here is a growing movement to rehabilitate the image of President Moi in the public's mind. Murithi Mutiga writes in today's Sunday Nation that we should imagine how well Kenya will be governed if the next president were a hybrid of the best qualities of Presidents Moi and Kibaki (Why we should elect 'Moi Kibaki' as the country's next president). Images of Kenyans chanting the demise of the Moi Era in January 2003 have long been forgotten. President Moi was instrumental in defeating the Wako Draft in 2005 and he did his best to defeat the extremely popular CoE draft in 2010. What should be evident for all to see is that the manner in which President Moi ruled the nation, when everything was laid at the door of Baba Moi, did more harm than good. When political commentators laud President Moi's 'deft touch in politics', they willfully and blindly forget that his 'deft touch' was more often accompanied by the jackboots of his secret police. Former detainees and torture victims will attest to the fact that the old man did not have a deft touch; his giraffe-like view of politics was informed by one desire only - to remain at the helm come rain or high water.
When we look out over the political landscape today, a few things come to mind. Prime Minister Raila Odinga is undoubtedly a leader among men. However, the praises being sang in his honour by his multitudes of supporters and fans should not blind us to the fact that his family has had a long and tortured history when it comes to the question of governance in Kenya. He has had to make political accommodations in order to bring him this close to power. Indeed, had it not been for his 'Kibaki Tosha!' slogan in 2002, Uhuru Kenyatta, his Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance would be the president today. In 2007 he cobbled together what he thought was a winning combination and the dispute that arose after the fiasco of the counting of the presidential votes led to the violence that led to the National Accord that led to his appointment as Prime Minister. No, until Mr. Odinga proves once and for all that he is a firm believer in the rule of law, we must withhold our judgment and our presidential votes.
Charles Kanjama points this out in his article in the Sunday Standard (MPs must be pushed to pay tax on all income) when he speaks of the fact that the MPs of the Tenth Parliament continue to ignore the clear provisions of the Constitution when they continue to refuse to pay taxes on their more than KES 600,000 in allowances. This tax boycott is the defining feature of the contempt with which politicians, including the revered PM, hold the people of Kenya. How can the billionaire political colossus look us in the eye, and ask us to trust him, when he cannot do the right thing and pay his taxes? Uhuru Kenyatta, who has received the seal of approval from John Michuki, and indeed his predecessor at the Ministry of Finance Amos Kimunya, indicated that it was right and proper that the 222 well-paid MPs should pay taxes on their total income. They refused, and other than mild rebukes from the Prime Minister and the President, nothing has been done to reverse what can only be described as a sorry state of affairs.
The challenges that face this country in the implementation of the Constitution are becoming more and more apparent as the days turn into months. Some have described this situation as the last kicks of a dying horse, the dying horse being the system that KANU built in Kenyan politics. The suggestion is that the problems we face today can be laid squarely at the feet of the political classes and that we only need to elect newer and 'better' politicians and all our problems will be solved. This fallacy has to a large extent informed the caucusing that is taking place in the professional classes regarding the role they will play in the governance of the counties post-2012 general elections. The truth, as always, is much more complicated. Just like the falacy of trying to find the better aspects of the Moi regime is the fallacy of reposing the people's trust in the professional classes. I have argued before that politics in Kenya is not inherently a bad thing. We have suffered because we have lacked politicians who understand how to play politics well. We have been held hostage by bad leaders our entire post-Independence life and it is time we found 'good' leaders to move us out of the quagmire we find ourselves in. Exhortations that we need a 'Moi Kibaki' are wide off the mark. Instead of deploying their powers of rhetoric to inspire Kenyans to be better citizens, our politicians in the past two weeks alone have found every possible reason to make the case for their ethnic communities, inspiring people to chauvinistic ethno-nationalistic bouts of umbrage and outrage. These are sentiments that will not generate ideas for the more efficient management of national resources or for solutions for national challenges. As a class, both the so-called professionals and the politicians have ill-served Kenya in their leadership positions. When Rose Ambitho asks leaders to listen to the silent concerns of their people, she also should ask the people to take matters into their own hands - it is time that we got involved in the management of our affairs by participating fully, just as the Constitution provides, in the management of our political parties, local authorities, counties and national government. We should call our politicians to account for their political acts of commission and omission and insist that if one is to remain in a leadership position, one must demonstrate a desire to lead by example. For this, the Moi Era must be consigned t the dust-bin of history and all MPs must pay income tax, backdated to the date when Amos Kimunya first demanded that they do so. Those who pay deserve consideration. Those who don't, must be dumped, and dumped quickly!
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