Former Kenyan president and KANU strongman Daniel Toroitich arap Moi.
I sometimes get amused by how nostalgic the Jubilee top leadership can get about the “good old KANU days” when Moi and his henchmen were a law unto themselves. Each of Moi’s cabinet ministers moved around the country like a small god and made the presence of gov’t fully felt in any village that he or she decided to make an impromptu visit to.
The local DC, his DO’s, chiefs, sub-chiefs plus all the policemen in the district were sent scampering up and down like small children to ensure security was tight whenever the big shot came calling. A cabinet minister be-straddled his home turf like a colossus and no man or woman would even contemplate going against his wishes. Who would dare go against a man or woman who had the ear of the big man from Sacho, both in cabinet meetings and the frequent statehouse night meetings? How things have since changed!
When I recently watched the Jubilee Water CS Eugene Wamalwa being heckled and literally chased like a dog from the Maragoli cultural festival in Mbale, it dawned on me that a majority of Kenyans have no iota of respect left for the Uhuru Kenyatta-led gov’t. In spite of blatantly stealing elections and violently forcing their way back into power, the wobbly Jubilee gov’t currently suffers from a chronic legitimacy crisis.
The uneasy calm that has engulfed the country feels more ominous than a nation whose people are loudly quarrelling and calling each other names. Rather than sweep such deep-seated disquiet under the carpet and tell people to “move on,” as if all is well, wise people would rather address the matter of a bungled election (read a stolen election) conclusively. Otherwise, the disquiet that we are experiencing now might make the country to dangerously implode at some point in the near future.
But lest we forget, the top Jubilee leaders were weaned into politics while sitting on the lap of Arap Moi.
They obviously used to admire his modus operandi, especially his ability to turn roadside declarations into law, and his hosting of high-powered tribal delegations both in the statehouse and in his rural Kabarak home where people never left empty-handed. It is no wonder then that, on a normal day, William Ruto can now spend 12 million in a village goat auction. It will be no surprise either if we see some opposition leaders being bought like cheap Mogotio goats in a bid to purchase some legitimacy for the unpopular Jubilee gov’t. That is exactly how Moi operated.
The ol’man used to walk around with briefcases full of money, giving handouts at every stop that he made including markets and learning institutions. In every major “Harambee” in aid of a church or village women organisation, there was at least one million from Moi. That is how he bought loyalty. However, nobody questioned where all that money he used to dish out came from. We have been treated to so many similar scenes by the Jubilee top leaders of late.They obviously miss the good old days when nobody questioned the big guns in gov’t.
The former KANU strongman dished money in exchange for loyalty.
Clearly, feeling nostalgic is not a crime according to the Kenyan constitution.That is why we can’t fault the Jubilee leadership for nostalgically remembering the absolute power tactics of the self-declared professor of politics (Moi). Unfortunately for them, the new constitution leaves no room for such behaviour. They are only allowed to feel nostalgic of the KANU-era operations, but not put them into practice. Kenyans and the new constitution will not allow them as we usher in 2018. Things can only get tougher for them.
Good people, If KANU was a pig, then Jubilee is the dirty piglet. It only keeps changing its clothes and re-branding itself as some kind of national outfit. When all its affiliate parties were recently collapsed to form the Jubilee Party, that was a clear attempt to resurrect one huge monolith called KANU. We have not forgotten that Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto were Moi’s blue-eyed boys when the ol’man was forced into retirement in 2002.
We have two KANU royal families that have ruled Kenya since independence: The Kenyatta and Moi families. With the same old players, make no mistake about it; KANU still rules. The only complications facing the KANU oligarchs is how to deal with one W.S. Ruto. The former chicken hawker and self-declared hustler was only meant to hold brief for Gideon Moi in the royal court, while the prince underwent some grooming. However, the hustler has since grown his own huge balls of steel and wants to become king. It will be interesting to see how the royalty will handle him going forward.
KANU still rules folks! We all know that you can dress a monkey in a new suit every day, but that will not change the fact that it is still an ape. It will still remain to be that mischievous hairy primate that jumps on trees, in spite of the new suit! Forget about the story of the Kikuyu-Kalenjin hegemony conspiring to rule the country forever. This is more of an elitist conspiracy between the two communities with two “royal” families being the main players.The hoi polloi from the two communities are just but pawns on the huge political chessboard. They will always be cheated to imagine that they are in power. (That includes the hawker who roasts maize in the streets of Kiambu and the pit latrine-digger in Uasin Gishu who can’t afford two square meals a day!)
The big question that we still need to answer is; Will Kenyans allow KANU to rule for 100 years as the retired prof of politics himself (Moi) predicted?

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