#kot #kenya #mombasa #nairobi Kenyans should prepare for the worst as a result of the new Security Law - MAINA KIAI We are heading into some tough times. The Security Amendment Bill was rammed down our throats in a manner suggesting that this is not about countering terrorism or increasing security. Rather, this is an exercise in macho power games and recreating the culture of silence and fear. Firstly, the mess in Parliament was so extreme that no one can be sure whether what was signed on Friday, December 19th, was what was passed on December 18th! But by signing the Bill by any means necessary, Uhuru Kenyatta is attempting to send a message that he is a tough, no nonsense guy, and a message he also tries to send by parading around in military fatigues. Sadly the message is slowly getting heard. Already quite a few critical thinkers are reducing their use of phones and email to communicate. Already, the hushed tones, and looking-over-one’s-shoulder, habits from the 1980s are making a come-back. Second, if Mr Kenyatta really wanted a security law urgently, he could have spent a little more time working with stakeholders — in Parliament and outside — to get an acceptable and consensual law. The manner in which this was done was certain to end up in the courts. If precedent is anything to go by, then the possibility of conservatory orders to stop its operation is sky-high. This is what happened with the Media laws from last year that are still inoperative a year later. But maybe Mr Kenyatta knows something about the courts that we don’t know that gives him confidence that they will not impede the operation of the new bad law. Third, this moment we are in is eerily reminiscent of 2006 after President Mwai Kibaki had lost the constitutional referendum. President Kibaki was handed a golden opportunity to re-brand himself and his government by addressing the frustrations of Kenyans that reached a crescendo with the return of high level corruption within his inner circle with the Anglo Leasing scandal. TRIBALISM Moreover, this was another moment for him to live up to the expectations of nationalism, as the first genuinely and non-controversially elected President of Kenya. His first years had seen tribalism rise as his Gikuyu community took front and centre of the State at economic, political and social levels. There was hope that he had read the signs when he fired his entire Cabinet — but for the Attorney General and Vice-President. But rather than tucking into the middle and offering a conciliatory and nationalistic approach, President Kibaki swung rightward and fascist, elevating the hardest hardliners and ethnic chauvinists! It was after this that Kenya witnessed huge extra-judicial executions; attempts to silence the media; and increased ethnic favouritism. It was clear then that the regime meant to keep power no matter the cost, no matter the constitution, and no matter the votes. For if you control the instruments of force and elections, what can’t you do? Mr Kenyatta was handed a golden opportunity with the withdrawal of charges against him at the ICC. This is one of those moments in history where magnanimity, statesmanship, and a sense of nationhood could cement his legacy, and make his election in 2017 — fairly and squarely — a foregone conclusion. But like Kibaki, Kenyatta has veered toward fascism, telling us that he will rule (not govern) rough and hard. It is instructive, isn’t it, that the only community that seems enamoured by the new Security laws is Kenyatta’s own Gikuyu community, with the Kalenjin coming off as lukewarm. The pastoralist and Muslim supporters of Jubilee (excluding the normal praise-singer) are not keen on this law. And they better be weary. Leaders from the Kalenjin, pastoralist, and Muslim communities who exhibit ambition or do not sing like parrots may well be among the first victims of this law. We have been warned. And if 2006 teaches us anything, then we should know what the next elections will look like: 2008 could well turn out to have been a picnic. Maina Kiai is former Chairman of Kenya National Human Rights Commission( KNHRC)
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 10:25:38 +0000
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