MWANGI: Impunity before elections: Who’ll whisper a word to Uhuru?

In a sign of increasing desperation by the ruling coalition as Kenya prepares for a General Election in August, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has now seemingly resorted to the use of threats and unconstitutional methods to intimidate opponents.

In an eventful week, the president accused opposition leader Raila Odinga of incitement – an accusation that was followed by expected chorus of calls from Jubilee and government functionaries for the latter’s arrest. The calls were punctuated by statements that the relevant government organs – the police as well as the National Cohesion and Integration Commission – were investigating the opposition leader’s utterances.

Of course, Raila rubbished the accusations as the usual politicking expected of a panicky regime. And so, the whole country waited for the government to effect the arrest – but nobody appeared willing to do so. Naturally, the whole confrontation elevated Raila’s profile and portrayed the government as a clueless regime clutching at straws.

In fact, there was little that could be used to pin down Raila. He had simply asked the Maasai to stop selling their land and being pushed into destitution, a practice that he attributed to the endemic poverty caused by years of misrule. Other leaders– including the current president – have also at various times called upon different communities not to sell their land.

But Raila was not the only one to suffer the wrath of Uhuru and his henchmen. Nation newspaper reporter Walter Menya was arrested over the weekend and eventually released two days later. Police claimed that he was held for soliciting a bribe, but it quickly emerged that the arrest had to do with a story that the reporter wrote implicating top civil servants of actively participating in the Friends of Jubilee Foundation, an outfit that has been campaigning and fundraising for the ruling party. Civil servants in Kenya are required by the constitution to keep away from active politics.

Less than two months to the general election, the increasing abrasiveness by the ruling party and its readiness to abuse power in dealing with opponents is polluting the political atmosphere in Kenya. Far from than scoring political points or winning it accolades, the shenanigans by the government are alienating an increasing number of Kenyans, spelling near-certain doom for the Jubilee coalition at the coming elections.

The heightened political temperatures, moreover, could lead to serious instability – especially if President Uhuru’s government decides to go a step further and actually arrest or harm opposition leaders. In such a charged atmosphere, it will only take a little spark for the country to go up in flames – so soon after the post-election violence of 2007-8.

The insensitivity of the government is also evident from the increasing spate of lengthy workers’ strikes, especially in the health and education sectors. The government has acquired a bad name for entering into deals and collective bargaining agreements with workers that it has no intention of honouring. This has led to recurrent strikes, the latest being one by nurses that has crippled public health facilities.

The high-handed manner in which the Uhuru government is going about its business is a throwback to the dictatorial reigns of Kenya’s first two presidents, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi. It is a history that Kenyans determinedly brought to an end with the enactment of a new constitution in 2010, but whose value is increasingly being questioned given the utter disregard for constitutional values by the government.

The danger signals that preceded the December 2007 general election are becoming more and more evident as Kenya moves towards August. Political grandstanding, weakening of key institutions, and ethnic mobilization have brought the country to unexpected lows. This is worsened by Uhuru’s demeanour, which betrays a dictatorial and intolerant character.

As usual, countries in the region and Africa as a whole are watching the unfolding scenario with little interest beyond the customary election monitoring. Yet, this may be the time for statesmen to get involved and help stop the downward slide into possible anarchy.

Someone needs to whisper a word to President Kenyatta. Someone who can tell him to stop the madness from engulfing the whole nation. Someone to ask him to look at the bigger picture, stop the threats and braggadocio, and adopt a more conciliatory tone. Who will that person be?