By Chris Maina
The fallout in the Jubilee Alliance blogosphere in the last few days has powerfully reminded us about the delicate balancing act that President Uhuru and his Deputy William Ruto are handling to ensure the survival of the unlikeliest of all political alliances in Kenya.
Nyeri Women Rep Priscillah Nyokabi, a TNA legislator, has been put on her defence. Her tormentors, vicious and ruthless, include Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria, State House blogger Dennis Itumbi and a gang of other social media ragamuffins, all allied to the TNA wing of the ruling Jubilee regime.
They are Mugo, F Muthoni, P Njoroge, Wahome Thuku, Joseph Njoro among others. Also in the loop is journalist Mathenge. There is also the gutter press, People Daily, wasting no chances to pounce on any ‘news’ which sell the President. Then there is David Matsanga.
What is Nyokabi’s case?
Ms Nyokabi was a high ranking civil society official when the ICC touched base. Together with others, she spiritedly fought to have perpetrators of that horrific violence tried by a competent court of law, and, get justice delivered to the victims of the 2007/08 post election violence. She was the Executive Director of Kituo cha Sheria.
Those who worked with her claim Nyokabi’s organization only participated in victim identification. However, in the Jubilee Alliance political parlance, anyone, any organization which associated itself with the ICC fixed Uhuru.
Central Kenya voters, by their own nature are known never to forget easily. Collectively, they ‘lie low’ when times and circumstances favour them but get easily reminded, and, condemned, to collective action against their ‘enemies’, whether real or imagined.
Uhuru and Ruto came together first to save themselves from the ICC by using state instruments. The swing from a personal challenge to a national challenge occurred long time ago, especially on President Uhuru’s case. This is an open knowledge.
This political arrangement, for the time being, has served the two communities well – I mean – their elites. Today, Mt Kenya elites and Rift Valley elites straddle Kenya’s officialdom. They are the current roaring lions. In many occasions, the microphone often start from a Rift valley elite who introduces a Mt Kenya elite who again introduces a Rift Valley elite who ends by introducing a Mt Kenya elite.
The futility of it is that it is the norm. Other regions in Kenya have apparently accepted this arrangement. So much reverse psychology has been played on them to the point that when they point it out, it is them who are charged as tribal. The media, also a social complex of this duopoly, has aided in embedding the awkwardness as a normalcy.
This arrangement however has one cardinal and unwritten rule. Mt Kenya are the major shareholders. The arrangement will exist so long as a Mt Kenya elite is the man on top, and, a Rift Valley woman below, figuratively.
The historical incident which brought to form this arrangement are the ugly incidents of the 2007/08 elections. The violence, ICC determined, was instigated and perpetrated by political elites of the two communities. To beat justice, their unity, which translated to unity of their two communities, was paramount.
But unity does not take away the pain and suffering of the 2007/08. Unity, the kind that Uhuru and Ruto perfected, has been premised on the notion that ‘watu wagange yajayo na yaliyopita si ndwele’. Forget and move on.
Yet, from the events of last week; while natives of Rift Valley pretend to have forgotten, once in a while, they are reminded of having killed, in fact slaughtered, Mt Kenya immigrants (nobody mentions other tribes) in 2007/08.
Wahome Thuku, a long time journalist and active social media ‘blogger’ yesterday pitched out this ugly reminder.
“When this matter is still hot, let me ask the Kikuyu nation, who exactly spearheaded your slaughter in the Rift Valley in 2007/08?†Thuku asked.
It was a naked affront to the pretentious peace, based on willful forgetfulness by the two communities – kalenjins and kikuyus – of the events of the 2007/08 post election violence.
Thuku is alleged to represent the suppressed feelings of kikuyus about the murder (slaughter) of their folk by Ruto’s community. There must only have been one man in their minds. The honest ones mentioned him, by name, as William Kipchirchir Samoei Ruto. (this is the subject matter at the ICC, so no secret or hate speech)
Thuku was however castigated for bringing this issue ‘too early’. He was warned of disturbing the peace.
This suppression serves to keep the calm currently. The calm is important for Uhuru to rule, as long as he will; and, as usual, for his people to load it over others – the others.
True to their cool demeanor URP bloggers pretended to see nothing in the attacks hoewever one Ruto man Steve Kewa offered to make it clear and thus; I have a feeling that the intensified repetitive attack sarcasm and direct reference to the DP by a known tribal king on this platform is being instigated by a very junior officer in government & in real life cycle.Wait until i smoke something and i will dare the devil. said in his Facebook page.
Make no mistake; the vengeance is still there. The embers are volcanic. The peace, or calm, is hollow. They know this, just like we do.
The ‘matter’ of Kikuyu deaths/killings in the Rift Valley, including the massacre at a church, will remain ‘hot’ as long as politics in Kenya is still an artful combination of communities. So long as politicians still seek votes based on historical grievances and the reminders about ‘what they did to us’, any alliance between Kalenjins and Kikuyus will always seek to have the kikuyu on top – just in case.
And more particularly, where the current Deputy President William Ruto is in the picture, the suppressed voices tell us that the fear, dark and stark, is to be safe than sorry.
Ruto, to ascend to power, must seek other alliances. The ‘pledged support’ in 2022 is a mirage, at best, a miracle if it comes to pass. Time is ticking.
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