Once upon a time, a Mountain was greatly agitated. Loud groans and noises were heard, and crowds of people came from all parts to see what was the matter. While they were assembled in anxious expectation of some terrible calamity, out came a mouse.
Last week, some politicians launched an attack on Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i and his ICT counterpart Joe Mucheru, saying their political allegiance makes them unsuitable to hold their offices.
Kenyans have been treated to unending politicisation of various challenges that face the country. This has even extended to issues that are of benefit to the country, just to make the government look bad.
What these careless statements have done is to put the political class at loggerheads with the government and derail key agendas for the country. It is like some politicians think that if they are loudest at attacking the President or his Cabinet secretaries, this makes them more important than anyone else.
This is not the first time we have seen such attacks, especially on Matiang'i given his strong stance on running the government in a proper manner. There have been a number of calls to impeach the Interior CS just because he has been diligent in doing his work.
It appears as if some politicians cannot stay relevant without attacking key government officials who are just doing their work. During the Grand Coalition government, Internal Security minister George Saitoti was a constant target for politicians.
His diligence and focus on work made politicians want to attack him all the time. This is the same thing we are seeing with the current crop of politicians who have refused to focus on making the lives of Kenyans better.
Matiang'i and Mucheru do not work in a vacuum. Their work is based on government policies and intentions. They draw their mandate from the President and the Cabinet.
Attacking them for the work that they do to ensure the government is running effectively is a low endeavour from those politicians. It is hypocritical of the politicians to make claims against any Cabinet secretary yet they rely on them to function.
Let’s face it, Matiang'i is the best performing minister in Uhuru’s administration, and takes his orders directly from the President. If he leans in a certain way politically, it means that by extension his boss leans the same way too. Therefore, an attack on these ministers is a thinly veiled attack on the President.
The President has less than 10 months in office. It’s important that we support him and his administration to complete legacy projects efficiently, without throwing stones or disrupting their operations.
After all, the Cabinet secretaries work at the pleasure of the President, who is the leader of the government and I am sure if Uhuru were dissatisfied, it would be clear. The President would have already dealt with his CSs if there was a need to.
Therefore the attacks on Matiang'i and Mucheru, and any other Cabinet secretary, are immature and insincere. They are similar to the noises made by the mountain in the fable above only for a mouse to emerge.
Instead of trying to undermine the authority of the government, politicians should focus on development. They should be working with the Cabinet secretaries to ensure that the government delivers its mandate to the people of Kenya.
As the President has stated on numerous occasions, those that do not support or are unwilling to execute his vision should resign and allow him to work with those who will deliver.
For Matiang'i and Mucheru, and indeed all government officials, ignore these politicians and focus on the work that will uplift the lives of Kenyans. Support the President in his endeavour to leave a lasting legacy and make a mark in being part of that legacy by playing your part.
There is a Kikuyu saying that the noise of a frog won’t stop a cow from drinking water. This is what those in government should live by.
