Leave Tanzania out of Kenya’s upcoming election

Recent damning allegations made by the Majority Leader of the National Assembly of Kenya Aden Duale, that the country’s opposition coalition National Super Alliance (Nasa) has established a pony-trekking centre in Tanzania are shocking. Up until now, I don’t know the rationale behind such jaw-dropping allegations, made without substantiation.

On 12th March, 2017, the Daily Nation quoted Duale as saying that “it is outrageous that a top Cord leader, who has been at the forefront of claiming that Jubilee would rig the elections, is linked to repeated attempts to infiltrate the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) database through hacking.” Thereafter, on 7th May, he was videotaped alleging that the centre for hacking was established in Tanzania (http://www.nation.co.ke/video/1951480-3917548-1gka5pz/index.html ).

Although such murky and toxic allegations were aired on a political rostrum, Jubilee needs to know the type of the country they are dealing with. We all know that Tanzanian President John Magufuli is a personal friend to Nasa’s flagbearer, Raila Odinga. However, personal friendship has nothing to do with national issues. Again, why did Duale make such damningly unsubstantiated allegations?

What are the likely effects and consequences of such allegations? Why are such careless allegations made at a time the relationship between Kenya and Tanzania is a wee bit frosty? Is there something cooking that the majority Kenyans do not know aboout? Suppose Tanzania takes such allegations seriously?

A Kiswahili sage has it that “akumulikaye mchana, usiku hukuchoma”, meaning he who shines light on you during the day, torches you at night (my translation). I don’t want to believe that Jubilee is that desperate so as to smudge the image of the country resulting from its grudges and vendetta. Is there any bad blood between the Jubilee government and Tanzania? Is there any big bone to pick with Tanzania? Is such a move psychological preparations for the unexpected, come August? There are many more questions than answers so to speak.

Now, what should be done? Nasa must ask Duale to substantiate his allegations before Tanzania does so. So, too, Duale should be squeezed to know if such allegations are personal or his party’s position vis-à-vis such criminality that aims at impairing democracy in Kenya, which is not only treason but also espionage. It is not a small thing for a foreign country to abet with whoever that wants to superimpose the president to another country. Currently, the US is at loggerheads with Russia amid allegations that Vladimir Putin’s administration meddled in the 2016 US elections to ensure their preferred candidate, now-President Donald Trump (Republican) defeated his challenger Hillary Clinton (Democrat).

Back home, why would Tanzania need to superimpose its choice for president on Kenya in the first place? Knowing what a no-nonsense person Magufuli is, there is every reason to doubt.

The relationship between Kenya and Tanzania is likely to take a hit. To avert such an enigma, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Jubilee need to tame its loose cannons. To dispel the ruckus Duale’s misguided allegations can cause, Kenya needs to come clean on them forcefully and timely. As a Tanzanian who believes in the oneness and the unity of Africa that unfortunately is amiss, I’d like to see Kenya and Tanzania coming together but not to be torn asunder. Again, with such patterns and practices, this is likely to affect not only Kenya and Tanzania, but also the entire region. And if Duale has lost his marbles, he should not only be tamed, but also openly reprimanded for attempting to poison the relationship between the duo, pointlessly. I would argue that Duale needs to avoid the generalisation of the genre of politicks in that the way it is conducted in Kenya, it is completely different from how it is done in Tanzania.

In a nutshell, Jubilee needs to understand that Kenya is bigger and more important than a mere political outfit. A healthy relationship between Kenya and Tanzania is more important than the power some politicians are seeking.

Nkwazi Mhango is a Tanzanian writer based in Canada