The law vs. politics

There is a fine line to be drawn between the law and politics. They feed on each other and they rely on each other for effectiveness. For there to be laws, the politicians must work together to craft Bills in Parliament. For there to be effective political governance, there has to be a structure to regulate the behavior of politicians.

When Kibaki fired his entire Cabinet and prorogued Parliament indefinitely, he was well within his powers. He did not act ultra vires vis-a-vis the constitution. If he were to call for snap General Elections now, he would still be acting well within the boundaries of the law of the land. Those who are whining at the Rais' sudden evidence of backbone should take the good as well as the bad. They wanted the referendum to fail. Now they must face the music. The man who controls the calender, under the current constitituion, is the president; not Parliament and not the general public.

Wanjiku has spoken, now it is the time for the politician and other 'experts' to act. We want a draft that encapsulates our aspirations, addresses our fears, and gives a roadmap for the future. More importantly, we do not want the likes of Kalembe Ndile and Maina Kamanda to be involved in crafting a new draft, or even revising the old one. The same goes for Agwambo and Co. The Mt. Kenya Mafia should employ their spectacularly expensive legal skills in other less intrusive areas like trying to legalise miraa or something.

This is my idea and it is pretty radical. When the PanAm flight was bombed over Lockerbie in Scotland, the Americans, British and Libyans agreed to let the Scots handle the trial of the Libyan suspects. The parties agreed with the verdict of the court. It is time we tried something similar. We can't trust our politicians to play fair over this process. So lets give the Scots a chance to do it for us. And those idiots who will start yelling about a lack of patriotism at this idea, I will remind them, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the vicious."

So who actually won in the referendum war?

The Noes have it but the pro-Referendum guys might actually come out on top. Think about it. The Narc camp is not sleeping in one tent, but the Kanu machine is punching solidly behind Uhuru Kenyatta. There is no confusion as to who is top dog in Kanu, but unless Kibaki runs again in 2007, here is no alternative. Raila, despite his popularity, is not a national icon. Neither is Kalonzo or any of the other pretenders to the throne. Even Tuju with his strategic move to create an alternative power-centre in Nyanza will still be seen as a Luo leader rather than a national one.

When they began the campaign to oppose the Draft Constitution, it quickly deteriorated into a personality clash. It was seen a battle between the rebels in Kibaki's Cabinet and the Official Opposition, such as it were. Now that the battle is over, the war over the 2007 Elections still looms. The Narc coalition stands divided and the Opposition is busily consolidating its base.

Where, as a nation, do we stand after the Referendum? Some might thinkthat it is an opportunity to reflect and create a new Kenya. The mwananchi know better though. We leave the Constitution-making to vampish, selfish politicians and there is no new Kenya to wait for. We will get screwed over and over until we learn from our mistakes. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it; those who do not learn the proper lessons are simply doomed.

Do we really want to go for another voting exercise in two-years time? The numbers of those who voted this tie round speak clearly. There was less than 60% voter turn-out. In two years' time, this number will be less. And this should be a warning for all them politicos. They want my vote, they have to stop telling me why the other guy is worse than they are. Instead, they should outline a clear programme for what they require from me and how much they are going to sacrifice to achieve a country that we can be proud of. Otherwise, I will always think of them as whores who don't know how to keep their knees together.

Leave Iran the fuck alone!

I read that the US is afraid that if Iran gets the bomb then Israel is history. So the fuck what? I can't think of one nation that has made life so difficult for so many people more than the Israelis. If they were to be removed as a political power, the world would have one less festering headache to deal with. Ever since they were given a homeland in 1948, mind you they were given, they have been a thorn in the flesh towards the goal of international peace and security. Everybody goes into paroxyms of fear whenever a threat is issued against that state. If that state weren't there, we would be concentrating on other more pressing issues, like hunger in Africa and cheap energy for the whole world.

Now Iran has gone and put the cat among the pigeons, calling for the total destruction of the Zionist State and going ahead with plans to acquire The Bomb. I don't know if their president is foolhardy or foolish. Either way, he makes me point out that The Bomb is a brilliant campaign tool, but as a national priority, it is very expensive. Look at the Indians and Pakistanis, they got the Bomb but now they cannot feed themselves or secure their borders against petty smugglers of all hues.

What the Americans are afraid of is that the Iranians will use the bomb to bargain with them for a realignment of power in the Middle East. I don't see it that way. Let them have the bomb and watch them bankrupt themselves like all those other morons who have the bomb. It costs money to make and keep the bomb and the US knows this better than anyone else. So why are their fucking knickers in a twist over this simple issue? All they have to do is sit back and watch two idiots destroy each other over an ieology that is frankly a recipe for disaster. So the Islamists think they are the only true faith and the Zionists think they deserve world sympathy because Hitler wiped out a significant proportion of their populations in Europe. They are both wrong.

What the world today wants is a healthy environment, peace and security. We want more money, more love, more everything, and the West Asia Crises are keeping us away from the good stuff. Get rid of the Arabs and the Zionists and two-thirds of the world's headaches go with them. And that is my two-cents worth for this bulletin.

WHOEVER WINS WE LOSE!

When the dust settles on the Referendum tomorrow, the government will be in an unenviable position. Kibaki's boys have played dirty for the last one year, calling Raila and Co. names and playing hardball on virtually everything.

The fact of the matter is, when we vote tomorrow, only a minority will decide a destiny of a nation. An absolute minority. Do the math: there are 31 mllion Kenyans, 15 million of whom are adults and 11.5 million of them are registered voters. Even if 60% of these voters vote yes or no, they will still be a minority, an absolute minority!

So now that we have that uncomfortable detail out of the way, let's deal with the nitty gritty. The Draft has so many lofty ideas that if implemented, Kenya will be the land of milk and honey. But there's a catch: Parliament has to approve everything. And Parliament, in our experience, has more loose nuts than a Studebaker. Do you really see Maina Kamanda reading the proposed amendments to the Bill of Rights and coming up with a credible position? Or Mwenje? Or Kalembe Ndile? My point is this, if a country deserves the leaders it gets, then we are an accursed nation.

There are clearly clever people in Parliament today, but they are Machiavellian rather than Lutheran. They think and obsess over power and its retention rather than the empowerment of the peoples of this nation. If you think Mssrs. Kiraitu and Co. give a flying fuck about you then you need a bed at Mathare Mental Hospital. Pray that you get leaders you want, not deserve, because we want progress and not protests. We need a leadership that will take us the new Canaan, and not a new Constitution. A Constitution will not help if MPs can still promise 'miraa' airports!