Where Uhuru was to be celebrated, he made a hash of it

It wasn’t lost on me how during his tenure Kenya came sorely close to having one of its very own, Amina Mohamed, elected as the African Union Commission Chairperson.

It is also worth noting how Uhuru would frequently extend invitations to fellow African presidents from far and wide to be guests of honour at Independence celebrations. And the speeches that ensued invoked the wonderful spirit of Pan-Africanism. Uhuru would even declare a relaxation of entry rules to Kenya for Africans. This is something that Kenyatta deserves plaudits for.

I earnestly hope that the continent will use to the maximum Uhuru’s Pan-Africanist credentials.

Beyond Africa, Kenya under Kenyatta had its voice as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Quite interesting and probably in wishing to keep with Jomo Kenyatta’s Caribbean links from his time spent in the UK, Uhuru reached out to the Caribbean states with results to show for.

It is against his international relations forte that a thought on Uhuru the politician came to mind.

It is well-documented how Uhuru was politically fast-tracked by the late President Moi such that he was foisted on KANU as its presidential candidate in 2002. Earlier in 1992 though, following the restoration of multi-party politics, there was speculation that Uhuru silently supported the late Hon. Kenneth Matiba, someone who also happened to be my role model par excellence in Africa.

Come 1997, Uhuru attempted a run for parliament on a KANU ticket, only for it to come a cropper. The choice of party may have played a big role in his defeat. After that, Moi strenuously navigated his political journey until 2002.

A serious charge against Uhuru at the time was that he was not his own man but rather Moi’s “project”. And truth be told, he has never been able to completely disentangle himself from the thinking in some that Moi was paying a political debt to his father.

It is my supposition that Uhuru himself could have averted being in a position of fair game. By this, it is pretty plain from his presidency that he had a flair for diplomacy which Moi doubtlessly would have backed to the hilt. Uhuru I can only imagine would have had the great advantage of being able to even select the diplomatic station. For instance, an appointment as Kenya’s first high commissioner to South Africa in 1994, at the young age of 33, couldn’t have come better for him. Africa has had younger ambassadors in its golden past such as the former secretary-general of the OAU, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim or Zambia’s colourful Vernon Mwaanga.

An ambassadorship could have been a stepping stone to heading a regional institution such as the East African Community. The career path of its first SG, Ambassador Francis Muthaura, sticks to mind. Interestingly, in displaying his regional affinity, Uhuru even joked in 2012 that he is fond of Tanzania and was ready to be posted as Kenya’s high commissioner. This was in the midst of some political fog during the succession of President Kibaki.

Uhuru with his rich political pedigree was certainly primed to even lead the AU. Such an orientation for Uhuru would have put him in good stead for national politics.

Expectedly, his political entry through the back door met its headwinds. And given the relentless nature of his chief opponent, Raila Odinga, Uhuru’s life wasn’t made any easier. His second term re-election in 2017 generated such level of discord that some of Odinga’s heartlands expressed secessionist intensions.

Putting aside whatever external influence may have been involved to rescue the situation, Uhuru reached out to Odinga in the famous “Handshake”. It came as a bombshell to all and sundry. The nation could now breathe a sign of relief. And to go with it was announced the Building Bridges Initiative.

My thoughts then quickly turned to the forces of darkness that would wish to scupper a deal. The most effective insurance against its enemies to my mind was the Nobel Peace Prize. And in my own small way, I tried to build a case for our very own EAC proudly recommending the duo. Nothing of the sort of course happened.

Other than that, I held that religious leaders should have been the guarantors of the deal. As it were, politicians of various hue were on edge to wade into BBI for political advantage. You also had Odinga and his needless “Reggae” rallies being a source of contention.

Some of Uhuru’s detractors dared postulate at some point that he was trying to do a Putin by becoming PM. The end result of it all was the Supreme Court ruling that the BBI process was flawed.

Uhuru was left with egg on his face! It is mind-boggling how he allowed his political stock to dissipate with BBI.

Equally mind-boggling was what befell his Jubilee Party after a grand merger of over ten political parties in the lead-up to 2017. The enormous fanfare that went with it was unlike any other before.

It was something laudable in spite of the party being evidently thin on philosophical substance. One of his lieutenants in the National Assembly even claimed that it would be the biggest party in East Africa. The JP would go to the extent of roping in the Chinese Communist Party to provide training for its functionaries.

But then not long into Uhuru and Ruto’s second term, the pulling in opposite directions started. The “Handshake” became some sort of bogeyman. It is my conviction that Uhuru ought never to have mixed the affairs of his party and the “Handshake”. The JP had its separate path to take internally and externally. And the external was exhibited by Uhuru in his capacity as the JP leader being an official guest at South Africa’s ANC annual January 8 statement gathering in 2018.

All that seems like a distant memory. The JP’s electoral performances have pointed to a party in terminal decline. I can only imagine what the CCP must be thinking of the commanding heights of their sister party. It brings to mind how a former Conservative cabinet minister in the United Kingdom, David Mellor, in a state of incredulity at how Prime Minister Boris Johnson could waste a historic 80-seat majority in the House of Commons, opined that “Shakespeare’s talents would be needed to write this tragedy.”

The JP story is indeed a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.

It is my submission that in the twin areas of BBI and the JP, Kenyatta had all the reason to be celebrated by his people and beyond. Instead he made a hash of it all! As he heads into his post-presidential life at the age of 60, almost the same age as Mwalimu Nyerere when he stepped down in 1985, there will be plenty of moments to reflect on what could have been.