Given all the drama surrounding Matiang’í the past several weeks, I imagined they would be accusing him of something as massive as treason. But in what was a real anti-climax, DCI sleuths apparently accused Matiang’i of the rather dull charge of “conspiracy to commit a felony” arising out of giving false information.
If we were to strictly respect our religious alignments, you would find that thousands of people within the Kenya Kwanza regime have made it a habit of giving out false information daily, which makes this government the last you expect to go after anyone on account of false information. Be that as it may, Matiang’i’s summon and near-arrest at DCI headquarters turned into a delicate standoff between the police and a swelling crowd, which soon included Azimio leader Raila Odinga.
At some point when denied entry, the former PM suggested to the police that he was well capable of asking the crowd to storm the premises. It is then that it occurred to me just how clumsily the police had handled this whole affair.
Matiang’i is the immediate former CS for Interior. Presumably, up to just six months ago, he held a high-level security and intelligence clearance that gave him a front seat view of the security sector in the country. He, however, became a hate figure and punching bag of the Kenya Kwanza formation during the campaigns.
Nevertheless, this security clearance at the very least should make him someone the police, his juniors up until months ago, can invite for a decent and respectful chat over any matters, without the need for the drama. But I guess this was all meant to achieve maximum humiliation for the former CS and as a show of might by the current power wielders.
I don’t know about you, but from where I sit, I see countless challenges facing this administration, with a population that gets restless by the day. I can count from the rising costs of essential goods to insecurity, go down to a thousand items on the list, and none of them will include this obsessive need to go after Uhuru-era officials.
It is not enough that this government is still blaming the Uhuru regime for nearly everything that goes wrong, the need for vindictive pursuit of his people show a level of personal insecurity on the part of this regime’s leadership.
Both President William Ruto and DP Rigathi Gachagua have waxed lyrical numerous times about their admiration for President Mwai Kibaki, the man whose development legacy they swear by. Perhaps a study of the transition from President Daniel Moi to Kibaki would provide the best lesson for them.
In the early life of the Kibaki administration, hawks in government went full time vindictive, hounding out of the security services and the civil service, members of Moi’s Kalenjin community in a very ugly revenge mission. Undoubtedly, this is how the seeds of the 2007-08 post-election violence, five years later, were sown.
However, once the vengeful hawks took a backseat and the Kibaki cabinet, probably the most talented since Independence, got down to work, they undertook a massive transformation of the country, key among them in the areas of health, infrastructure, judicial reforms and education. Indeed, the launch of the free primary education programme in the country was celebrated beyond our words. In case President Ruto is wondering how Kibaki did it, there are only three words for that - priority, focus and talent.
The prioritization of key development matters in Kibaki’s government, a sharp focus on achievement of objectives and a truly talented array of professionals within the Cabinet and government, pushed the agenda of the Kibaki regime in both terms, even where political divisions threatened to negate such gains.
Unfortunately for Kenya Kwanza, they lack all the three. The regime has prioritized prayer over service delivery, focused more on fault-finding of Uhuru and Raila, and the Cabinet is less inspiring than an ageing shoe. I dare say, Ruto and Gachagua claims of being Kibaki disciples fall way off the mark when you consider their actions thus far. Even worse, the DP sits firmly atop of the list of regime leaders whose daily staple is to blame the former President and Raila for whatever challenge the government encounters.
We can go back further to the transition in 1978 that ushered in President Moi. Inheriting a government in which he had way too many dangerous enemies, Moi took the reconciliation route. The erstwhile Rift Valley provincial police officer, James Mungai, had been the face of the powerful people in government who had harassed the then VP Moi.
Some say Mungai’s assaults on Moi had sometimes been physical. There have always been allegations that Mungai had intended to harm Moi upon Kenyatta’s death, the assumption being that Kenyatta would die in Nakuru. All well laid plans went wrong however, as Kenyatta died in Mombasa and Moi safely drove to Nairobi to assume office. As soon as Moi took power, Mungai escaped through the Turkana border into Sudan and onward to exile in Switzerland. But he was soon back when it became clear Moi was not interested in revenge against his old enemies.
Even after Mungai settled to quiet life in Nakuru, not too far from Moi’s own Kabarak farm, there is no evidence that the former president attempted even remotely to antagonize the former to cop. In fact, even the meticulous dismantling of the Kenyatta state to be replaced by Moi’s loyalists was done quietly, slowly and with utmost political skill.
In it all, the new President treated the family of his predecessor as sacred and never allowed even the most voluble Kanu hawks from his backyard to mention the founding father in bad light. It is a lesson in statecraft that requires Kenya Kwanza big shots to urgently go to the political class and learn.
This is not to suggest that Uhuru-era government officials are clean. Far from it. But if there is evidence to prosecute Matiang’i or anyone who served in the previous administration with any wrongdoing, it needs to go through more legal processes than the political petty noises that are becoming the hallmark of this government.
Knowing how uniquely Kenyan politics is wired, a public political lynching often brings out our tribal instincts, and soon, Matiang’i, or indeed whoever else the police decide to arrest, will become just another reason for tribal protests. There is, in fact, a more compelling argument here; that the government has too many issues on its plate, and cannot afford the distractions of fighting a regime that has long been gone.
It’s time to shut out the hawks and really get down to work. Or else, all the time wasted on unimportant things will come back to bite the government.
