Mind Boggling
By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta
Chapter 76
Election results were announced and a hurried swearing-in ceremony carried out under a dark cloud of vote rigging. All hell broke loose thereafter. Violent protests and riots and killings have been the order of the day all across the country as the supporters of the loser have taken to the streets on a rampage claiming their ‘right’. We have been under siege in our houses. There is no telling how long we will remain in this calamity. Going by the examples of our neighbouring countries, there is a real risk that our country could descend into tribal wars.
Who is responsible for what is happening to our country?
For those who support Kibaki’s presidency, it is time to accept the election result and get on with normal life. This is quite amazing. If in fact Kibaki is the winner, why is it so difficult for him and his supporters to agree to revisit the issue of irregularities in the vote tallying which have been confirmed by four Commissioners of the Electoral Commission as well as the European Community observers?
Is this too much a price to ask for the restoration of confidence in the democracy of our country? If presidents can be declared winners despite irregularities in the vote tallying, why vote? This is too big a loop hole in denying people the leader of their choice. If we accept the president’s victory based on a dubious vote tallying process, what can we expect for the future of our country? How many more dubious processes will we be subjected to in the next five years and beyond?
Have we been disenfranchised? Yes, because no-one in the world can say with any sense of confidence that the president of our country was democratically elected into office. Those who do not accept the election result have been asked to go to court. This is absolutely ridiculous when Kenya is known the world over for its extremely high levels of corruption to which the judiciary is not immune.
In response to the violence, riots and killings plaguing our country, the government and its supporters have stated that the losers are to blame because those perpetrating the violence, riots and killings are their supporters. The irony of this statement is that when our president was sworn in, he clearly stated that he would be a president of all Kenyans. If he is the president of all Kenyans shouldn’t he take responsibility for what is happening to our country? If the losers are to blame for the unrest, why have they not been arrested? Already, blame for the wrongs that are happening in our country has started being shifted away from the president, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, just like it was in the last five years of his presidency. Every day in the last few months our president was out there among the people holding rallies to plead with Kenyans all over the country to vote for him. Now that he has been declared president, he sees no need to step out again and plead with Kenyans to stop killing each other. Somehow, that has become exclusively the job of the losers, religious leaders and peace-keepers. The president is a statesman and expecting him to step out into the same communities he was pleading with for votes and now plead with them to stop the bloodshed would reduce him to a village chieftain. He is now the president and he belongs in an ivory tower somewhere up in the sky away from the populace, busy formulating policy for the economic development of his country.
Am I missing something here? Yes, I am. I am missing a vital presumption on which electoral processes the world over are based. That vote rigging is inevitable and even the losers have done it. Rigging is stealing. Steal all you like as long as you don’t get caught. Rig all you can as long as you can get away with it. Don’t you see? The competition in elections is not who can garner the most votes. Nooooooooo. That’s not it. It is who possesses the best rigging skills to get himself the most votes. The best rigger wins. And by the way, the rigging is not limited to tampering with ballot boxes and documents. If bribing or arm twisting officers of the electoral commission becomes necessary and they are responsive to your advances, don’t let the guilt of your actions stop you. Get yourself into power by any means necessary. Those words were contained in a statement made by our Minister for Defence before the elections in which he was voted out of his constituency. At that time I did not understand what he actually meant. Now I can see clearly what he meant.
The president and his men are entitled to get away with the irregularities in the vote tallying process because it is not the president’s responsibility to tally the votes, it is the electoral commission’s responsibility. If the electoral commission has deemed it fit to declare a president despite the irregularities, so be it. The Electoral Commission has stated that although the irregularities do exist, the irregularities are not its responsibility. They are the responsibility of the courts. Most likely, at the courts, the judges in their judgment will dismiss the petition claiming that the responsibility lies elsewhere and it is too late to do anything because the president has already been sworn in. Brilliant buck-passing I must say.
What is the corner stone of democracy? Transparency and fairness. In the absence of transparency and fairness, only dictatorship exists. It is important to note that the president’s 20 cabinet ministers were voted out of their constituencies and the majority seats in parliament are held by members of the opposition party. It is obvious that the people of Kenya countrywide were using their votes to protest against the government. In the span of a few days, and by the refusal of our leaders to safeguard the integrity of the vote tallying process, a democracy is creeping towards a dictatorship.
Selfishness will not allow our president to take responsibility for what has happened. The truth has been hidden away. Freedom has been curtailed. Only one man can save the day. Only the president can save the day. He has two choices:-
1. He can choose to take time out and think deeply about what has occurred, let passion guide his actions so that he may take responsibility for the unrest and act in the best interests of others disregarding his own selfish interests. He can choose to love his neighbour as himself and do unto others as he would like done to him. He can let the truth be revealed so that it can set him free.
OR
2. He can choose to think shallow about what has occurred, refuse to follow his passion and refuse to take responsibility for the unrest thereby exposing himself to the consequences of breaking God’s commandments that Thou shalt not steal and Thou shalt not kill.
Can our president really choose the righteous way? If you ask me, I would say that is IMPOSSIBLE. The selfishness in his heart and the hearts of those around him has them all blinded to the grave injustice that has been meted out to their brethren and their responsibility for it. They are experiencing spiritual warfare and losing the battle by allowing selfishness to win over their passion.
The selfishness of our leaders is a Goliath of unimaginable proportions. Can this Goliath be slayed? Where is David and his catapult? Is anything really possible with God? I am praying that God will show me that even this is possible.
By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta
Chapter 76
Election results were announced and a hurried swearing-in ceremony carried out under a dark cloud of vote rigging. All hell broke loose thereafter. Violent protests and riots and killings have been the order of the day all across the country as the supporters of the loser have taken to the streets on a rampage claiming their ‘right’. We have been under siege in our houses. There is no telling how long we will remain in this calamity. Going by the examples of our neighbouring countries, there is a real risk that our country could descend into tribal wars.
Who is responsible for what is happening to our country?
For those who support Kibaki’s presidency, it is time to accept the election result and get on with normal life. This is quite amazing. If in fact Kibaki is the winner, why is it so difficult for him and his supporters to agree to revisit the issue of irregularities in the vote tallying which have been confirmed by four Commissioners of the Electoral Commission as well as the European Community observers?
Is this too much a price to ask for the restoration of confidence in the democracy of our country? If presidents can be declared winners despite irregularities in the vote tallying, why vote? This is too big a loop hole in denying people the leader of their choice. If we accept the president’s victory based on a dubious vote tallying process, what can we expect for the future of our country? How many more dubious processes will we be subjected to in the next five years and beyond?
Have we been disenfranchised? Yes, because no-one in the world can say with any sense of confidence that the president of our country was democratically elected into office. Those who do not accept the election result have been asked to go to court. This is absolutely ridiculous when Kenya is known the world over for its extremely high levels of corruption to which the judiciary is not immune.
In response to the violence, riots and killings plaguing our country, the government and its supporters have stated that the losers are to blame because those perpetrating the violence, riots and killings are their supporters. The irony of this statement is that when our president was sworn in, he clearly stated that he would be a president of all Kenyans. If he is the president of all Kenyans shouldn’t he take responsibility for what is happening to our country? If the losers are to blame for the unrest, why have they not been arrested? Already, blame for the wrongs that are happening in our country has started being shifted away from the president, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, just like it was in the last five years of his presidency. Every day in the last few months our president was out there among the people holding rallies to plead with Kenyans all over the country to vote for him. Now that he has been declared president, he sees no need to step out again and plead with Kenyans to stop killing each other. Somehow, that has become exclusively the job of the losers, religious leaders and peace-keepers. The president is a statesman and expecting him to step out into the same communities he was pleading with for votes and now plead with them to stop the bloodshed would reduce him to a village chieftain. He is now the president and he belongs in an ivory tower somewhere up in the sky away from the populace, busy formulating policy for the economic development of his country.
Am I missing something here? Yes, I am. I am missing a vital presumption on which electoral processes the world over are based. That vote rigging is inevitable and even the losers have done it. Rigging is stealing. Steal all you like as long as you don’t get caught. Rig all you can as long as you can get away with it. Don’t you see? The competition in elections is not who can garner the most votes. Nooooooooo. That’s not it. It is who possesses the best rigging skills to get himself the most votes. The best rigger wins. And by the way, the rigging is not limited to tampering with ballot boxes and documents. If bribing or arm twisting officers of the electoral commission becomes necessary and they are responsive to your advances, don’t let the guilt of your actions stop you. Get yourself into power by any means necessary. Those words were contained in a statement made by our Minister for Defence before the elections in which he was voted out of his constituency. At that time I did not understand what he actually meant. Now I can see clearly what he meant.
The president and his men are entitled to get away with the irregularities in the vote tallying process because it is not the president’s responsibility to tally the votes, it is the electoral commission’s responsibility. If the electoral commission has deemed it fit to declare a president despite the irregularities, so be it. The Electoral Commission has stated that although the irregularities do exist, the irregularities are not its responsibility. They are the responsibility of the courts. Most likely, at the courts, the judges in their judgment will dismiss the petition claiming that the responsibility lies elsewhere and it is too late to do anything because the president has already been sworn in. Brilliant buck-passing I must say.
What is the corner stone of democracy? Transparency and fairness. In the absence of transparency and fairness, only dictatorship exists. It is important to note that the president’s 20 cabinet ministers were voted out of their constituencies and the majority seats in parliament are held by members of the opposition party. It is obvious that the people of Kenya countrywide were using their votes to protest against the government. In the span of a few days, and by the refusal of our leaders to safeguard the integrity of the vote tallying process, a democracy is creeping towards a dictatorship.
Selfishness will not allow our president to take responsibility for what has happened. The truth has been hidden away. Freedom has been curtailed. Only one man can save the day. Only the president can save the day. He has two choices:-
1. He can choose to take time out and think deeply about what has occurred, let passion guide his actions so that he may take responsibility for the unrest and act in the best interests of others disregarding his own selfish interests. He can choose to love his neighbour as himself and do unto others as he would like done to him. He can let the truth be revealed so that it can set him free.
OR
2. He can choose to think shallow about what has occurred, refuse to follow his passion and refuse to take responsibility for the unrest thereby exposing himself to the consequences of breaking God’s commandments that Thou shalt not steal and Thou shalt not kill.
Can our president really choose the righteous way? If you ask me, I would say that is IMPOSSIBLE. The selfishness in his heart and the hearts of those around him has them all blinded to the grave injustice that has been meted out to their brethren and their responsibility for it. They are experiencing spiritual warfare and losing the battle by allowing selfishness to win over their passion.
The selfishness of our leaders is a Goliath of unimaginable proportions. Can this Goliath be slayed? Where is David and his catapult? Is anything really possible with God? I am praying that God will show me that even this is possible.
2 comments:
Njeri i can't believe the turn of events..really sad. Where did we go wrong? Is Kibaki being in power worth all the loss of lives and property am witnessing on news? I thought he said he was a state man. Which stateman watch his country burn and do nothing?God is just and fair.
Mumbi, imagine we are supposed to forgive all those who have caused us all this suffering! I am trying hard to work on that and yet I have not even been personally affected in a tragic sense. Healing will be a long time coming. Justice and fairness is clearly too much to expect from our leaders. But thank God that He is just and fair and our destiny as a country is in His able Hands.
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