Uhuru Kenyatta casting vote in Kenyan national elections. Kenyatta has accused Britain of interfering in the elections., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Lessons from Kenya's elections
Sunday, 10 March 2013 00:00
Zimbabwe Sunday Mail
History has a stunning way of repeating itself, and there is no better illustration of this than Kenya’s March 4 election. The high-stakes poll was replete with symbolism and hyperbole. All indications point to the fact that this election will have far-reaching implications — not just for relations between Kenya and Western governments but also for relations between Western governments and the rest of the African continent.
Historians, political scientists and journalists will be writing about this election for many years to come. Uhuru Kenyatta, who has cruised to victory in spectacular fashion, is the son of founding president Jomo Kenyatta.
Raila Odinga, who has been beaten clean but won’t concede defeat, is the son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. Interestingly, history will show that Jomo Kenyatta beat Oginga Odinga to the top post in 1963. In 2013, Uhuru has beaten Raila to the top post. Faulkner once famously noted: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
But while Odinga was a prominent fighter against British colonialism, his son has been a dismal politician full of bombast and idle talk.
He has come across as a puppet of the West, a man not given to independent thinking. Once in a while, politics has a way of reminding humanity that a politician must rely on much more than mere cleverness to triumph in this world.
Cleverness is temporary but wisdom is permanent. Raila is indeed a clever chap, but the people of Kenya are wise.
Despite enjoying the support of some Western powers and benefitting from the advantages of incumbency, Raila has once again flattered to deceive. He has flopped on his third, and probably final, attempt — considering he is 68 and increasingly seen by some of his Western backers as a monumental waste of time and money. A punter cannot continue betting on a losing horse before fatigue naturally sets in. Something has to give.
Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory sends a strong message to the bullies in Washington, London, Paris and Brussels that the people of Africa will no longer be intimidated by racist overlords. In spite of the International Criminal Court charges that dangled above his head like the proverbial sword of Damocles, Uhuru has gone on to win a tough election. It is a huge achievement.
For Zimbabweans, the Kenyan election provides many lessons. Raila Odinga used to be the Morgan Tsvangirai of Kenya. During his days as an opposition leader, he criticised everything and anything that the government did. He was a deft speaker, rousing the crowds wherever he went. Riding on a false sense of bravado and playing to the gallery of his Western sponsors, Raila had perfected the art of shouting from the terraces. Something dramatic then happened.
When Raila found himself in a coalition government following the election violence of 2007, the mask fell and the people of Kenya got to know the real Raila. His track record as Prime Minister was wrought with allegations of corruption and incompetence. Does that ring a bell?
In rejecting Uhuru’s victory, Raila yesterday said “it is democracy that is on trial”. He spoke about “the rule of law”. Although he warned that any violence “could destroy Kenya forever”, everybody knows the volatile nature of politics in that country and Raila, of all people, should know that he is playing with fire. No doubt, some of his supporters may take this as a call to arms.
So, in the court of public opinion, it is Raila himself who is on trial.
Will he pander to the cheap instincts of murderous violence or will he really allow the supreme court to consider the matter on its merits without fear, favour and prejudice? Let him walk the talk.
The people of Africa will be curious to see the reaction of Western governments in the aftermath of Uhuru’s momentous victory. Will they go crazy and impose sanctions on Kenya? Will they refuse to do business with a president who faces charges of crimes against humanity? Will they seek to onstracise and demonise Kenya? Time will tell.
What is clear, though, is that Africans must learn to stand their ground. The main reason why Western politicians meddle in the internal affairs of African nations is because Africans make it easy for outsiders to infiltrate.
Kenyans have learnt the hard way. Cultural diversity, touted as a strength in Western countries, is transformed into a weapon of mass destruction on African soil.
Even the manner which African stories are told by Western mainstream media is scandalous. When two Kenyans fight over some grazing land, CNN will frame the story as “a violent conflict between two tribal warriors”. When two ranchers in Texas fight over farmland, CNN will frame the matter as “a lawsuit over farmland”. The skewed reportage is astounding.
It must worry us that we Africans have become conditioned to the doomsday stories.
A pattern is emerging. Have you noticed that in many of these elections, the candidates are not selling their policy positions but spend the entire time telling the voters to uphold peaceful and tranquility?
Instead of selling their policy ideas to the electorate, the candidates are now the nervous ambassadors of peace. When such an atmosphere is cultivated, nobody should be surprised that violence has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Announcing the winner yesterday, the chairman of Kenya’s electoral commission, Issack Hassan, was at pains to calm down the politicians and their supporters.
He went to great lengths to implore Kenyans to be peaceful, saying “there can be victory without victims” and that “you can stand tall without standing on my head”. He sounded more like a peace envoy arriving in a war zone than the head of an electoral commission announcing the winner of an election. You could not miss the psychosis of war.
Zimbabweans are going to the polls this year. Hopefully, Kenya has given us some useful lessons.
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