KANYADUDI: Retired state heads should give up political activism

It is important that a shared understanding of government should be used in this article. Government is that part of the state that gives it life.

It is the government that enables the state to deliver its mandate to citizens. At the broad level, the state comprises the government and citizens, including the territorial span that constitutes the geographical country.

The country is defined by its recognised boundaries while the citizens give it life as a nation. In many cases, there would many sub-nations that come together.

Therefore, in modern times, what exists is the nation state. The government as understood in political science studies comprises of three arms.

These are the executive, the legislature and judiciary. There also exists the ancillary but superintending defense forces. These arms of government are meant to be independent but complementary to each other.

In their respective roles they oversight and countercheck each other. This brings forth accountability that promotes the public good.

The defence forces protect the citizens from external aggression, the legislature makes laws and oversights, the executive implements the development agenda while the judiciary arbitrates in case of disputes.

The disputes may be between individual citizens or institutions including the various arms of government.

Each of the government arms is headed by a respective institutional office, some of whom are elected while others are appointed.

President or prime minister heads the executive as the jurisdiction may determine.

The chief justice in almost all countries generally leads the judiciary just as the speaker universally heads the legislature.

The defence forces as an institution is usually commanded by the highest-ranking military general.

Of all these, the executive is normally the largest and deepest in terms of organisational structure and human resource endowment respectively.

In Kenya, the first prime minister and later President was Mzee Jomo Kenyatta who was succeeded by Daniel Moi, Mwai Kibaki, Uhuru Kenyatta and currently William Ruto.

The speakers have been Sir Humphrey Slade, Fred Mati, Moses Keino, Jonathan Ng’eno, Francis Kaparo, Kenneth Marende, Justine Muturi and currently Moses Wetangula.

On the other hand, the judiciary has been in the hands of Sir John Ainley, Arthur Farrell, Kitili Mwendwa, Sir James Wicks, Sir Alfred Simpson, Chunilal Madan, Cecil Miller, Robin Hancox, Fred Apallo, Majid Cocker, Zacchaeus Chesoni, Bernard Chunga, Evans Gicheru, Willy Mutunga, David Maraga and currently Martha Koome.

In the history of the country, the heads of the executive have largely assumed a quiet life after retirement. The second President Daniel Moi maintained an out of politics lifestyle after handing over power to his former vice, Mwai Kibaki.

In the same vein Kibaki retreated to his Muthaiga residence after moving from State House until his death in April 2022.

Uhuru Kenyatta had brief run-ins with the Ruto administration regarding being party leader of Jubilee and Azimio coalition.

But he soon relinquished these roles and mended up with his former deputy. In fact, it turns out that the discomfort with Uhuru was more from Rigathi Gachagua than Ruto.

Until Justine Muturi came into the scene, most if not all former speakers of Parliament enjoyed their retirement in the peace and tranquility of their residences. Muturi broke ranks with his erstwhile boss, Uhuru and joined forces with the Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza coalition against Raila’s Azimio coalition.

He would later join Ruto’s government as its pioneer attorney general. He therefore moved from the head of the legislature to the second tier executive position.

This meant that he had to shift from the exalted position of the head of the peoples’ representative institution to undertaking toxic partisan politics. This was very unprecedented and presented a dicey situation for the government.

The Kenya Kwanza coalition sought to revise many policies of the Uhuru and handshake government.

As the speaker, Muturi had presided over the legislation of these policies. Yet, now he found himself as the chief legal advisor on their revision.

He had moved from being a head of a very critical arm of government to being a servant of the head of the other arm.

This to some extent led to the apparent dysfunction of the state law office during his tenure. As fate would have it, he was later moved to the lackluster ministry of public service from where he was fired to join forces with the impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Perhaps the most confounding leadership contradictions of the country are the recent political activism of the immediate former chief justices. Mutunga rose to become the pioneer chief justice under the new constitution.

He had been a consistent defender of human rights and crusader for good governance. As a young and liberal university lecturer, he was one of the detainees of the infamous Nyayo era.

He was thus one of the key architects of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. His tenure at the helm of the judiciary has been hailed and truly remains as the most transformative since independence.

As an activist he inspired the establishment of many legal institutions and mentored many practitioners.

David Maraga was also exemplary in his discharge of jurisprudence even if he appeared as the antithesis of Mutunga. He rose from relative obscurity in Nakuru as private practice lawyer.

He later joined the administration of the judiciary as a magistrate and rose through the ranks. He beat many prominent names to the coveted seat of the chief justice in the rigorous recruitment process.

However, the hallmark of his tenure was the historic nullification of the 2017 presidential elections. It was the first of its kind in the region and celebrated globally as a masterstroke.

The two former chief justices therefore by dint of their performances in office acquired unequivocal respect across board.

They became paragons of good governance and occupied high moral grounds.

Having delivered their respective mandates successfully and to the satisfaction of the citizens, it was generally expected that the duo would retreat to a quiet life in their retirement.

The expectation was they would join Uhuru and other former chief justices and speakers of Parliament as statesmen of the nation.

From this exalted perch they would regularly offer nonpartisan and visionary counsel to the nation in times of crisis.

When the country is at crossroads as now with the Gen Z protests, they would be there to provide unbiased guidance to the nation.

As respected elders, the country would also rely upon them to foster good international relations and promote regional integration.

However, it is baffling to many that the duo would be involved in legal activism in neighboring countries of Tanzania and Uganda.

These acts contributed to strained relations between the government of Kenya and its East African Community members. From their vast networks and high profiles, they might have better used diplomacy and soft power to achieve their intended noble objectives.

Maraga has gone ahead to declare interest in the presidency. This has pushed him to engage in partisan politics of the country. Kenya’s voting patterns are tribally inclined and mobilisation is ethnically driven.

Maraga’s greatest challenge will be how to mount a successful presidential campaign devoid of ethnic vitriol. In the ensuing polarisation of the nation through tribal jingoism, the duo cannot be relied upon to provide unbiased way forward.

Worse still is the fact that they have inadvertently lowered the standing of the judiciary as an equal arm of the government.

On the same breath, Muturi has also demonstrated that the legislature is subservient to the executive. This unbridled ambition of the trio clothed in political activism does not promote good governance and nurture institutions.