that would propel them to power or secure them influential positions . But in Kenya we have a secondary position which complicates the mathematics in that even within the tribes there is fierce competition on who the kingpin is . So it is more correct to talk about political subtribes when negotiating .
That is why the opposition has a nightmare in trying to choose a flag bearer because the issue has nothing to do with ideology but the partition of the cake . The opposition is not bound by a group of like-minded people but simply by a greedminded people .
Amazingly the ruling coalition has exactly the same problem as they do not front an ideology but are bound together by a common fear of not being able to retain power and be in a position to manipulate the system for purely personal gain .
This scenario makes Kenyan politics highly unstable and volatile and the run up to the elections will always be fraught with endless sideshows that have nothing to do with the Kenyan agenda but with the individual shenanigans clothed in political niceties .
This year has been particularly acrimonious as tribal kingpins tried to force an outcome based on promised advantages that would theoretically accrue to the electorate should they choose to follow the route being advocated .
The resultant confusion has created vague and fluid scenarios with no apparent leader in charge . The opposition coalition is very fragile despite the continuous confirmation that their unity is intact . The only thing holding them together is the fear of not being together as they would be reduced to nothing apart .
The ruling coalition is so busy attacking itself and even a highly
‘‘ The ability to steal from the national coffers and be protected by the constitution makes Kenya a gangster paradise and no wonder that everyone wants to join the gravy train by seeking positions of power by whatever means to be in the game .’’
risky attempt to pool resources by forming a super party seems destined to unravel as it was formed with other clandestine agendas rather than the usual reasons parties combine to achieve a common goal .
But it is in the counties , which have evolved to be the true centres of corruption , that the battle royale is taking shape as the governors position has become a real prize . To be a governor is to be truly a king in Kenya today and everyone wants to be one .
The power that we wanted to remove from the hands of an imperial president with the passing of the new constitution has been entrenched in forty seven governors who have wasted no time to milk the counties and take corruption to new levels .
The level of impunity and arrogance that has been displayed at the gubernatorial level has been amazing and the only reason many are not in court is because every time one is named , ‘ his ’ people , read tribe and party come out to his defence .
The unfortunate thing that the new constitution achieved was to create counties that virtually followed tribal lines and in some cases went into clan lines . A governor is more a tribal or clan leader than an administrative leader .
This is best exemplified by the fact that practically all counties except three are all staffed by members of single tribes . This is despite the lofty ideal in our constitution supposedly meant to foster national integration and cohesion .
This practice has found its way into parastatals and government departments where the dominant group in any of the institutions tend to be determined by who is in charge of the unit . We have inadvertently entrenched tribalism in the constitution .
The real danger to devolution , which was the main reason a new constitution was promulgated , is the way the counties have been set up and run . The counties have become the enemy of national cohesion and spelt doom for any hope of nationalism .
So if the counties are not , as currently constituted , viable economic units , they do not serve a social cohesion function , and they are certainly not political units reflective of the national whole , then we can only surmise that they are dysfunctional .
The last word then seems to indicate that as the new constitution has created a political ogre which is attracting all the undesirable societal rejects , enabling fraudsters to profit from the system and protecting the same from prosecution then would not be prudent to do away with the new constitution .
What happened to the change the constitution pundits – Kenya needs you now !
96 MAL 15 / 16 ISSUE