The Silent Statehouse

Monday, June 12th, 2006 at 3:23 PM

“People do not understand that the Government can do anything with anyone and you do not have to understand.”

Kibaki’s long time ally and a senior cabinet member as Minister of Defence, Njenga Karume, shows that he missed the lecture on Democracy and clearly thinks that he can run the like it is one of his private companies.

Whenever an administration comes to an end there is rush by political commentators to write what they hope becomes the authoritative account of that administration’s time in power. When the time comes to write about the end of the Kibaki administration, I have the perfect title for the book on his presidency. The book should be called, The Silent Statehouse.

Time and time again when leadership has been necessary, Kibaki has been silent. But now it is not leadership we want from Kibaki. We want answers. Answers over the government’s actions and role in the on going saga of the “Aremenian” bothers, Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargysan, The Kenyan wanainchi need some answers immediately. I drew up a list of 10 questions which quickly become 20 and has threatened to grow to well over 30. Here are a sample:

• Why was it necessary to have the two bothers chauffeured to JKIA in two Government vehicles disguised to appear as if they had just landed at the airport before addressing journalists in a stage-managed press conference?
• Who was the “senior official” who tried to obstruct the police from doing their job when the police went to arrest the bothers?
• Who was the “senior official” who intervened two months ago when the police when to arrest the brothers?
• On whose orders did the Kenyan Airports Authority issues Access All Areas passes to the Armenians?
• Why did the two brothers have government vehicles available for their use and in their compound?
• Who issue the brothers with a letter from the police giving them the powers of policemen with the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police?
• To which country or organisation were vehicles with diplomatic plates licensed too?
• Who authorised the issue of Kenyan passports to the two brothers?

And on and on and on. With all these questions and the hundreds more, all roads lead to Statehouse.

Of course Kibaki has been silent on this matter. His only words so far on this issue have been to threaten the press with legal action for linking his family to the brothers. That he cares more about protecting his neck than maintaining respect of his office is his problem. That he cares more about protecting his neck than the security of the nation, is our problem.

President Kibaki owes us all an explanation. I don’t know whether he had any direct dealings with the Armenian brothers. I don’t know whether he had ever met them. But I do know that he is my President, and that a lot of evil things are being done in his name. The buck must stop with him.

Macharia Gaitho writing in the Daily Nation

It is refreshing to see Commissioner of Police, Maj Gen Hussein Ali, finding his teeth and acting against the brothers. I also understand why he, Ali, felt the need to deport the brothers immediately. There is no point fooling ourselves. If those brothers were still in Kenya a “senior official” would have secured their release from jail by now and with an Attorney General who hates taking anyone to court, they probably would have never answered for their crimes. Instead they would be back in Runda behind their walled garden free to cause all the chaos they wanted. We have a situation where the Commissioner of Police does not trust the Justice department to do its job and where the Commissioner of Police does not know whom amongst his senior staff he can trust.

We should also remember that Dogs of War, like these brothers are, have no loyalties except to themselves and are available to the highest bidder, usually for political assassination. I do not even want to start to imagine what would happen to Kenya if a political leader was assassinated and these two men were involved. Even more so when you take into account their considerable links to Statehouse.

With the Moi presidency, and an evil one it was too, you never felt that Moi did not know what was going on. That he had lost control of the situation. When Moi engaged in criminal activity while his cronies looted the country you always had the feeling that Moi knew where every cent was going and with whom. Which is why his pleas that he knew about Goldenberg were comical to say the least. With Kibaki you do not getting the same feeling. The man either has no idea what is going on in the country or if he does he is powerless to stop it.

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