What is the minister playing at?

“Why should you carry around a whole platoon of police officers to go and commit a crime; to evict constitutional office holders?” the minister said in reference to threats by Nasa to lead supporters in storming offices of the electoral commission and force out staff they claim bungled the presidential election. Daily Nation (29/9/2017)

The members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, are, indeed, "constitutional office holders" as the minister puts it. However, the secretary and chief executive officers and the remaining staff of the commission are not. All have the right -- indeed, the opportunity -- to ignore the Nasa brigade and its unreasonable demands. For instance, the chief executive, Mr Chiloba, has studiously ignored the Nasa demand that he must resign for being responsible for the irregularities and illegalities committed during the August 8th election as the Supreme Court found. Mr Chiloba did not need the minister to fight his battles for him. Neither do Mr Chiloba's underlings.

The minister, it seems, has used the Nasa anti-IEBC protests as the pretext for withdrawing the bulk of the police bodyguards afforded to Nasa leaders -- a former Vice-President and a former Prime Minister. Of course it will be seen as a partisan affair -- the minister playing hatchet-man to the sore-losers in the Jubilation who simply can't understand how a serial electoral loser could prevail against them at the Supreme Court. Their Supreme Court. Mr Odinga, his unholy cabal and the Supreme Court have to be taught a lesson and the most important is how vulnerable they all are without the warm blanket provided by the personal security of the tough-as-nails General Service Unit commandos. The Supreme Court, its judges (well, most of them, anyway) and its members of staff, faced this intimidation on the days before they delivered their opinions. It is the Nasa leadership's turn to face the music.

The minister is the singular expression of the petulance exhibited by the psychologically unhinged among the Jubilation. He brings their childish revenge fantasies to life. That he is blind to how he looks when he carries out the bidding of the Jubilation's lunatic fringe is not surprising; their masters' voices very rarely get to step back and consider whether or not unswerving loyalty is boon or bane to their individual reputations or character. They enjoy exercising untramelled power without thinking of the consequences. They are like those children who get a test for torturing household pets and have never been caught or punished for their cruelty. In many respects, they are psychopaths who excuse their cruelty with that old dodge: "I was just following orders."

Obviously no one really wants or expects the Nasa leadership to suffer any security scares. But these are not normal times. All it takes is one mistake that endangers their lies, one lunatic hearing voices in his head about how the gods want him to restore athamaki. All it takes is one accidental shooting. All it takes is for the insane fantasies of the Jubilation -- of a world in which That Man is gone -- to come true in violent fashion for their world to disintegrate, armed police or not. It is scary that one coalition can house so many imbeciles that it begs the question: what is the minister playing at?