Moi is not our saviour
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 5:15 PM
Once again the whole country has stopped as people gather around TV screens and radios. The last time this happened we were engrossed in the first session of the 10th parliament. This time we all waiting to see a press conference called by Kofi Annan’s mediation team at which both Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki are expected to attend. (Thankfully the Official Government Spokesman and his police counterpart, those two reliable beacons of information to some - misinformation to the rest of us, are not scheduled to make an appearance.)
I am watching this from a building which (illegally) overlooks the Department of Defence headquarters on one side and overlooks Nairobi Hospital on another side. It feels right, therefore, to comment on Kenya’s former dictator, Commander –In-Chief of the Armed Forces and President Daniel arap Moi who is lying in one of the beds in the private VIP wing of Nairobi hospital with a needle sticking out of his hand admitted, we were reliably informed by his personal physician yesterday, because of lower back pain.
The chaos that has erupted in Kenya in the past four weeks has some misguided souls crying out for a return to the dark days of Moi’s rule. This would have never happened under Moi, they say, things would have been better under Moi, they cry, Moi should save us, they plead. What nonsense!
Are these the only two options available to Kenyans today? To live under a dictator or, on the other hand, to live in fear as the country burns under an illegitimate president? Are these the only two options? Was this the choice presented to us when we stood for hours to vote in December? NO. Sometimes I wish we had a team of rugby props who could go around the country grab people by the shoulders and shake some sense into them! One of the great victories of the 2007 Kenyan election was the complete and total rejection by the electorate in Rift Valley of Moi’s plans to build a dynasty as each one of his three sons who vied for a parliamentary seat was defeated at the polls. Going back to the dark days of the Moi dictatorship is not an option that should even be entertained. What is wrong with people? This is almost as bad as those crazy (and thankful increasingly isolated) black voices in South Africa who yearn for a return to apartheid. How we as Kenyans used to laugh at that logic, well look who is laughing now.
To be fair it has become increasingly clear that Moi had a much stronger grip on the country than Kibaki ever did. Kibaki’s cheerleaders praised this as part of their boss’ “hands off” style of government. The only problem is that it did not end at hands off, if anything Kibaki’s style of government should be called a “Brain Off” style of government.
The current chaos in Kenya was not triggered because of a failure of democracy; it was triggered by a selfish bunch of arrogant politicians who feel that they have the divine right to rule at any cost and thus trample all over our democracy. If democracy had been respected we would not be where we are now. Do NOT blame democracy for our troubles, blame those who are trying to trample it and thus follow in the footsteps of the lonely and frail man who lies in a hospital not far away from here.
That sad and increasingly pathetic man is not our saviour.
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Entry Filed under: Election07, Kenya, Politics
9 Comments Add your own
1. Pages tagged "reliable"&hellip | January 29th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
[...] bookmarks tagged reliable Moi is not our saviour saved by 4 others mrdeleted bookmarked on 01/29/08 | [...]
2. Matofa | January 30th, 2008 at 6:23 am
Maze, you could not have put this in a better way. Our absence of a democracy, and voting for the candidate of our choice is what is the root cause of our problem. No matter the tribe, wealth,height, skin colour, sex or differences. Our universal right, is the right to vote and be heard through the ballot.
Kenya is no greater than any other country in the world, and no other country is no better than Kenya if we or they do not hold universal principles aloft.
“Until the tribe of a man is no greater than the other, me say WAR”. War can be in the mind in the soul and, in the spirit. It does not always manifest itself in its physical form, but when injustice brings people towards a common goal then you see what we have in Kenya today. Everything else is just spin and smokescreens to get us away from the issue of dealing with a stolen process.
Moi, and I loathe that man with all the fiber in my body, cannot lead us and never did. What we see of the current administration is an evolution of Moi, no wonder he was part of PNU. The proof is in the pudding. My whole life in Kenya was wrecked by him (MOI), start from 8-4-4, undemocratization, poverty, tribalism etc..
If tribes are fighting each other to core at this moment, it is a manifestation of the government. maybe we will never be at peace mentally,we have been physically. And the leader who maintains more peace and is adept at juggling our insecurities and ambitions, cementing the fragile bonds, and dispensing justice to all will bring us closer to prosperity.
Please dont mention any word about Moi and leadership. By the way, why isnt this goon in jail 5 years after he was ousted. Or maybe has he just bought another 5 years in the tune of a stolen election?
3. Ms K | January 30th, 2008 at 11:41 am
“Our universal right, is the right to vote and be heard through the ballot.
Kenya is no greater than any other country in the world, and no other country is no better than Kenya if we or they do not hold universal principles aloft.”
Amen.
Argh dark rage taking over, going to sit outside in the sun.
4. Pambana | January 30th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
How could anyone think that Moi is the answer to our wows. The only answer is a complete overhaul of our failed constitution and elections procedures.
5. Kui | January 30th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I agree whole heartedly that Moi is not our saviour!! He never was and he can never be.
I had a discussion with colleague at work who was saying that democracy takes time and he cited the USA; who have had over 400 years of trying to build a democratic country. While not wanting to get sidelined by whether the USA is democratic, I do feel that there is some validity in this comment; i.e. a style of leadership can take years to perfect - even dictatorships
Moi had nearly 30 years to “perfect” his tyrannical reign. It is very easy to look back and mistake the periods of supposed stability during Moi’s time as that of a country under a strong leader. For me however it was a sure sign of our people feeling down-trodden and oppressed almost to the point of giving up. I say almost because we still had resistance and as is evident in 2002, our people succeeded.
You make an interesting distinction when you pitch Moi as the dictator and Kibaki as the illegitimate government. For me, I see in our current President signs of a dictator. After all, how else would one describe a leader who places a ban on live broadcasts, who seizes power irrespective of the poll result, who seems indifferent to the loss of life of his fellow country folk?
In my view the difference between Moi and Kibaki is that Kibaki is a dictator in the making. Very many Kenyans remember how Moi steadily and systemically moved further away from the pursuit of democracy. It is because of this that so many Kenyans can not only identify the signs in Kibaki’s style of leadership that resemble Moi’s but Kenyans are also making it very clear that he will never do to our country what Moi did.
It was not Kibaki who saved us from Moi. It was the Kenyan people, likewise it is not Moi who shall save us from Kibaki - it shall be the Kenyan people.
Thank you for blogging this.
6. Waweru | January 31st, 2008 at 12:50 am
The Killings, The burnings of the innocents in Eldoret and Naivasha, the evictions…I have two families kicked out of their property in the rift as we speak, over 30 individuals looking to me for sustenance who a month and a bit ago were self sufficient…would these happenings have been avoided if ODM had taken over? I would like to think so..but I fear things would have been worse for certain communiities. Kibaki has let us down horribly, I will be the first to admit. But please let us not put our trust in the Rutos and Railas..they are no better!
7. Gerald Baraza | February 2nd, 2008 at 8:05 am
A good leader sees when his policies and strategies are failing. A good leader abandons a plan that is failing. A good leader realizes the futility of his schemes. A good leader is flexible and dynamic. Only a leader with less flexibility and more ego allows war to rage as he retaliates and demonstrates his “strength”.Only a weak leader allows his country to be mired in un-necessary fighting with hundreds of casualties. A great leader institutes a quick change of course which enables him to move on to achieve greater goals. Great leaders understand that strength requires restraint. A great leader is one who knows how to manage both his weaknesses and his strengths, and those of the country he is leading. Unfortunately, I don’t see any of these virtues in those who have usurped the leadership of our great country-Kenya!
8. Ishara | February 3rd, 2008 at 8:45 am
When Kenyans begin to reference the bygone Nyayo Era with nostalgia, when we begin to admire, applaud and even marvel at the dexterity with which the “Professor of Politics” rigged previous elections in 1992 and 1997-it could not be clearer that we have a problem.
Moi had said Kenyans were not ready for multipartyism…apparently there are plenty of other ultra progressive ideas/practices we are also not ready for including freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, the rule of law (not tyranny by way of the mass shootings or political assassinations) and oh yes-our right to exercise our vote and have it counted without interference.
Our problem is not representative democracy’s use but it’s abuse at the hands of those among our leadership for the purpose of political mileage and expediency.
How is democracy to blame for the Kenyan clashes or civil unrest?
Did democracy cause the ECK chair and officials to betray their fellowmen and Nation?
Was democracy involved in the brutal suppression of the ensuing dissent and protest?
When did democracy cause Kenyans to injure, abuse or kill one another?
How did democracy influence our repugnant loss of respect for the sanctity of life and the colossal damage to property?
If there is any form of logic or rational thought underpinning this reasoning, it must be of a variety that only the “special” (the lights are on but no one is home) amongst us that are able to glean.
I therefore say the team of rugby props ought to knock some hardened and husked coconut heads together instead.
The resounding crack would be immensely satisfying to me!
Seriously, how do you even begin to argue or endorse the viewpoint that democracy is an alien, unrealistic and impracticable concept for Nations in Africa and therefore doomed to disappoint or fail us based on the events following this election?
Did we misplace our thinking caps?
9. Kenyans yearn for Daniel &hellip | May 30th, 2008 at 9:38 am
[...] From a Kenyan blog: “Moi is not our saviour” [...]
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