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UONGOZI:

Ni Sisi! Its Up To US!

By John Githongo - CEO, Inuka Kenya Ltd (by Guarantee) WE KENYANS LOVE complain about our leaders so much one might be forgiven for thinking that we undergo a total transformation at election time when a hysteria grips people as they head to the polling station completely convinced to vote for this or that party; or, just as often to vote against this or that party. The coffee table caf latte doubts one hears expressed these days of, Oh, who do we vote for in 2013, all the choices dont appeal, are cast aside as tribal mobilization gathers steam. I was once in a group where one of this countrys top politicians was asked to his face, Why does Kenya seem to have such a low quality of leaders, especially MPs? He responded, Kenyans get the leaders they deserve. We often dont ask many questions about who we are voting for when the election campaigns are at fever pitch. Because by then underlying the mobilization that will have taken place is the question of which tribe or tribal coalition am I voting for or which tribe or tribal coalition am I voting against. At that last lonely moment when one stands hidden in the polling booth this primal pull often overwhelms all other identities. The Rotarian Professor who loves playing golf, quoting Shakespeare; who reads the Nation but sits back to enjoy the insights and analysis of the columnists of the Sunday Nation and the EastAfrican is at that moment reduced to kabila yangu. This powerful singular identity of the kabila has been given a bad name by anyone and everyone interested in the new katiba, in development, maendeleo, in issue-driven politics, in transparency, accountability etc etc. In truth we are often loathe to admit that when we are in kabila yangu mode it often gives one a warm fuzzy feeling; it is deeply comforting; it implies a sense of belonging and thus security that comes from kith and kin. It is also very
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www.uongozi.co.ke convenient because it creates an identifiable enemy usually another kabila or group of kabilas and their allies; something that can be quite amorphous and yet in discussions about it and them we know who were talking about as if there is a secret code only Kenyans really comprehend. Having a them we can blame for all thats wrong in our society makes life quite simple and even PhD golfers and makes the rest of us incredibly lazy in our thinking. When corruption scandals break out we can blame them because they are genetically greedy, thieving, unscrupulous etc it makes sense in a manner that is so neat no academic theory or analysis can really beat it. Of course when it is me who is benefitting from what others are calling corruption I need a narrative that justifies my favored condition which deep down I know at the very least skirts the fringes of the law or outright is illegal but its our turn to eat. So they become lazy noisemakers who dont value work; they become foreign funded NGO-type busy bodies and activists; and, a host of other stereotypes that lend succor to thieves. Kenya is undergoing multiple transitions. The Makerere generation that has ruled Kenya since independence is passing away both physically and symbolically as Kibaki completes his last term. We have a new constitution in place that has a devolved system of government at its heart which means Kenya is essentially back where we were in 1963. Dawn has arrived full of promise. Promise that is bolstered by developments in the economy, the discovery of oil and other minerals and, most importantly, the fact that the majority of our population is youthful, reasonably well educated and healthy. The international Criminal Court process has introduced the concept of accountability to an elite that has reveled in impunity for decades and as it rolls out its impact will reverberate through our body politic. So its clear Kenya is at the cusp of taking off as sometimes excessively exuberant hedge fund types have crowing about. It is also clear though that massive governance challenges confront us. They need to start being sorted out or else, and yes, it is possible Kenya can become a failed state.
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www.uongozi.co.ke Manifestations of these challenges are everywhere. Tana River has exposed the need for security sector reform. The current strikes by teachers, lecturers and doctors is interesting because wananchi seem to support them despite the pain these actions are causing. In a context where MPs raise their own salaries with impunity and corruption has been normalized more than at any other time in Kenyas history, this is not surprising. The discomfort of our current leadership is seen as deserved. At the same time too political leaders have started their campaigns. There isnt much talk about values and policies and the little there is, is greeted with a hefty dose of cynicism. This is partly the result of historical lessons well learnt. The real campaigns are about ethnic arithmetic and the most profound underlying narrative has been about leaders consolidating their tribal blocs. In an environment where there doesnt appear to be a hand on the steering wheel of a coalition Kenyans didnt vote for, there is widespread concern about growing insecurity, the potential for violence, the possibility of an imperfect election, the implications of the ICC etc. Combined they have the potential to create the perfect storm. A lesson from the past well learnt is that if things are going to go wrong its because a clean election, proper implementation of the constitution and the rule of law generally is inimical to the mainly economic interests of a small class of Kenyans. It is they who have conjured up and cultivated the false consciousness of kabila in order to keep us fragmented and malleable. Perhaps fear, informed very much by the debacle of 2008 when Kenya almost descended into civil war, is a good thing this time. Its forcing more and more of us to realize that real change is about all of US and the choices we make and actions we take as individual Kenyans. Leaving our fate in the hands of warlords who measure support deep down by the number of supporters they have willing to kill for them is a frightening prospect. And so it should be. It is becoming clear that there are those among them for whom violence remains an important political tool. If the dawn promised by the new constitution is not to prove to be a false one as happened immediately after independence then the choices need to made by all of US
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www.uongozi.co.ke now and at the ballot box. Now as in what we choose to believe and propagate about each other. Deciding now as a matter of urgency to reject the entreaties of warlords on the basis of the false consciousness of kabila. It's not easy but nation-building never is. But its essential for Kenya. We simply have too many governance balls up in the air at the same time. Juggling them will be, and already is proving a challenge. Kenyans are up to the task but it requires subtle changes in the way we think of each other, Kenya and our place in it. Kenya cant muddle through this transition the way we have through so many other important moments in our history. We drop too many balls and we could lose Kenya as we know it. Make the right choices after mitigating the consciousness of tribe and a great country can truly take off and occupy its rightful place as one of the continents leading nations. This informs the heart of the Uongozi campaign.

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