Reading what others are saying.. By MURITHI MUTIGA In most societies, nothing unites people more than a major tragedy or a significant sporting triumph. Kenya is an exception to the rule. It is true the Uhuru Kenyatta administration has much to answer for. The president was too casual in picking his core security team and committed a major blunder in not cutting short his trip to Abu Dhabi after 28 of his fellow countrymen, women and children were shot in the head in Mandera. The opposition Cord’s reaction to the security crisis, however, has been nothing short of tasteless. At the funeral of Homa Bay Senator Otieno Kajwang’, Cord senators Johnstone Muthama and Bonny Khalwale practically danced on the graves of the dozens who have died in recent weeks. TALKING POINTS They had their talking points ready and drew huge cheers from the excited party faithful with their rousing taunting of the government for failing to secure its citizens. Sadly, Cord leader Raila Odinga, who should know better, joined the chorus. After the second Mandera attack, he publicly expressed doubts at the military claim that the terrorists had been killed. How could they have gone back to their camps to present an easy target to the air force? he wondered. Whether they were eliminated or not is neither here nor there. The point is that in making that statement, Mr Odinga was essentially casting his lot with the Shabaab spokesman who had claimed that “the Mujahideen made it safely back home” — and disputing his own security force’s version of events. This is not a call for sycophancy. It is not a demand that people believe every word the authorities say. In times of war, truth is often the first casualty. Rather, it is a call for moderation, for a sense of proportion and balance from national leaders at a time when the nation is extremely rattled. I can hardly think of a single country where political leaders seize on a massacre of their citizens to score political points in the way the Kenyan opposition has. One example. On August 6, 2011, a Taliban fighter fired a single rocket which brought down a Chinook helicopter flying over rural Afghanistan, killing all 38 people on board. It was the deadliest single loss of life the Americans have endured during their decade-long campaign. Within hours, it emerged that 20 out of the 38 people on board were members of the same Navy Seal unit that had killed Osama bin Laden three months earlier. It was an extraordinary development and an undoubted victory for the Taliban. But the incident was downplayed in the American media. A “Pentagon source” said it was “highly unlikely” that any of the casualties had taken part in the raid. This may or may not be true, but Republicans didn’t loudly express doubts. The Americans just quietly put the story to one side. Kenya is involved in a long war whose causes are complex and which has no easy solutions. Everyone must rally to win this war which will eventually affect every Kenyan, especially if declining tourism arrivals or investment dollars lead to a depreciation of the shilling and economic pain. ROBUST OPPOSITION The Jubilee duo certainly need to be checked by a robust opposition. Some of their proposed legal changes may be necessary, but they should not be given a blank cheque that could extend to rolling back hard-won democratic gains. State House, too, should learn to reach out to the Opposition and consult before making far-reaching proposals. The Cord leadership should treat the security crisis a little differently from the usual domestic political squabbles. Showing Kenya as a country that’s bitterly divided only emboldens external players such as the Shabaab and leaves observers in the region puzzled. The Cord leaders should leave the more intemperate remarks to their keyboard warriors online and take a more moderate approach at a time of crisis when the nation is bleeding. mutiganews@gmail
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 06:41:51 +0000
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