Unite against creeping dictatorship

If anyone has given the Jubilee regime the benefit of doubt on its democratic credentials, such illusions were rudely shattered with the ingrained dictatorial traits exposed last week.

The October 7 statement by the nebulous National Security Advisory Committee, followed by a Cabinet establishment of a Multi-Agency Team on Public Order, would at first glance seem like timely and necessary responses to security threats presented by the prevailing toxic political environment.

But only the naïve and innocent will be fooled. .

It is true that advance jostling ahead of the 2022 elections is raising unhealthy heat. We are veering dangerously towards incitement, hate speech and excitement of ethnic passions. We see scattered violence and regrettable loss of life, the latest being the death of two people in Murang’a last week that triggered the security alert.

Reckless political activity, indeed, needs to be contained and anyone, irrespective of office or status, who incites violence made to face the full force of the law. But it is deceitful to cite national security when the real intention is to stop an individual.

News blackout

The fact is that purported security threats are being exploited to halt the political activities of Deputy President William Ruto. The threatened gags on media reporting have nothing to do with security but simply part of the effort to impose a news blackout on the DP’s roadshows.

To paraphrase Voltaire, we may “disapprove of what Dr Ruto says but we must defend to the death his right to say it”.

A lot of what the DP says and does, either directly or through hirelings, may be objectionable. His #HustlerNation campaign might, justifiably, be seen by some as divisive and crass expoitation of poverty.

Tirades against the ‘Deep State’ and ‘System’ mean nothing when delivered from atop an armoured government limousine surrounded by a phalanx of the Preatorian Guard. His crowded rallies could be deemed irresponsible when coronavirus stalks the country and curbs on public gatherings are still in place.

The fact, however, is that the Constitution of Kenya has not been suspended.

That the Deputy President is up against President Uhuru Kenyatta and his “Handshake” partner, opposition chief Raila Odinga, does not mean that Dr Ruto must be denied his constitutional rights of expression, assembly and association. Neither must the media must be stripped of their constitutional right to report on his activities and utterances.

One-party dictatorship

For far too long, successive governments in Kenya have used security as a pretext for curtailing basic freedoms. This, therefore, is not just about Dr Ruto but all Kenyans, who must jealously guard and protect inalienable rights that were won through blood, sweat and tears during the war for Independence and, later on, the struggle for a Second Liberation.

That Dr Ruto was on the side of one-party dictatorship at a pivotal point in history and also led opposition to the Constitution that entrenched his rights cannot justify denying him enjoyment of those rights.

Democracy and the very essence of Kenya is at risk when a totalitarian mindset in government misuses the forces of law and order just to contain dissenting views.

We remember that, over much of the past three decades, it was Mr Odinga facing the wrath of the police state through his admirable leadership in the fight for democracy and human rights.

As recently as the aftermath of the 2017 elections, he braved the repressive state machinery to have himself sworn in as the “people’s president”, even as many of his political allies scattered in fear. Much of the media stood firm, defying government decree in collusion with traitorous media managers that purported to criminalise coverage of the ceremony.

Mr Odinga should be the last person to be drawn into dictatorial silencing of opposition and media.

Distribution of wheelbarrows

Meanwhile, we must wonder what it is that Dr Ruto is doing that has the government running scared. If mere distribution of wheelbarrows and the hustlers-versus-dynasties campaign narrative can shake the foundations, then this government must be very a weak and ultra-paranoid one.

Countering the DP’s campaign with Gestapo tactics instead of superior messaging is very foolish of the government. It just plays into his hands by exciting the masses, who love anyone brave enough to stand up to the system, and helping him reinvent himself as a champion of the downtrodden.

In this situation, one must wonder whether mandarins in government are secretly working to popularize Dr Ruto and undermine Mr Odinga.

[email protected] www.gaitho.co.ke @MachariaGaitho