The Clergy is Stumbling over the ICC

Many people are quite surprised when the church voices its opinion or makes known its stand on hot potato political issues. But as the salt and the light of the world, the church sometimes has to make strong judgments about what is false, unjust, and evil in the society and this inevitably means making forays into politics where deeply consequential value and moral judgements are made in a democratic society. The dilemma however for the church which has to contend with the pervasive error of privatized faith which is privately engaging and publicly irrelevant is the opposite error of politicized faith through which Christians become “useful idiots” for one political party or another and Christian beliefs are used as weapons for political interests.

Hon. Imanyara's Ordeal was an Occult Ritual

Last week, the legendary Imenti Central legislature, Hon. Gitobu Imanyara suffered an eerie ordeal that has defied explanation. He was waylaid by the gang as he was driving along State House Crescent and bundled him out of his car. His assailants then ordered him to lift his hands and kneel down facing Mount Kenya. They then threaten to kill him and his two sons if he defied their orders to cease and desist from supporting the Prime Minister Raila Odinga. They also ordered him to neither attend the Limuru II (b) conference nor accompany the Premier in his tour of the Mount Kenya region which took place last weekend. But before they could let him go, they ordered him to say ‘Tuko pamoja na Uhuru’ three times.

The way I see it, the bizarre incident which involved chanting with lifted hands while kneeling down facing a specific direction –Mount Kenya which is of spiritual significance to the House of Mumbi, was for all intents and purposes part of an occult ritual. The Imenti Central legislature should thank his God he has lived to tell the tale. He could have been ordained as a human sacrifice. The ordeal was nonetheless horrifying and when he recounted it to his fellow legislatures in the House, they were all dumbfounded.

Uhuru Kenyatta’s Leadership Appraisal

Its official, Uhuru Kenyatta is now a political IDP. Last week, KANU held its long awaited National Delegates Conference (NDC) which was convened amidst controversy in a desperate bid to puts its house in order and save the independence party from imminent deregistration on account of failing to comply with the new law on political parties. The Deputy Premier Uhuru Kenyatta, who was hitherto the party’s chairman, snubbed the conference alleging that it was not convened procedurally but be that as it may, the NDC was well-attended and duly transacted its business and as was expected, its immediate former chairman was ousted in absentia rendering him a political IDP.

It is undeniable that the independence party has completely lost its former glory and Uhuru’s failed leadership is responsible for the sorry state the party is in today. The party’s never-ending leadership wrangles had gotten in the way of its compliance with the new law on political parties –a situation that was threatening to have the party deregistered. In view of the foregoing, the Deputy Premier simply had to be replaced. It is expected that the latest political IDP will become a squatter in Mr. Kiraitu Murungi’s ‘political bus’ although there are rumours he is putting together a makeshift political house. Incidentally, his comrade William Ruto has suffered similar fate; becoming a squatter in UDM and eventually being kicked out to form a makeshift political house –URP.

G7 on the Verge of Collapse

The writing is on the wall for the enigmatic G7 Alliance that has defied all the odds since its faltering inception and grown to become a dominant force in the political arena. The alliance which was founded in defiance to the Premier Raila Odiga and the ICC process is on the verge of a collapse that is likely to be a calamitous disintegration. For the longest time the alliance succeeded in staving off the sooner-than-expected breakup by fashioning itself as an alliance of peers. However, the politically savvy Deputy Premier Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr. William Ruto have edged out Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka to become the leading lights of the alliance.

The alliance which committed itself to fielding a single presidential candidate from within its ranks through a democratic process is going through a watershed moment. The search for its preferred presidential candidate has turned out to be a show of might between its two leading lights and what is emerging is that the nomination process will by default be based on the principle that ‘right is might’. Needless to say, the politically impotent Vice-President, Kalonzo Musyoka, who had hoped for a civil and democratic nomination process is a disillusioned man while the new justice minister Eugene Wamalwa has cut his losses and is more than happy to settle for a plum ministerial position.

Making Sense of the Cabinet Reshuffle

One of the reasons Kibaki’s presidency remains an enigma to Kenyans is not because of his notoriously incoherent off-the-cuff remarks but rather because his actions speak so loud we can never hear what he is actually saying. In the surprise minor cabinet reshuffle that took place last week, the President made a political statement on his stand on the ICC process and the fate of the Ocampo Four but surprisingly, it is a statement that seems to have eluded our attentiveness.

There is no doubt that the recent cabinet reshuffle was made long before it was announced but given that the reshuffle was vindictive and smacked of arrogance, such an announcement had the potential of generating serious political backlash.

GEMA Is Suffering Siege Mentality

Institutions are created for the purpose of resisting change, that’s their main function. And they preserve all kinds of things that one doesn’t want. But how you get rid of them I do not know.

Professor A. J. P. Taylor

Last week, Gikuyu, Embu, and Meru Association (GEMA) convened a conference for leaders from its various communities in Limuru and the ostensible objective of the meeting dubbed Limuru II was to endorse Uhuru Kenyatta as their presidential candidate and to explore possible ways and means way of delaying the ICC process to enable Uhuru to vie for the presidency in the forthcoming general elections. In the end, the leaders adopted a human rights argument for postponing the ICC process and gave a thinly veiled threat of violence should the ICC process jeopardise Uhuru’s chances of vying the presidency.

The Mass Media and Politics

Finally, the long-awaited election year is here and politicians –veterans and rookies alike–are gearing up for the forthcoming make-or-break general elections. At the heart of all campaign strategies by any serious politician eying especially the presidency, is management of the mass media. The mass media is the centre stage of any democracy’s political drama and even though they are indispensable to politicians and to a democratic political process, politicians adore and dread it in equal measures. To improve their prospects for election, politicians need the mass media to portray them favourably even when they are unpopular something which makes their campaign strategy somewhat of a ritual dance before the media.