In the next few days, Kenyans will join the rest of the world in bidding goodbye to the year 2019.
Apart from thanking God for the gift the life, kindness and love, we shall be asking ourselves this question: Has the Jubilee government lived up to the resolutions of 2019? Of course, all the eyes will be trained on President Uhuru Kenyatta because Kenyans believed he held the sword and all the powers to lead them.
Unfortunately, they keep falling prey to politics of deceit and propaganda peddled around by the self-centred politicians.
Let me explain this. The 2010 constitution whittled down the powers of the President in a big way. Since then, these powers are being exercised by Parliament and Judiciary. Sample this: The President is the Commander-In-Chief of the Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] but he has no power to deploy the troops when Kenya is under attack.
He is required to first seek the approval of Parliament.
The politics of 2022 Uhuru succession have dominated the discourse this year. In his New Year message, President had urged the leaders to shun these politics and focus on fulfilling the promises they made to Kenyans. He, in particular, rallied them to support his Big Four agenda.
But a section of the Jubilee politicians, particularly those supporting Deputy President William Ruto, did not heed to his call. They have kept the fire of the succession burning. In their thinking, Kenyans will blame the President, not the DP, if things go wrong.
They are wrong. Kenyans are not fools. They know the presidency is comprised of two holders —the President and the deputy. Again, the position of DP is protected by the Constitution.
This is unlike in the old constitution when the president exercised the power to hire and fire his Vice President. In this scenario, Uhuru cannot do anything if the DP opts to defy him and read a different script.
As we usher in the New Year 2020, I expect the President to once again rally the leaders behind his Big Four agenda. I hope this time they would heed his call.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a political analyst and blogger
Nairobi
Tel: 0723726451
