Lessons from Germany

It is not enough that you can bring ten thousand screaming and chanting men and women into the streets. It is not enough that you can bring the State to a standstill. It is not enough that your words are capable of igniting a conflagration. For you to be a national or local leader, you must be fit to lead. In Germany the Defence Minister has just announced that he will resign after it was reported that he plagiarised as much as 5% of his PhD thesis. In France, they will not take you seriously as a national politician unless you have at least two or three best-selling books on weighty matters such as economics or law or, that French favourite, poetry. Even Barack Obama, president of one of the most un-lettered nations on earth, has a few books to his name. In Kenya, we make do with men and women who would not qualify to head a nursery school, yet we allow them to muck about with billions of shillings in the name of 'national development'.

Martha Karua, the Chairman of NARC-Kenya, insists that Gidion Mbuvi is an intelligent man and that he is a valuable addition to the National Assembly, and a valuable asset to her party. However, unless he was making a political point that escaped the rest of Nairobi, his treatment of the Minister for Special Programmes yesterday at Fuata Nyayo slum was unconscionable and betrayed a level of ignorance that would be shocking if it were an isolated event. You must recall Kiraitu Murungi's statements about rape a few years ago still with shock, especially when you consider that he pursued a Masters Degree at the prestigious Harvard University in the United States. On the anniversary of the Standard Group raid by hooded thugs in the employ of the government, John Michuki will not admit that what he ordered was wrong and an affront to our basic civil liberties. His friends in PNU will, no doubt, stand by him.

In the National Assembly, Martha Karua, Mutula Kilonzo, James Orengo, Abdikadir Mohamed, Ekwe Ethuro, Eseli Simiyu, Wycliffe Oparanya, Anyang' Nyong'o, John Harun Mwau, and Paul Otuoma show that a well-read person is a force to be reckoned with. It was a sad day for the National Assembly when Mukhisa Kituyi lost his deposit and his seat. His ripostes against the forces of reactionism are sorely missed.

The antics of Joshua Kuttuny, Simon Mbugua, Gidion Mbuvi, Bifwoli Wakoli, Millie Adhiambo and Rachel Shebesh, though amusing, show that for some, power is something they must be kept away from. If you are incapable of appreciating the role-model status that you enjoy as a national leader, you have no business conducting the affairs of State. This sad state of affairs is far much worse when it comes to our local authorities. Councils are populated by men and women who will hurl chairs at each other when they disagree; instead of defeating an argument with superior debating skills, they will resort to violence indicative of a third-world basket case. It is no wonder that almost all our local authorities are bankrupt and are incapable of providing even the most basic of services without allegations of inefficiency, inefficacy or corruption. It would come as a shock if a Cabinet member or an office holder in a local authority were to resign simply because they weren't smart enough.

The path that politicians have trodden is slowly being taken by Kenyans from all walks of life. People are unwilling to work hard; choosing instead the short-cut to success. The level of cheating in national examinations is getting to epidemic proportions and while the results may indicate that more cases of cheating are being prevented, it is not for want of trying. The reason why the KNEC insists on photo-identification documents is proof that we will do what it takes to lie and cheat our way to success.

These Augean stables must be shovelled of the muck that has infested them. We must all clean our houses. In 2012 we have the opportunity to re-create the dream of August 27th 2010, but to do so we must face up to the reality that we have allowed our politicians to get away with a lot. It would be enough if we were to insist that they knew what government means, what it can do, and how it can do it. If any of those snake-oil salesmen has not even bothered to read and understand the Constitution, he should not be given a second thought.