President Kibaki has betrayed the trust of Kenyans

President Kibaki cannot be trusted to fight corruption and therefore Kenyans are right to conclude that he is not a reformer but only retaining the status quo.
The current imbroglio between him and the Prime Minister over the handling of corruption suspects in the government is an indication of a divided government which cannot be trusted to bring about the change Kenyans are desperately yearning for.

By revoking the suspension of suspected Ministers by the PM on corruption, Kibaki is condoning a vice that has dwarfed the success of our nation; creating unnecessary tension in the Country, which has put the coalition government in a quandary.

The Prime Minister portrayed true leadership, and a spirit for reforms; a platform under which he campaigned in 2007.

Even though he may have overstepped his boundaries, Kenyans expected the President to respect his decision in the spirit of cohesiveness and unity of the Country.

Kibaki himself is not perfect for he has on several occasions violated the constitution, besides trashing the MOU of 2002.
He acts like he is serving the interest of a few Kenyans and often disregarding the prime Minister; an equal partner in the coalition government. What baffles many of us is why he often takes a stand which does not reflect the feelings of the majority.
His lacklustre performance on reforms is because of trying to salvage political careers of individuals suspected on corrupt deals; a tragedy for national success.

We are seeing the worst betrayal from a leadership we thought was diverse to bring positive changes to the Country. We are at limbo on the capacity of our leaders to tackle the problems facing the country.

One section of the government is for reforms and eradication of corruption while the other wants to shield the vice for selfish ends.

Kenyans who are now more informed expected President Kibaki to be pro-active on reforms since his second term in office is littered with a questionable victory that led to bloodshed, tribal leanings, hate, and mistrust.

The president and his PNU side of the coalition should stop crying wolf just because the Prime Minister killed the snake using a wrong stick.

Majority of Kenyans are happy that he killed the snake despite using the wrong stick.

The demonstrations in support of honourables William Ruto led by the Eldoret mayor and that by a section of Abagusii leaders on Sam Ongeri early this week for their abortive suspension from the Cabinet is a portrayal of egocentricity, lack of leadership and political cronyism.

When a mayor takes to the streets to demonstrate because a fellow tribesman has been suspended from a ministerial docket reflects a nation still manacled on politics of self interest and ethnicity.

Honourable Ruto’s supporters must remember that when Moi ruled Kenya for 24 years, the community never used to demonstrate against those who gave Moi headache especially the clamour for multiparty politics.

The idol worship by the Kalenjin Community on Ruto does not help him at all, but keeps dimming his political star each day.

Tribes must act with sobriety when their leaders are implicated on vices that dent the nation. I come from Gusii but since I believe in a corrupt free society, I can’t defend Professor Sam Ongeri just because he is a fellow tribesman.

Supporters of the Ministers must remember that the two are mere suspects. They have not been proved guilty and their exit from the dockets was to pave the way for investigations.

Therefore, it will be salutary as per Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi’s suggestion for Dr. Koffi Annani to intervene and save the coalition government from collapse especially now that the Country is gearing for a new constitutional.

Let us not be fatigued to seek outside assistance to our domestic challenges. It has worked in the past and will still work to put our Country in a better footing.

It helped in the inception of political pluralism in 1991, helped to quell the post election violence, which created a power sharing deal between Kibaki and Raila. It may end up helping the slow reform process in the Country as well as the implementation of Agenda four of the national accord and fighting corruption.

Finally, it’s imperative that President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga sorted out their differences to unite the Country. The current standoff will jeopardize the fragile peace that has been attained in the Country after the post election violence.
Joseph Lister Nyaringo
New Jersey, USA