President William Samoei Ruto
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Kenyans had high expectations that these changes would be a game changer in terms of improving their lives and tenets of democracy and constitutionalism. However, the changes did not mean much and so there was still a long way to go. The country still needed a strong opposition that continues to put the government in checks.
- This did not come to pass as the voice of the opposition had started to dissipate. This would be attributed to two factors. First most of the reforms crusaders had grown old and hence lost steam and energy. Others had passed way.
Speaking during the induction workshop for members of parliament of Kenya Kwanza coalition, President William Samoei Ruto once again ruled out any chance of appointing members of the opposition to his administration.
I want to fully agree with him. Looking at our history dating back to 1992 when the first general election under multi-party democracy was held, we cannot lose sight of one thing.
Between 1992 and 2002 we had a vibrant and robust opposition that played effectively its oversight role of putting government in power in checks.
Veteran politicians Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia, Raila Odinga and Martin Shikuku were the leading lights and they enjoyed a strong backing of firebrand religious leaders such as David Okulu, David Gitari, Alexander Muge, Ndingi Mwana Wa Nzeki, Manases Kuria and Timothy Njoya.
The voice of civil society and human rights groups was also very strong. Some media houses were not left behind and we saw them championing the course that these crusaders stood for.
Well, at the time the country was being governed by the old constitution that was blamed for creating an imperial presidency in which the president enjoyed absolute power and his word was final.
The reform crusaders’ efforts were not vain. For President Daniel Arap Moi, who was at helm of power, it reached a time when he no longer took the mounting pressure for granted.
A stage was set for a total overhaul of the old constitution and this culminated to two major developments. First, the 2002 transition in which Moi, who had fronted Hon Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta to succeed him, lost it out.
Instead, Kenyans elected Hon Mwai Kibaki, who was the leader of the opposition, as the third President of the Republic of Kenya.
Secondly, the fight for reforms bore fruits eight seven years later when a new constitution was promulgated in 2010.
Kenyans had high expectations that these changes would be a game changer in terms of improving their lives and tenets of democracy and constitutionalism. However, the changes did not mean much and so there was still a long way to go. The country still needed a strong opposition that continues to put the government in checks.
This did not come to pass as the voice of the opposition had started to dissipate. This would be attributed to two factors. First most of the reforms crusaders had grown old and hence lost steam and energy. Others had passed way.
Of all, ODM leader Raila Odinga was the only one who had remained active. But after the election of 2007 he also seemed to have gotten tired of fighting from trenches. He started to look for ways of joining the inner circle of President Mwai Kibaki’s government. I don’t need to belabor the point of what transpired for him to get his share of the cake. He became the Prime Minister, a position that never existed in our constitution but which he forced to be created.
To date, we are yet to reach to Cannan, the land of milk and honey. Our democracy has not matured and it needs to be natured. Again, Kenyans spoke about their expectations during the campaigns.
In light of this, I totally agree with President William Ruto’s assertions that he will not appoint any of the opposition leaders to his administration. Instead, he rightly advised them to stick to their lane and calling.
The President further stated; My government have no problem working with a responsible opposition that will engage us in constructive, mature and structured dialogue and criticism. Where we go wrong, we are ready to be corrected. And when we do the right thing, we expect them to support us.
Dr Ruto however assured Kenyans. My government will not hide anything and my team and I are committed to fulfill what we promised you. I wish him well.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a Political Analyst based in Nairobi
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