. Jubilee has a five-year social contract with Kenyans and its fulfilment must be the overriding goal.