2012- Waweru decided to sermonise his listeners about how they should vote in the next election. He was vehement (when wasn’t he?) that come the elections, Kenyans should reject four politicians who have declared interest in the presidency. He named them, in that order, as Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Eldoret North MP William Ruto. Those four, Waweru went on, cannot be trusted to bring about the change that Kenyans are yearning for. Why? PM Odinga and Uhuru are the sons of Kenya’s first president and vice president respectively. President Kenyatta and his deputy fell out shortly after independence, leading to years of political wrangling that stalled our country’s development, Waweru explained. Their sons inherited the bad blood and the antagonism between them has worsened animosity between their respective ethnic power bases; that is, relations between Kikuyus and Luos. For this reason, Agwambo and UK should never be allowed to be president of Kenya. Next were Kalonzo and Ruto. These two are political creations of former President Daniel arap Moi, the man who with his cronies brought this great nation to its knees. Their political philosophy and modus operandi were learnt at the bosom of the ‘professor of politics.’ To elect Kalonzo or Ruto to State House would essentially mean having Moi back in power all over again. Strangely, Waweru did not see any link between Moi and Uhuru Kenyatta, his 2002 ‘project’. UK is the same man Moi has only recently subtly re-endorsed for president. Nor did Waweru bother with the fact that Uhuru and Ruto are charged with the worst crimes possible on earth, and that this is an important dimension of their political histories, whether rightfully or not. Anyway, the crucial question is: Who then, according to Mr. Waweru Mburu, should Kenyans elect as their fourth president? Man did not say, or even suggest. Well, Waweru is entitled to his views. No one is obligated to agree with him. No one risks a jail term or death for not listening to his talk on Radio Citizen. But there seems to have been more to last Monday’s ‘Yaliyotendeka’ programme than met the ear. Why didn’t Waweru Mburu tell his listeners who to vote for, or better, the sort of qualities to seek in a candidate, if he really was interested in offering enlightened perspectives on this topical issue? Why did he only focus on who not to vote for? Why was he so selective about the alleged unsuitability of Odinga, Uhuru, Kalonzo and Ruto? Why did he not say anything about the other several presidential aspirants? Political pundits worth the name normally wouldn’t tell their audience whom to vote for. They want to appear objective. At the same time they like to create the impression that they respect everyone’s right in a democracy to choose. For the same reasons, real pundits would also be very reluctant to announce a black list of politicians who should not to be voted for, especially if the characters on the list are what we would call, for lack of a better term, first-tier presidential aspirants, at least according to opinion polls. Those polls are conducted among Kenyan voters and no pundit would be foolhardy enough to ignore them – unless he is prepared to provide a sensible alternative basis for his views. But Waweru did. He ignored opinion polls and ‘popular’ wisdom. He told his listeners that they should not vote for those first-tier presidential aspirants. And he didn’t have anything to say about second- and third-tier aspirants, who include (listed here in no particular order): Kingwa Kamencu, George Saitoti, Bifwoli Wakoli, Martha Karua, Musalia Mudavadi, Paul Muite, Raphael Tuju, Moses Wetang’ula and James ole Kiyiapi. So, was Waweru Mburu, the political pundit, being reckless? What exactly was the purpose of his broadcast? Was he delivering a dispassionate commentary of the political scene as he saw it? We don’t think so. Waweru Mburu was not being reckless. Equally important, he was not engaged in disinterested political analysis. Waweru is not a fool. He knew pretty well what he was talking about. Here is our own punditry about Waweru’s broadcast, starting with some important background. Waweru’s commentary came only days after the International Criminal Court rejected an appeal by the Ocampo Four against the January ruling that they should stand trial for crimes against humanity connected to the post-election violence of 2007/8. The Ocampo Four include two presidential aspirants Uhuru and Ruto. The cases will now go to trial at a date to yet to be announced. The accused will be required to attend the hearings in person. The direct consequence of this, as it has been stated several times, is that Uhuru and Ruto will find it practically impossible to be on the campaign trail at the same time. Out of sight, out of mind. The two will not only be away from the country, but also the evidence that will be tabled against them by Chief Prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo and the ensuing courtroom dramas starring impassioned defense teams will likely result in screaming headlines daily in Kenya and around the world. Although they have insisted their names will be on the ballot, it will actually be nearly impossible for Uhuru and Ruto to mount any credible presidential campaigns in that kind of atmosphere. The ‘international community’, which loves Kenya so much, is already chewing over the possibility of having to work with a president facing grave criminal charges at The Hague. Uhuru and Ruto, who are the leading lights of the G7 alliance, and their think tanks have obviously reflected deeply upon this situation. Speculation in recent weeks has been that the two will opt out of the presidential race and back someone else. That is very likely. And that is the only reason why Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has stuck with G7 even after Ruto and Uhuru kicked him in the teeth the other day. He hopes to be the G7 candidate after Uhuru and Ruto drop their bids because of the ICC cases. But political observers are agreed that Uhuru and Ruto do not trust Kalonzo. Their body language and figurative speeches suggest so. Radio Citizen’s Waweru Mburu knows all these things. With Uhuru and Ruto out of the race and Kalonzo possibly on his own, the only first-tier aspirant remaining is Raila Odinga. And it seems certain that it was Raila who was the target of Waweru Mburu’s commentary last Monday. We say this because of three reasons. The first is obvious: As a political commentator, Waweru must be alive to the turmoil in the G7 alliance over the fate of Uhuru and Ruto. He also knows how Kalonzo is viewed within the grouping and nationally. Second, Waweru appeared to betray his real intention when he asked his listeners to reject the first-tier presidential aspirants but did not even suggest whom they should choose instead. All the four are tainted, he said. Unstated in this assessment is the suggestion that an unsullied candidate will emerge whom the voters should choose. Emerge from where? Well, because Waweru decided to say nothing about all the other politicians who have declared their presidential ambitions, we can safely assume that he did not have anybody in mind from that group. Would it then be unreasonable to conclude that Waweru Mburu was in fact proposing to his faithful listeners a yet-to-be-named G7 compromise candidate – who is not Kalonzo? And third, it is common knowledge that the G7 is brought together by the single desire to block Raila Odinga from entering State House. There is nothing essentially evil about a scheme like that. Politicians must plot. But, come to think of it, doesn’t Waweru Mburu’s commentary fit perfectly into this scheme? Here is why: His claim that Raila is unsuitable for president because of the supposed sins of his father is unconvincing – at least going by the opinion polls and public discussions about the next election. On the contrary, Odinga Senior is widely celebrated – except perhaps in central Kenya – as the father of opposition politics in Kenya. Maybe we are wrong in our punditry. Waweru Mburu may after all have been doing what he does best: pontificate. But we hope we have shown how what on the surface might appear like an innocent, albeit opinionated, commentary by a media person could actually be thinly veiled partisan political propaganda. And do not forget that last year Waweru Mburu used his progamme to plead with President Kibaki to name a successor to continue his wonderful legacy!
Posted on: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 06:50:15 +0000
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