Uhuru
Kenyatta, the presumptive presidential candidate of The National
Alliance, was in Burundi yesterday, having dragged the likes of Charity
Ngilu and Musikari Kombo to one of the latest members of the East
African Community for "alliance talks". Why he feels the need to do so
begs more questions than answers. Mr Kenyatta, though, understands the
power of what the Americans call optics better than anyone. He may have
been born with the largest silver spoon in Kenya, but Mr Kenyatta, like
his political bete noir Raila Odinga, understands the man on
the street better than many will give him credit for. He knows the
images of him sitting down with heads of state will create the right
optical illusion that may swing a few more votes his way. The urban
sophisticates in their ivory towers may sneer at his cross-border
shenanigans, but Mr Kenyatta is not counting on their votes as much as
he is counting on the votes of the millions of Kenyans whose level of
political sophistication is demonstrated by their nostalgia for the
three-piece voting ways of days past. Mr Kenyatta calculates that they
will see images of him sitting down for serious talks with heads of
state and come to associate him with the presidency. It helps that many
know he is the son of Kenya's founding president.
Kenya is every bit as exceptional as the United States, just not as successful. In politics, we have confounded the naysayers who argued that Africans would always screw up self-governance. Make no mistake; 24 years of Nyayoism was a catastrophe and the incessant "ethnic clashes" and "election violence" continue to undermine the picture of Kenya as a sanctuary of peace in a region that is not. But we should not underestimate the continued existence of a "nation" composed of 42 other nations, many of which distrust each other (at least their political leaders do), 50 odd years after internal self-rule was "granted" by the colonial government. For this reason, Uhuru Kenyatta must not only persuade his "people" to vote for him come March 2013, he must persuade other peoples to do so and in large numbers if he is to secure the presidency. His forays in the East Africa Community are an attempt to inform Kenyans that he is not just eying the leadership of the nation, but of the region and that his reception in the capitals of Kenya's neighbours is an indication that he will not confine his leadership to the Mount Kenya Region, or Kenya alone for that matter. Mr Kenyatta intends to stamp Kenya's authority over the entire East African region.
This must have been the same conclusion that Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka arrived at in the last election when they both paid visits to Yoweri Museveni of Uganda during their campaigns. Their ambitions were merely to pay homage to East Africa's remaining strongman. Uhuru Kenyatta has demonstrated that they must have bigger ambitions for themselves and the nation.
Whether Mr Kenyatta's gamble will pay off depends on whether one still thinks Kenyans are politically unsophisticated. Kenyans have come a long way since the dark days of 2007/08. We have learned a lot since Mwai Kibaki was first sworn in as Kenya's third President. It is simplistic to presume that because over 60% of Kenyans lead a "simple life" that they are simple minded. Nothing could be further from the truth. The evolution of the Kenyan voter can be traced to the last bribe-filled election of 2002. Then, many Kenyans elected one candidate while taking campaign bribes from others. Whoever paid the highest bribes for votes sometimes lost in a landslide. 2013 is set to put paid to many political assumptions about Kenyan voters. Mr Kenyatta is testing one with his cross-border forays and if Kenyans refute the image that he is attempting to capture, we will have advanced another step towards limiting the power that politicians have over our body politic.
Kenya is every bit as exceptional as the United States, just not as successful. In politics, we have confounded the naysayers who argued that Africans would always screw up self-governance. Make no mistake; 24 years of Nyayoism was a catastrophe and the incessant "ethnic clashes" and "election violence" continue to undermine the picture of Kenya as a sanctuary of peace in a region that is not. But we should not underestimate the continued existence of a "nation" composed of 42 other nations, many of which distrust each other (at least their political leaders do), 50 odd years after internal self-rule was "granted" by the colonial government. For this reason, Uhuru Kenyatta must not only persuade his "people" to vote for him come March 2013, he must persuade other peoples to do so and in large numbers if he is to secure the presidency. His forays in the East Africa Community are an attempt to inform Kenyans that he is not just eying the leadership of the nation, but of the region and that his reception in the capitals of Kenya's neighbours is an indication that he will not confine his leadership to the Mount Kenya Region, or Kenya alone for that matter. Mr Kenyatta intends to stamp Kenya's authority over the entire East African region.
This must have been the same conclusion that Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka arrived at in the last election when they both paid visits to Yoweri Museveni of Uganda during their campaigns. Their ambitions were merely to pay homage to East Africa's remaining strongman. Uhuru Kenyatta has demonstrated that they must have bigger ambitions for themselves and the nation.
Whether Mr Kenyatta's gamble will pay off depends on whether one still thinks Kenyans are politically unsophisticated. Kenyans have come a long way since the dark days of 2007/08. We have learned a lot since Mwai Kibaki was first sworn in as Kenya's third President. It is simplistic to presume that because over 60% of Kenyans lead a "simple life" that they are simple minded. Nothing could be further from the truth. The evolution of the Kenyan voter can be traced to the last bribe-filled election of 2002. Then, many Kenyans elected one candidate while taking campaign bribes from others. Whoever paid the highest bribes for votes sometimes lost in a landslide. 2013 is set to put paid to many political assumptions about Kenyan voters. Mr Kenyatta is testing one with his cross-border forays and if Kenyans refute the image that he is attempting to capture, we will have advanced another step towards limiting the power that politicians have over our body politic.
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