Rainbow Kenya: Government of National Unity

By: Fibian Kavulani Lukalu, Lecturer in Culture and Communication at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

“The National Rainbow Coalition represents the future of Kenyan politics. NARC is the hope of this country... see what a gorgeous constellation of stars we are, and just look at this dazzling mosaic of people of various ethnic backgrounds, race, creed, sex, age, experience and social status. Never in the history of this country have its leaders worked so hard together as one indivisible entity with one vision.”
(Excerpt from President Kibakiís inauguration speech in Nairobi,
30 December 2002.)

The optimism and euphoria that filled every Kenyan mind, when 3.6 million voted for Mwai Kibaki with his slogan, ‘zero tolerance on corruption’, was evident from the acclaimed Gidigidi - MajiMaji, campaign song Unbwogable. Indeed as his optimistic speech echoed it was a historic moment for democracy in Kenya since we envisaged that the regime would facilitate a new Constitution, new political dispensation and yote yawezekana (all is possible). These sanguine expectations of change crystallized themselves in the political parties and individual compositions of the National Rainbow Coalition government (NARC). However, three years on, NARC has fragmented and we now have NARC-Kenya in formation! Kibaki with his ëhands-off, mouth-off, eyes-offí management style seems to have lost his ëvisioní. Increasingly, grand corruption and ethnicity feel more ingrained and a new song bado mapambano (the struggle is still on) now resonates on the tongues of many. Has Kibaki forgotten the political, social and economic aspirations of Kenyans who chose him as their president? What happened to the NARC dream/vision? Did we give serious thought to the post-Moi political and economic transitions? What about political accountability and its implications? These are some of the pertinent questions Kenyans grapple with as they tenuously approach the 2007 elections. And from now onwards, with over ten declared presidential candidates the politics is all about 2007!

The regime promises
One critical aspect of ascendancy to power is political accountability. This aspect was disregarded when the pre-election power sharing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NAK and LDP political parties was disowned. Once in State House Kibaki ignored the MoU and his personal cronies cemented themselves firmly within the echelons of power. But the election pledges made to Kenyans in 2002, are now ineffaceable reminders of the political terrain ahead. These were to:

• deliver a new Constitution within 100 days of ascending to power and accelerate reforms;
• run a lean, professional and corruption-free government;
• exercise zero-tolerance to corruption, right from the top;
• attain annual economic growth rate of at least six per cent per annum;
• provide free primary education for all children;
• provide quality, affordable and accessible healthcare;
• respect, uphold and protect civil liberties and press freedom;
• maintain unflinching fidelity to the rule of law, and protect integrity of the Constitution;
• guarantee and ensure the security of every Kenyan;
• exercise utmost fiscal discipline by reining in on extravagance;
• nurture constitutional democracy as the central unifying public philosophy for the people of Kenya by promoting good governance;
• ensure transitional justice by holding past perpetrators of injustices against the people of Kenya accountable for their actions;
• construct 150,000 low-cost housing units per annum;
• create 500,000 jobs per annum;
• transform Kenya into a competitive environment for investment; and
• ensure equitable and fair distribution of national resources.
  

If each pledge was analysed together with its implementation so far, it would reveal ambition but no real time frame to ensure that the pledges are honoured. But John Githongoís BBC interview comment on corruption, ëKenyans have attained a political maturity that supersedes the government expectationsí is a volatile political factor the regime cannot brush aside. Judging from the above pledges the main gains are the provision of free primary education, a relatively limited free press environment and the constituency development fund kitty. However when scrutinized carefully, marginalised areas, accessibility, equity, distribution, gender disparities, resources and teacher ratios in this educational provision are still in need of attention. We must keep in mind that food, water and health requirements continue to interfere with the learning process for many children. Consequently, these children in varying socio-economic environments drop out of school and contribute illegally to the economy through child labour malpractices. In addition cases of violence against children, women and the disabled permeate society to a great extent. Offsetting some of these circumstances would be the strengthening of the adult education sector to cater for those octogenarians sitting beside their grandchildren in class, as has been seen since 2003.

In 2005 the economy saw a GDP of five percent growth, but the standard of improvements in quality of life drew criticisms about the reliability of these figures. Today economic growth cannot feature as an indicator in Kibakiís government due to the famine affecting 2.9 million Kenyans. Viewed against the pledge for food security and sufficiency, there should be planning for food redistribution since Kenya has a sufficient stock of maize and beans but it is poorly distributed. Invariably, water and its conservation are directly linked to famine, especially when the exploitation of the Mau Forest, the Aberdare ranges, and other natural reserves continues unabated. The Maragoli Hills forest is completely wiped out! Rift Valley fresh water lakes are constantly polluted and shrinking! At the same time as Kenya boasts of a Noble Prize winner, the environment and its conservation still experience inactivity in policy implementation, that is often interfered with by polarised ethnic politics. In this way a new Constitution, grand corruption in government, environmental concerns, education and security remain critical areas for redress.

Competing Constitutions are debated such as the Bomas draft, Wako draft, Kilifi draft, Naivasha accord, Ufungamano draft and the current Constitution. In which way does Kibaki propose to address Kenyaís concerns? Currently, attempts by Bethwell Kiplagatís team to find a way out of the Constitutional impasse are being queried. Remember the six year process leading up to the Bomas draft cost Kshs 8ñ10 billion. Since the contentious issues are governance and the powers of the presidency let us resolve these as the rest of the Constitution is implemented. Examples have been drawn from worked practice from the Swedish Constitution. On 6 January 2006, President Kibaki chaired a reconstituted Cabinet meeting after the government (2.5 million votes) had received a resounding No vote (3.5 million votes) against the Wako draft Constitution of the 21 November referendum. The referendum exposed an unforgotten political handout to communities syndrome, Amboseli National Park to the Maasai, Mau Forest evicted settlers returned to their homes, Kshs 10 million being spent by the government on this referendum ñ all projects deemed as farcical. The time lapse (since June 2005) for a Cabinet meeting to be convened illuminates the preoccupation of the government with agendas that it views as critical yet sidelining the essentials of a new Constitution. Also, it shows the lack of viable alternatives for Kibaki to constitute a working political roadmap as he gave in to political pressure from Charity Ngilu and Musikari Kombo in negotiating ministerial posts and handouts for their communities. Indeed with a bloated government of 34 ministers, two of them female, and 49 assistant ministers, the regime has symbolised extravagance in Africa. Such extravagance can only be symptomatic of ‘Moism without Moi’ in power. This is the plausible reason why a new Constitution is not assured soon. In this new Constitution the manner in which Kenyans want the government selected and to exercise its political power would be checked for extreme cases, for example, the draconian powers of the Presidency; defining and limiting the privileges of the legislative; the appointment of the judiciary, its duties and limitations of its privileges; and in particular the means by which parliamentarians can increase their income and power beyond what we think is realistic for the economy. Wastage of public funds through the Kshs 878 million to buy luxury vehicles in 2002-2005, testifies to the cost of the official extravagance that marks Kenya today. Certainly the ‘Mubenzi’ culture, described by Ngugi wa Thiongo in ‘The Mercedes Funeral’, historically marked the first Kibaki parliament. Its first debate, discussed and passed in less then 30 minutes, was on the hefty perks and allowances of Members of Parliament (MPs)! Where was the opposition then? And younger parliamentarians? Has the political class betrayed the resolves of Kenyans of yesteryear? Indeed, Kenyan parliamentarians are amongst the best paid in the world!

All these things raise the alarm on the government commitment to ameliorating poverty, hunger and disease. It is thought that the Goldenberg scandal, Kshs 7 billion Anglo-Leasing scandals, the cocaine drug haul, the resignations of Ministers Saitoti (Goldenberg), Mwiraria, Kiraitu and Murungaru (all Anglo Leasing), and calls for more Cabinet resignations, the clandestine raid on the KTN media house, and ëwhispersí about rifts within the police force are indicators of divisions within the government. For combating corruption since 2002 the following institutions have been in place: the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Permanent Secretary for Ethics and Governance, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, the Public Accounts Committee, the Efficiency Monitoring Unit, Serious Fraud and Forfeiture Unit, Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act 2003, and the Public Officersí Act. These institutions were intended to enhance governance, but amongst those defying law and order and those engaged in corrupt malpractices are serving ministers. And despite these institutions major corruption crimes are dealt with lightly. It will be dangerous if we lose confidence in institutions that enhance law and order.

The current debate on the Sexual Offences Bill illustrates the will of some members of this 9th Parliament to enact laws that shield women and children against heinous acts. If enacted this will be a positive move by the parliamentarians. In a different vein the well intended Constituency Development Fund (CDF) bill was tripled to Shs 22 billion for the next financial bill. This increase will benefit the sectors of education, and infrastructure at a local level. There is a ray of hope in the appropriate use of CDF funds, for example this year residents of Budalangi used to the perennial flooding from River Nzoia never relocated to higher ground. The construction and management of the dykes offered to these residents a tranquility not experienced for many years. Also when Kenyan firms, Kenya Airways, Mumias Sugar, East African Breweries, Barclays Bank and Kenya Commercial Bank are listed in the 2006 Ai40 index as being profitable in trade this demonstrates the resilience and will power of ordinary Kenyans to succeed.

Despite all the unfinished business, it is critical that politicians and leaders in Kenya refrain from unchecked political rhetoric. Since 2002, Kenyans have heard undue political rhetoric with no apologies rendered by their leaders ñ a rhetoric that fuels and justifies ethnicity, socio-economic differences and gender disparities that hold back women. Furthermore, it is claimed that the government is a ërattle snakeí and the media provokes that snake, there are media raids and poverty is justified by the ruling class as typical of lazy Kenyans. The exigencies of the moment demand that Kibaki provides leadership and refrains from referring to the people who voted for him as ‘Pumbafu’ (fools).

Selected reading
Atieno Odhiambo, E.S., ‘Hegemonic Enterprises and Instrumentalities of Survival: Ethnicity and Democracy in Kenya’. In African Studies no. 61, pp. 223-49, 2003.

Barkan, Joel, ‘Kenya Lessons from a Flawed Election’. In Journal of Democracy, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 85-99, 1993.

Cliffe, Lionel, ‘Kenya post-election prospects’. In Review of African Political Economy, vol. 30, no. 96, pp. 341-3, 2003.

Ghai, Yash Pal, ‘The Making of a Nation: Hard Road to ‘Merger’’. In New African, April 2002.

Hofmeyr, Isabel, Joyce Nyairo and James Ogude, ‘“Who can Bwogo me?”: Popular Culture in Kenya’. In Social Identities, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 373-82, 2003.

Mutonyi, John, P., ‘Fighting Corruption: Is Kenya on the Right Track?’, Police Practice and Research, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 21-39, 2002.

Southall, Roger and Melber, Henning (eds), Legacies of Power: Leadership Change and Former Presidents in African Politics, HSRC, South Africa, 2005.

The Institute for Education in Democracy, ‘Enhancing the Electoral Process in Kenya’, A Report on the Transition General Elections 2002, 27 December 2002, www.iedafrica.org.

Throup, David, W., ‘Kibaki's Triumph. The Kenyan General Election of December 2002’, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Briefing Paper no. 3, 2003. www.riia.org.

Young, Crawford, ‘The End of the Post-Colonial State in Africa? Reflections on changing African political dynamics’, African Affairs, vol. 103, no. 410, pp. 23-49, 2004.