President Uhuru Kenyatta has told Kenyans so many things he would want to see implemented.
He talked fervently about the laptop-turned-tablets programme for primary school children. His government promised five stadia, dams and many other major infrastructure projects. Today, asking observant Kenyans about all that will elicit mixed reactions.
He is on record admitting that wanton corruption was derailing the well-laid plans by his government but being the chief executive of this country the buck stops with him. The President has turned livid when propagating his pet topics and he has seemed impatient with people, especially from his Jubilee Party who harbour different opinions. This may mean the President is relying on a small clique of hanger-on to make weighty decisions, some of which need broader consensus by various stakeholders, including legislators. MPs don’t take kindly anything that portrays them as mere rubber stamps.
The much-hyped handshake — a very noble idea — was bungled by ego and brinkmanship because there was no way of demanding accountability as it was first touted as a two gentlemen’s agreement. The rapprochement quickly assumed a life of its own and later became a government project through the BBI. Someone was meanwhile using it to buttress his political standing as if they were in a coalition government.
The whole idea was to achieve certain pre-conceived political scores. The heat that it has generated is an exact opposite of what the handshake intended and is a classic case of how not to unite the people.
The upshot of all these is that democracy is under siege and the rule of law undermined.
Odhiambo Jamwa
Economic and political analyst
