New Era of Political Intolerance in Kenya

A New Era of Intolerance with ODM?
By Mwenda Njoka
Watching ODM Secretary-General Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o on TV on Thursday evening news threatening fire, brimstone and other highly combustible elements of torment in political hell to his cabinet colleague William Ruto and others for failing to toe the party line, I had a feeling of déjà vu.
I scratched my head and wondered. I closed my eyes and meditated. Where had I heard such words uttered with that better-than-thou air of political arrogance: “Spare the rod and spoil the child”?
For the whole night I tossed and turned in bed. I couldn’t sleep. My mind could not rest until I got to know the answer to the issue that was troubling me. Then at that unholy hour of the night when witches are said to stroll around naked and spirits roam the realms of the earth, it struck me. Alas? The answer to what was tormenting me had been starring at me all along.
JJ Kamotho. Circa: 1990. Kenyans are tired of the single-party rule of President Daniel arap Moi and KANU. Joseph Kamotho is the party’s all-powerful Secretary-General. He sees no evil, hears no evil, talks no evil and brooks absolutely no one talking evil of the party that is the ‘mother and father’ of the nation.
James Orengo, Paul Muite, Gitobu Imanyara, Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the ubiquitous Raila Odinga and of course one Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o are the fore-front fighting against KANU’s political intolerance and lack of democratic space in the country.
KANU’s Secretary-General Joseph Kamotho at the time justifies the heavy-handed manner the Moi Government deals with the crusaders for multiparty democracy with the saying: “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”
Of course at this time Kamotho and the multiparty crusaders do not belong to the same political party. But Kamotho argues that as Kenyans, everyone is a member of KANU by virtue of the fact that “Kenya is a single-party state de jure.”
As such, Kamotho’s logic goes, since the KANU leadership has decreed Kenya a single-party state, anyone who holds—or tries to propagate— a contrary political view is guilty of serious political sins bordering on high treason.
Those in the then ruling party suspected to be sympathisers of the multiparty crusaders are harassed and harangued out of their political positions. The reasoning? “Spare the rod and spoilt the child.”
Among those on the outside who faced the full wrath of KANU’s intolerance at the time was one Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o. Ironically, Nyong’o’s colleague in ODM leadership, party Chairman Henry Kosgey (as well as William Ruto) was on the side of the tormentors at the time. But that is a story for another day.
Fast forward. Year 2010. Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o is the new Secretary-General in town. JJ Kamotho belongs to the annals of history. But wait a minute, his spirit lives on.
Of course twenty years is a long time in politics, the tables have turned. Nyong’o and those who were on the receiving end of KANU’s intolerance are the rulers of today. Now that the shoe is firmly in the other foot, Nyong’o and colleagues have forgotten the pain and wrath of political intolerance.
Granted, party discipline is a paramount virtue. But this certainly should not be instilled at the expense of larger good. In this case, a spirit of magnanimity towards William Ruto and other ODM members who were in the ‘NO’ camp would do more good to ODM as a party and Kenya as a nation.
I have many issues of disagreement with William Ruto but this does not negate the fact that he was exercising his inalienable democratic right when he led the ‘NO’ campaign. Taking disciplinary action against him—or anyone else— for this would be tantamount to President Kibaki waking up one morning and declaring that the three million Kenyans who voted for ‘NO’ are no longer Kenyans!
As the French say, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same). Unless Prof. Nyong’o and his ilk change their political thinking, perhaps Kenyans have a new reason to be afraid, very afraid.
Ends.
(The writer works with Royal Media Services and is a founder member of the non-profit media development organisation— Africa Centre for Investigative Journalism-ACIJ)

Why time is up for Bethwel Kiplagat at TJRC...

Of Bethwel Kiplagat and the ‘Samson Option’ in TJRC

By Mwenda Njoka

The holy Bible—in the book of Judges—tells the fascinating but tragic story of the great warrior; Samson. Now, Samson was so strong and powerful that nothing could put him down. As a result, he became conceited and impervious to parental advice.

At the time of his birth, his clan—the Danites—was in perpetual war with the Philistines. And the Philistines were regularly having the upper hand in these fights; that is until Samson came to the scene.

His strength single-handedly turned the tables on the Philistines. The Philistines sought various ways to maim and tame the mighty Samson without luck. However, one day, lady luck smiled on them. She came in the form of a beauty queen known as Delilah.

Against the wishes and advice of his parents, Samson married Delilah, who was a Philistine. They would perhaps have lived happily ever after, but did they? Of course not.

Delilah’s kith and kin put pressure on her to find the source of Samson’s might. Using all the feminine sweetness and guile she could muster, Delilah traced Samson’s strength on his long hair. You see, Samson’s hair had never been cut since birth growing into long strands of rastas.

Once she discovered the source of Samson’s strength, everything else was easy for Delilah. She sent a coded message to her people. Philistine warriors came and hide in Samson’s compound. When the mighty man was sound asleep, his ‘loving’ wife cut his long hair to Jordan-like clean-shaven style and then shouted “Samson, Samson! Wake up, the Philistines are here!”

Samson got up in a flash only to find he could not break loose of the ropes tying his hands. Then touching his head, he realized it was clean shaven. His strength had deserted him. The Philistine warriors gorged off his eyes and took him captive.

For several months Samson was held in solitary confinement and his hair grew again. Then one day, the Philistines had a big celebration and they needed to show off their big catch. So Samson was brought into the temple.

While there, he asked to be placed next the two main pillars of the temple to lean on them. While there, he pushed the pillars with all his might and the temple collapsed on the crowds below killing Samson and thousands of Philistines.

What Samson did has come to be known in modern warfare as taking ‘The Samson Option’. This is a situation where a leader decides that if he has no way out of a tricky situation, the best solution is to bring the temple down killing himself together with everyone else.

What has this got to do with the Truth, Justice & Reconciliation Commission (TJRC)? Well, if you place the embattled TJRC Chairman, Bethwel Kiplagat in place of Samson, you begin to get the drift.

Our own ‘Samson’ seems to have decided that rather than die alone, he would rather bring the temple down and die with everyone else. Is taking ‘The Samson Option’ the best alternative open to the once-upon-a-time venerable Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat? I don’t think so.

Right now, the ‘Philistines’—so to speak—have outsmarted our ‘Samson’. When they started hurling all manner of accusations at him, they figuratively and effectively took him captive, gorge his eyes and cut his rastas and, alas, no new hair has grown!

A couple of months ago when the ‘Philistines’ started hurling stones at him, he had a very good chance to escape with his hair intact and possibly reign again within the ‘temple’ (read TJRC).

All that he needed to do at the time was to humble himself, step aside and while outside the ‘temple’, quote to his accusers the words of Jesus in the Book of John: “Let he who has no sin be the one to cast the first stone…”

There is no doubt that majority of his accusers are guilty of scarlet-red sins. But that is beside the point now. If our ‘Samson’ had shown humility at the right time, I am convinced he would have survived the tide of the ‘Philistines’ and regained his place in the ‘temple’ stronger and better. But now it is too late.

For some strange reasons, he allowed himself to be deluded by the sheen and might of his silver mane. He sadly let hubris take over his erstwhile sense of humility replacing it with a misguided sense of entitlement. And once that happened, the game was over.

There is only one honorable thing left for our ‘Samson’ to do now. Rather than bring the temple down with him, he can still walk away, save the temple and, hopefully, reclaim a modicum of his erstwhile image as a humble and unassuming diplomat.

Ends

(Mwenda Njoka is a journalist working with Royal Media Services and founder-member of Africa Centre for Investigative Journalism—ACIJ)