Post by Namwamba on Oct 24, 2005 8:10:21 GMT 3
By Ababu Namwamba
Mr President, I address you as a patriotic Kenyan, believing that in the midst of adversity, a responsible child is one who calls his father’s attention to imminent danger, while a good father is one sagacious enough to listen. Please listen to me today.
Mr President, exactly 1010.5 days ago today, over three million Kenyans of all ethnicities mandated you to resuscitate the Kenyan dream. Most of those who voted for you had neither seen you nor heard your voice, for throughout the campaigns you lay recuperating from that unfortunate accident. But you had dedicated teammates. And when Raila famously quipped, "the captain is injured, but the game must go on!" Kenyans responded with poignant enthusiasm.
From Mandera to Namanga, Budalang’i to Shimoni, they sang "yote yawezekana", an intoxicating rendition that came to epitomise the anticipated dawn of a new Kenya. With the lifting "unbwogable" lyrics thrown into the mix, spirits of the nation rose to the high heavens. In scenes reminiscent of that magical night of 12 December 1963 when the Union Jack was lowered and our Black, White, Red and Green stripes proudly rose to flutter in the gentle midnight winds over Uhuru Gardens, Kenyans could be forgiven for daring fate!
The air across the country was pregnant with expectation. Indeed a global survey early in 2003 found Kenyans to be the most optimistic people in the world! Now I must pose two questions to you: One, by playing on to victory in your absence, the team demonstrated the power of teamwork. Why haven’t you harnessed this spirit for nation-building?
Two, by what magic have you managed, in 1010.5 days, to turn the cascade of national hope into such a blistering furnace of bitterness and rancour that now threatens to consume Kenya?
Mr President, history is replete with proof that great nations can be forged from diversity. The famed Roman Empire was an expansive mosaic of diverse ethnicities. It reigned for centuries, and handed modern times lasting civilisation like law and the alphabet.
The US is an amalgam of immigrants from all corners of the globe, but this diversity does not pose a mortal threat to the cohesion of the world’s sole super power. President Clinton loved to wax about his Irishness, but he remains firmly American.
Kenyans put you in power to sow seeds for one nation enriched and not threatened by our ethnic diversity. One of your primary tasks was therefore to correct the anomaly of tribalism, not by empty rhetoric, but through deliberate measures for equitable distribution of national resources, banishing nepotism from state appointments and giving every Kenyan a sense of belonging. I have two questions for you here: One, having been elected by all Kenyans less than three years ago, when did you become a tribal chief requiring protection as your key minister and Banana chief coordinator Simon Nyachae is asking a section of Kenyans to do? And protection from who?
Mr President, on January 3 2003, you took the oath of office before God and in the presence of half a million citizens at Uhuru Park. Bible in hand, you swore to defend the Constitution of Kenya and to maintain irreproachable fidelity to the rule of law. A key plank in the rule of law is obedience to judicial will. You must be aware that impunity in officialdom has posed the greatest threat to the rule of law in Kenya, and has led to anarchical jungle rule in countries all around us.
I have many concerns here: Why has your government developed such disdain for the rule of law? Why have you never reprimanded Cabinet ministers like Raphael Tuju, Chirau Ali Mwakwere, Amos Kimunya and the late Karisa Maitha who are on record for defiling the sanctity of court orders?
And most diabolical, why are you falling into the bad ways of your ministers? By handing out those title deeds in Olenguruone, you shamed Mr Justice Daniel Musing and scandalised the essence of the rule of law. You go down the annals of history as the first President in Kenya to trash a court order. Is your government courting the kind of impunity that ultimately wasted the regime you succeeded?
Mr President, as a well-schooled economist, you know that corruption devastated Kenya’s economy. I remember that beautiful morning in November 2002 when you made a rousing speech at the Nairobi Hilton after signing the ill-fated MoU with LDP. "…in fighting corruption", I recall you declaring, "…we must start from the top..." You also talked of fiscal discipline in government. What went wrong? Why do we see Cabinet ministers linked to both Anglo Leasing and Goldenberg still swaggering along the corridors of your government? Or how far is "the top"?
Mr President, a constitution is an instrument for constructing not deconstructing the State. You were elected on the platform of popular reforms. Indeed you impressed Kenyans with that sterling performance before Prof Yash Pal Ghai when you presented the position of your Democratic Party on the ideal constitution for Kenya. You argued for a limited presidency, and pitched for a prime minister with muscle. You talked of a constitution that would unite Kenyans and solidify democratic gains. You argued for safeguards to buttress multipartyism, including strengthening the Official Opposition in Parliament, which you then headed. Just what happened on your way to power? Why do you emasculate democracy by raiding opposition benches in Parliament, when Kenyans gave you a clear majority? Beware Mr President: Unless there is liberty for all, there is liberty for none.
Mr President, you are, without doubt, a brilliant man who has eaten book well, from Makerere to London. But other Kenyans are equally well-endowed with that matter above the neck. Indeed Kenyans are famed the world over for their intellect. So, why have you decided that Kenyans are a "pumbavu" and "bure" lot? How could stupid voters have had the foresight of electing a "mwerevu" like you? As your Planning Minister told you, Kenyans are not stupid. I certainly am not. Neither are my blessed parents, wife and children. Kenyans do not deserve the kind of insults spewing from your respectable self. Accord the office you hold the honour it deserves.
Finally, Mr President, I wish to remind you that the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice. If history has taught us anything, it is that no evil is so powerful as to overwhelm good. You still have the chance to bequeath Kenya a legacy of wise stewardship. King Solomon did not slice the baby into two as demanded by the impostor "mother". He listened right and saved the baby’s life. You must listen to the right voices.
Humility is not cowardice, neither is impudence courage. Today I object to these off-putting ways, and implore you to choose the path of fidelity to Kenya. Majority of Kenyans believe in harmonious unity in diversity. I am proud to be called a Kenyan of Luhya descent.
My wife Kagure is proud to be called a Kenyan with Kikuyu roots deeply buried in your Nyeri backyard. Our little children Nkosi and Lulu know of only one heritage: Kenyan. These are blocks for nation-building that should be gathered not scattered. Deep-water fish play not in the pond, but glide in the sea alongside other fish. Muthoniwa, heed.
Mr President, I address you as a patriotic Kenyan, believing that in the midst of adversity, a responsible child is one who calls his father’s attention to imminent danger, while a good father is one sagacious enough to listen. Please listen to me today.
Mr President, exactly 1010.5 days ago today, over three million Kenyans of all ethnicities mandated you to resuscitate the Kenyan dream. Most of those who voted for you had neither seen you nor heard your voice, for throughout the campaigns you lay recuperating from that unfortunate accident. But you had dedicated teammates. And when Raila famously quipped, "the captain is injured, but the game must go on!" Kenyans responded with poignant enthusiasm.
From Mandera to Namanga, Budalang’i to Shimoni, they sang "yote yawezekana", an intoxicating rendition that came to epitomise the anticipated dawn of a new Kenya. With the lifting "unbwogable" lyrics thrown into the mix, spirits of the nation rose to the high heavens. In scenes reminiscent of that magical night of 12 December 1963 when the Union Jack was lowered and our Black, White, Red and Green stripes proudly rose to flutter in the gentle midnight winds over Uhuru Gardens, Kenyans could be forgiven for daring fate!
The air across the country was pregnant with expectation. Indeed a global survey early in 2003 found Kenyans to be the most optimistic people in the world! Now I must pose two questions to you: One, by playing on to victory in your absence, the team demonstrated the power of teamwork. Why haven’t you harnessed this spirit for nation-building?
Two, by what magic have you managed, in 1010.5 days, to turn the cascade of national hope into such a blistering furnace of bitterness and rancour that now threatens to consume Kenya?
Mr President, history is replete with proof that great nations can be forged from diversity. The famed Roman Empire was an expansive mosaic of diverse ethnicities. It reigned for centuries, and handed modern times lasting civilisation like law and the alphabet.
The US is an amalgam of immigrants from all corners of the globe, but this diversity does not pose a mortal threat to the cohesion of the world’s sole super power. President Clinton loved to wax about his Irishness, but he remains firmly American.
Kenyans put you in power to sow seeds for one nation enriched and not threatened by our ethnic diversity. One of your primary tasks was therefore to correct the anomaly of tribalism, not by empty rhetoric, but through deliberate measures for equitable distribution of national resources, banishing nepotism from state appointments and giving every Kenyan a sense of belonging. I have two questions for you here: One, having been elected by all Kenyans less than three years ago, when did you become a tribal chief requiring protection as your key minister and Banana chief coordinator Simon Nyachae is asking a section of Kenyans to do? And protection from who?
Mr President, on January 3 2003, you took the oath of office before God and in the presence of half a million citizens at Uhuru Park. Bible in hand, you swore to defend the Constitution of Kenya and to maintain irreproachable fidelity to the rule of law. A key plank in the rule of law is obedience to judicial will. You must be aware that impunity in officialdom has posed the greatest threat to the rule of law in Kenya, and has led to anarchical jungle rule in countries all around us.
I have many concerns here: Why has your government developed such disdain for the rule of law? Why have you never reprimanded Cabinet ministers like Raphael Tuju, Chirau Ali Mwakwere, Amos Kimunya and the late Karisa Maitha who are on record for defiling the sanctity of court orders?
And most diabolical, why are you falling into the bad ways of your ministers? By handing out those title deeds in Olenguruone, you shamed Mr Justice Daniel Musing and scandalised the essence of the rule of law. You go down the annals of history as the first President in Kenya to trash a court order. Is your government courting the kind of impunity that ultimately wasted the regime you succeeded?
Mr President, as a well-schooled economist, you know that corruption devastated Kenya’s economy. I remember that beautiful morning in November 2002 when you made a rousing speech at the Nairobi Hilton after signing the ill-fated MoU with LDP. "…in fighting corruption", I recall you declaring, "…we must start from the top..." You also talked of fiscal discipline in government. What went wrong? Why do we see Cabinet ministers linked to both Anglo Leasing and Goldenberg still swaggering along the corridors of your government? Or how far is "the top"?
Mr President, a constitution is an instrument for constructing not deconstructing the State. You were elected on the platform of popular reforms. Indeed you impressed Kenyans with that sterling performance before Prof Yash Pal Ghai when you presented the position of your Democratic Party on the ideal constitution for Kenya. You argued for a limited presidency, and pitched for a prime minister with muscle. You talked of a constitution that would unite Kenyans and solidify democratic gains. You argued for safeguards to buttress multipartyism, including strengthening the Official Opposition in Parliament, which you then headed. Just what happened on your way to power? Why do you emasculate democracy by raiding opposition benches in Parliament, when Kenyans gave you a clear majority? Beware Mr President: Unless there is liberty for all, there is liberty for none.
Mr President, you are, without doubt, a brilliant man who has eaten book well, from Makerere to London. But other Kenyans are equally well-endowed with that matter above the neck. Indeed Kenyans are famed the world over for their intellect. So, why have you decided that Kenyans are a "pumbavu" and "bure" lot? How could stupid voters have had the foresight of electing a "mwerevu" like you? As your Planning Minister told you, Kenyans are not stupid. I certainly am not. Neither are my blessed parents, wife and children. Kenyans do not deserve the kind of insults spewing from your respectable self. Accord the office you hold the honour it deserves.
Finally, Mr President, I wish to remind you that the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice. If history has taught us anything, it is that no evil is so powerful as to overwhelm good. You still have the chance to bequeath Kenya a legacy of wise stewardship. King Solomon did not slice the baby into two as demanded by the impostor "mother". He listened right and saved the baby’s life. You must listen to the right voices.
Humility is not cowardice, neither is impudence courage. Today I object to these off-putting ways, and implore you to choose the path of fidelity to Kenya. Majority of Kenyans believe in harmonious unity in diversity. I am proud to be called a Kenyan of Luhya descent.
My wife Kagure is proud to be called a Kenyan with Kikuyu roots deeply buried in your Nyeri backyard. Our little children Nkosi and Lulu know of only one heritage: Kenyan. These are blocks for nation-building that should be gathered not scattered. Deep-water fish play not in the pond, but glide in the sea alongside other fish. Muthoniwa, heed.