From: Mugo Muchiri

Los Angeles, CA

Let Prime Minister Raila Odinga be amply congratulated for his courage in suspending Agriculture Minister William Ruto and his Education counterpart Prof. Samuel Ongeri. The PriceWaterhouseCooper’s (PWC) report on the maize importation fiasco fingers Ruto, while the Auditor-General’s report faults Ongeri’s laxity in the face of a pervasive robber culture at the Ministry of Education.

At the same time, I find myself EXTRAORDINARILY ASHAMED of President Mwai Kibaki. His countermanding of his co-principal smacks of impudence and callousness to the Kenyan people and must be seen as a red flag waved at the forces out to combat high level graft.

There was a time when Kibaki was good for Kenya. Without much fanfare, he raised the stature of the country in the eyes of the world. The FPS initiative, the enhanced efficacy of the KRA which saw Kenya finance 90-95% of its recurrent budget, the free anti-retrovirals, the paying on time of farmers, all these marked the beginnings of a wananchi-centered policy agenda. People responded overwhelmingly. Emboldened by a zero tolerance declaration, wananchi frog-marched corrupt cops to police stations to report them to their bosses.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT KIBAKI? The answer is simple: RE-ELECTION. Kibaki proved no exception to the coinage‘power corrupts’. The sprinkling of water on the fire that had started burning away at corruption (surgery in judiciary) worked itself into a downpour when Kibaki roped in former President Moi . Of course the latter’s support was to come at a price. Zero tolerance became zero action…….except in endless commissions meant to vent public anger.

What Kibaki doesn’t know is that Raila’s action of suspending Ruto and Ongeri is actually a blessing in disguise to all Mbuta who have screwed Kenya left, right and center and now sit on their bill-gatesian wealth with impunity. It is better to be ushered out gently.

There is a huge simmering rage in Kenya right now. Especially concentrated among the youth, this malaise is fueled in large part by rampant joblessness, a hopelessness about a better tomorrow and the predictability of the current leadership’s insouciance. THIS IS AN OPEN SECRET.

For the high minded guardians of the Gate, those who prefer to split hairs in legalese, remember that a ticking bomb doesn’t understand parochial arguments of constitutionality,much less the delineations of the National Accord & Reconciliation Act. It just goes off!

TRULY, TRULY, TRULY it’s a sad day in Kenya when a president is seen to rush to the defence of culprits who have been fingered by an independent report and cite as the overarching principle the need to adhere to constitutional boundaries. In the interest of evenness, one wonders which black hole this yearning to be guided by the Constitution disappeared into several years ago when his Internal Security minister (and by implication he) blatantly violated press freedoms by raiding the Standard offices inorder “to protect the First family’s name”.

THERE IS STILL TIME, MR. PRESIDENT. CALL A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE PRIME MINISTER. TELL KENYANS THAT YES, ONGERI AND RUTO WILL HAVE TO LEAVE FOR 3 MONTHS BECAUSE YOU AND YOUR CO-PRINCIPAL DEEM THIS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. OTHERWISE, IN THE EYES OF MOST KENYANS INCLUDING THIS ONE, YOU MAY WELL KISS YOUR LEGACY GOODBYE AS IT GOES DOWN THE TOILET. INDEED YOUR PLACE, AS A BENEFACTOR OF HIGH LEVEL GRAFT, WILL BE FIRMLY CEMENTED IN THE EYES OF ALL KENYANS.

GOD GAVE YOU SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY, MR. PRESIDENT………….WE DON’T FORGET YOUR POETRY ON YOUR FIRST INAUGURATION………………..WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, SIR? CALL AGWAMBO AND DO A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE…………..PLEASE……….FOR THE SAKE OF THE NATION AND ITS UNITY. NO KENYAN WANTS TO BE IN THE HATE BUSINESS.