The Anne Waiguru Shame and how it reveals the ugly face of “tribal loyalties” in leadership selection
Since independence, Kenyans have witnessed scandal after scandal, most of them financial in nature, which have seen the not-so mysterious disappearance of colossal sums of taxpayers’ shillings. Granted, Kenya is not a monopoly when it comes to high flying scandals. The frequency and inhumane nature sets Kenya’s cash-crimes apart. For example the infamous Goldenberg scam, the mother of all scams made in Kenya, occurred when 90% of the population was arguably below the poverty line. The Anglo-leasing scam, hatched and executed through the thin brotherhood of tribe, may have occurred when Kenya was on a forward stroll under Kibaki’s leadership, but also diverted crucial funds to the pockets of a few scoundrels masquerading as leaders. The thirsty and hungry children in the slums and arid and semi-arid parts of the country continued dying in record numbers without even the gift of a decent burial. Waiguru’s hell-sent payday has taken place at a time of national cash scarcity and extremely low employment rates among the young fellows who have managed to acquire the low-quality graduation-oriented education. Like in the past scandals, children in places such as Turkana, Mandera, and Wajir continue dying in the deserts with their miniature and thoroughly emaciated corpses serving as meals for hyenas, vultures, and other opportunistic beasts, whose appetite resembles those of the Waigurus of this world. The hyenas are better off because they are not killing the kids themselves.
In a decent society where men and women have understood the idea of ethics and its role in human societies, the president would have taken action, whose result would have been nothing less than sending Waiguru and her partners in crime packing, followed by a vigorous investigation and prosecution of those found culpable. Bedding any character was not supposed to serve as a reason to turn a blind ear to public concerns because a man of Uhuru’s stature can access women, better than Waiguru, in manners and class. Note that I am not suggesting in any way that Uhuru indeed beds Waiguru; I treat this as pure hearsay. A million questions arise following the scandal: The inept Criminal Investigation Department surely had access to all information related to the scandal. Why was nothing done? Who ordered them to ignore it all? Are they going to lie to Kenyans that only the revelation of a hairdresser awakened them to the evil reality of what Waiguru had done? Why was the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission busy threatening Raila while Waiguru was the thief? Were they trying to silence a whistle-blower?
While all the foregoing questions remain unanswered, there is no doubt that Kenyan politics will never change quickly. Uhuru will most certainly get re-elected in 2017, with a comfortable margin of victory.
File photo: Waiguru who foresaw the theft of close to kshs. 1.6 bn and her hairdresser accomplice,Josephine Kabura. Kabura later spilt the beans, detailing how the CS stole the money with her help, greedily stashing it in fake accounts.
This is all in the name of tribal loyalties. The people of Central Kenya as well as parts of Eastern will overwhelmingly vote Jubilee. The stolen money has not benefitted a huge number of poor people from these areas. They just believe that voting one of their own is better than one of “theirs.” In countries where people are assessed on the basis of their character and not their last names, serious questions would have been raised over the continued pilferage and purloining of public resources, and the verdict would have been a near-unanimous vote for an alternative. Not in Kenya! It is also possible that if Raila was the head of state and his government was involved in some scandal, his “worshippers” who share his “tribe” would have defended him, ignorantly.
Throughout human history, civilized societies have assessed governments based on performance. Ancient Greeks and Romans selected their best orators and theorists of the law and policy based on how they argued their points, not based on the clan they hailed from. Plato, Martin Luther, Malcom X, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and Barack Obama do not share the stupid idea of tribe we have in Kenya. Theirs is the tribe of decency, integrity, loftiness of character. In Kenya, the poor Wanjiku and the hungry Akinyi think they belong to the Kikuyu tribe and Luo tribe respectively. No they don’t! Akinyi, the hungry lady, and Wanjiku, the poor one are members of the same tribe, the poor. They are disillusioned, disoriented, frustrated, hopeless, and hapless. Their resources have been stolen by Anne Waiguru and the rest of her club members. Therefore, it would have been easy for Wanjiku to quickly vote out Uhuru’s government because, evidently, it is not working for her. But this is not going to happen any time soon.
How then do we declare such a government, resting on people’s ignorance, legitimate?
Voters are only useful to the extent that they are able to vote for their interests. Voters who vote against their interests are a danger who should not be allowed to vote!!! This sounds Draconian. But God knows it is needed. Such voters, dedicated to tribe, stuck in everlasting poverty, will never vote for the “other,” even when it is the ‘other” with the honest dedication to their material salvation. I should also point out that such ignorant voters also pose an existential threat to the very existence of the nation because they give power to kleptocrats who cannot hesitate to hawk their mothers for a mess of pottage.
A government formed by a majority of ignorant voters cannot be legitimate in the eyes of anyone, except of course, in the eyes of the few hooligans and political thugs who benefit from it. This is why Uhuru Kenyatta’s government, is yet to earn the stamp of legitimacy. As for now, it is a collection of a few sleazy individuals who share the appetite for land, taxpayers’ cash, and prostitutes. Of course there are a few decent men and women, who, like the outnumbered wheat plants, are almost being choked by the high weed population.
To this end, the government of Uhuru Kenyatta is illegitimate. One can argue that those who supported the Uhuruto duo in 2013 had high expectations, but then high-level members of this marriage of convenience have questionable track records that are well-known. The government will gain more illegitimacy if it is re-elected in 2017 because for sure, these fellows have shown that they do not give a damn about anyone’s interests, other than their own.
Thanks to the media for the loud silence regarding most of these shameful acts of theft that have left millions wallowing in abject poverty. History will surely judge the fourth estate harshly.
By Mr. Patrick Muthee
Patrick Muthee is a graduate of Principia College in Illinois, USA. He is currently pursuing his Masters in Political Science at Northwestern University.