SHAME ON MR. WILLIAM MUNENE

Mr. William Munene's analysis on Kenya's presidential politics is comical at best. However, we must accept when it comes to politics some Kenyans, just like Mr. Munene, default to the most tribal and primitive benchmark. It goes to show the blatant disparities that exist between the "tribal" Kenyan and the "national" Kenyan.

Mr. Munene is misguided to justify any tribal solutions used by Kenyatta, Moi, and Kibaki in dealing with presidential challenges. Sure, Jomo Kenyatta played a significant role in fighting for Kenya's independence but he was a "good warrior" who made a "bad chief." In executing his presidential duties Kenyatta did away with nationalism-a tool he used to fight for independence-and opted for tribalism- a tool he used to divide and exploit the Kenyan people.

Let us compare Jomo Kenyatta to Julius Nyerere; both true African freedom fighters-they became the founding fathers of their respective nations. Whereas Nyerere fostered "ujamaa"- a strong sense of brotherhood and nationalism that united the Tanzanian people across tribal barriers, Kenyatta failed to do so in Kenya. In stead, Kenyatta used tribe as way to divide and rule Kenya. Kenyatta, in his actions, planted the tree of tribalism and today's Kenya is munching its deadly fruits. Nobody had a better opportunity to eradicate tribalism in Kenya than Kenyatta did! In detribalizing Kenya, Kenyatta failed abysmally.

As a nationalist, Moi was doomed to fail right from the start. During his KADU days, he saw the need to protect the "smaller" tribes from the "larger" tribes. Moi's politics were born out of "tribal fear". In my opinion, Moi got into politics to protect his tribe. He was incapable of uniting and developing Kenya. Moi was the epitome of a “yes-man” and he rewarded by Kenyatta for his loyalty. After becoming the second president of Kenya, Moi continued to reward “blind loyalty” at the expense of qualification and merit. He appointed loyal but inept Kalenjin cronies to critical government positions. Moi’s tribal formula saw Kenya sink to new lows economically, politically, and socially. It is a great miracle that Kenya managed to “survive” twenty four years of Moi. As a national leader, Moi was a non-starter.

Kibaki, the tallest midget among the trio, has achieved some economic success, but it is driven exclusively by an entrenched Kikuyu tribal network. Moi's thieves were nomads-they would bleed a national resource/institution to death and then move to the next one. But Kibaki's thieves are farmers-they are establishing national resources/institutions in order to keep on harvesting for personal benefit.

Economically, one can argue, Kibaki's methods are better than Moi's because of the trickle down effects (debatable for some people). However, in looking at today's Kenya, one can't help but notice how a selected Kikuyu clique is controlling access to all the important national resources. Kibaki's primary objective is to protect and reward the business interests of the Kikuyu Mafia. In the process, Kenya might continue to report improving economic numbers but the income disparity between the "Kikuyu Mafia" and the rest of us will continue to widen. Kibaki’s growing economy is not for all Kenyans. Kibaki’s economy is for a few sons of Mumbi!

In summary, Mr. Munene is wrong in his analysis. Kenya's presidents don't go tribal because they lack better political options. NO! Kenyan presidents are tribal because they are motivated by strong tribal agendas. In their basic nature, they are more Kikuyu or more Kalenjin than they are Kenyan. They pledge their first allegiance to tribe and not to nation.

What we need in Kenya is a national leader- one who wants to occupy the State House because he or she believes that all Kenyan men and women, despite tribe, are created equal. We need a leader who will not marginalize any tribe out of paranoia or favor any tribe out of political expediency and greed. We need a Kenyan leader who loves all Kenyans equally. We need a "Kenyan leader" who inadvertently happens to be a Luo, Kikuyu, Kamba, Kalenjin or any other tribe. What we DO NOT NEED is a "Tribal leader" who happens to be "just" a Kenyan! The challenge for us is to identify the true Kenyan nationalist among the tribal demagogues dominating our politics today.

GEORGE MUTUA