Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, 68, signed a secret deal with former PM Raila Odinga,77, which has suffered a fait accompli.
For this agreement to suffer fait accompli, it means that Nasa must have been punctured beyond repair and is irreversible.
In such a scenario, the best wisdom required of members is to accept and let live, then jump into the next non-punctured bandwagon or wheelbarrow and move on as it has happened.
Professor Makau Mutual has regretted Kalonzo’s breaching of the Nasa confidential deal and the choice of language he has applied that has besmirched both Raila and himself as being dishonest.
In my view, while in some countries like the US it is riskier to defame someone and falsely spread rumors, in Kenya, some people are not aware that there is civil remedy when someone causes unmerited harm to someone’s reputation.
A legal luminary such as Kalonzo is expected to shine the light of casuistic and apodictic law. He has to understand that in most countries to day we are in a context of cultural pluralism. This refers to a condition in which people of diverse cultures/ethnicities co-exist and draw insights from each other without bigotry.
Both Raila and Kalonzo have not served the state in the period the MoU was weaved. If they have done the work in any capacity, then they have done pro-bono service. But on issues of cooperating as principals or colleagues in a coalition pact, it is incumbent upon them to build an enduring symbiotic culture of polite submission, respect and non- grandstanding that enable making non-juridical decisions on one’s own.
Advisory wise, the above informal approach, using the right known diplomatic and human relationship procedures where both or all hold I'm OK – You're OK healthy framework/ position, there can be safer decisions arrived at. Worthy of note is that it is irrelevant to impute distrust and dishonesty on each other on a deal not accomplished
Today we have to accept, by the fact of our democratic dispensation, that we have many parties with differing unique cultural identities plus ideologies. For that matter, if we have to co-exist side by side amid such and live harmoniously, there is need for leaders to accept teaming up and promote a culture of working together without hitches.
Raila’s ODM is one of the best examples of a stable party whose organogram has an administrative structure of staff drawn from every nook and corner of Kenya that has worked efficiently and effectively in their various roles assigned without hearing any earthquake. This is a true successful working party that mirrors Raila as one who can foster a skillful management of state affairs.
Today some parties die and others may have problems, owing to failure to harness good principles of management and transformational leadership. Raila has excelled in various fronts namely ODM leadership, as prime minister, AU Infrastructure envoy, democratization of Kenya, devolution pioneer, egalitarian philosophy advocacy and social welfare advocacy, among others
For what matter, Kalonzo need to be part of the Raila-led Azimio to assist in facilitating its development as they have worked before in some categories. Perhaps, people might see my brother as stupid, really stupid, if he is much obsessed with Nasa-based on agreements that were done while in the now-defunct alliance. NASA is now nonexistent. Kalonzo may need by design to be flexible to adapt a larger coalition arrangement that have come anew and have nothing to do with previous breaches pertaining to NASA.
Notwithstanding this, the forthcoming election is not very far. I wish to echo some important points that need to be considered seriously.
First, a new spirit must blow amongst the like-minded people among the coalition partners to work as a team to win. The Azimio la Umoja should not make costly blunders by dragging and investing too much time on the need for structured conversations instead of focusing on campaigns across different communities.
Second, it is surprising that Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya) and Kalonzo (Wiper) among those who have in the past worked closely with Raila should continue framing Railla with a trust deficit tag.
They are aware that any agreement contracted in a mutual manner suffers a fait accompli, especially in this case where Nasa is dead as a herring as well as the tolerated election that was lost because of detected irregularities.
Raila’s story has close resemblance to that of US President Abraham Lincoln and depicts need for perseverance and patience. Lincoln’s story reads as follows:
When he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality and he had to work to help support them. At age 9, his mother died. At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk. He wanted to enroll in law school but could not make it. At 23, he went into debt as a partner in a small store. At 26 his business partner died leaving him a huge debt that took several years to repay. At 28 after he befriended a girl for four years he asked her for marriage and she refused. At 37, on his third try for congress, he was elected. But two years later, he failed to be re-elected. At 41 his four-year-old son died. At 45 he ran for the Senate but lost. He also failed as the vice presidential candidate at 47. At 49, he vied again for the Senate and lost. At 51 he got elected US president.
This story can give Raila hope.
Americans consider Lincoln as the greatest leader the US ever had. Some are saying Raila, the man with a Masters Engineering degree from Otto Von Guericke University Magdeburg in Germany, is the man who is able to create opportunities for the unemployed and grow economy quickly up by putting up more home-grown industries in each county.
This means he is able to harness the technological und the fourth industrial revolution that will ultimately change the way we live, work, relate and cope.
Now it’s time to bury the former agreements to help embrace the new coalition election pact.
Prof. Awino is a university lecturer
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