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These dark clouds upon us; are they a sign of the ides of March?
#72 - 0--clubafrika--These dark clouds upon us; are they a sign of the ides of March?--2006-03-03 14:59:35
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Forces of evil love the cover of darkness. When the Pharisees sent Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus Christ, they waited for darkness to fall before they launched their operations. There is something in darkness that those who plan evil love about it. It gives them the comfort that they can commit a crime under the cover of darkness and still walk free like normal persons in society without fear of recrimination.
In Luo society, we have a group of people we normally refer to as "night-runners". We call them night-runners because they choose to run around villages at night causing fear and terror to the villagers already asleep. In most circumstances, they run around stark naked, carry with them bags of sand and soil that they throw at their victims through the roof or verandah as they see convenient. Quite often they can be very violent with village doors. They can kick them wide open then take off at lighting speed. As they speed off around the village, they carry with them burning pieces of wood to cause more terror to the villagers.
But there is one common trait among these village terrorists. They are all cowards. When you confront them they will make sure you don't catch them and if you do, they will plead with you to spare them any harm and beg you not to reveal their identity to the villagers. This they do for obvious reasons.
Before Julius Caesar of Rome was brutally assassinated by his closest friends in the emperors' palace, one of his confidantes had a premonition about his death. He warned Caesar to be ware of the "Ides of March". What I have never found out was whether Julius Caesar was actually assassinated in the month of March. - However, talking of March in the history of Kenya, we well remember that one JM Kariuki, one of the most popular post colonial members of parliament was murdered the same month by forces of evil closely linked to the state security agents at the time. The story goes that in the late hours of the evening, JM Kariuki was either lured from one of his night spots by agents of evil well known to him. After that he was never seen alive again.
If we remember the circumstances of the murder of Robert John Ouko in Got Alila in the early '90s, again the forces of evil visited him in the dead of the night and took him away at a time it was not easy to recognize their identities. Again, as is always the case, he was never to be seen alive again. Once more, state security agents of the then regime were closely linked to his murder.
Coming back to our story of the week at the Standard Media Group, a lot has been said by almost every one of us who had a voice to do so. Gratefully, this nation has been mollified by one fact; that not every member of this snake-like regime condoned the midnight operation of our thuggish police in hoods and masks.
If this is truly the case, then those patriotic sons and daughters of this great country must come out unequivocally to condemn their colleagues that came out defiantly to brand the entire government a snake that was ready to unleash deadly venom on its rattlers.
If they truly believe that the deed was wrong then they must issue a joint statement to condemn John Michuki and Martha Karua for advocating police brutality in our midst. We cannot afford a Security Minister and a Justice Minister who fuel lawlessness under the guise that they are guarding national security! For whom are they guarding national security, if they in the process terrorize their own citizens?
I would like to believe that John Michuki and a clique of anarchists in the Kibaki government have decided to behave like that proverbial dog in the manger that must continue to protect what is worthless for it. In their mind, they know they have lost the moral authority to govern this country yet they see no reason to honorably give way and let others do the job.
I would also like to believe that these anarchists have taken advantage of a president who has not been well for the better part of the last three years. Because of his ill health, this clique filled the power vacuum that was created when President Moi left the office.
People in the know tell me that in Kenyatta and Moi era, all Provincial Commissioners used to report to the President directly. The President knew them by name and had telephone audiences with them every morning as a matter of routine. When Moi came to power, he expanded the base of this system. All District Commissioners were given access to the President without any one coming between him and them. This arrangement accorded the President an opportunity to cross check information from Provincial Commissioners with those coming from District Commissioners.
When Kibaki came to power on a wheelchair, his ill- health robbed him of the robust health his predecessor enjoyed. Months of hospitalization gave political hawks in his administration an opportunity to usurp some of his powers. One of those powers usurped was the link with the provincial administration which initially went to Chris Murungaru and now enjoyed by John Michuki. It is therefore not a wonder that the Internal Security Minister can today order a crackdown on a media house or a political party, using the police personnel without any reference or consultation with the Police Commissioner or anybody else. In other words, in today's Kenya, Michuki's orders are equivalent to that of the President!
I don't envy Mutahi Kagwe the Minister for Information and Communication. In my opinion, he has found himself between a rock and a hard place. He has little room to maneuver. He finds himself unable to forcefully contradict his fellow cabinet minister, his senior in age and in politics but above all his father in law. Mutahi's is a painful position because he is a seasoned and well educated media personality. Ironically, the last substantial job Mutahi held was at the Standard News Paper as its Commercial Director. I therefore could see the anger in him when journalists questioned his sincerely and belief in press freedom. However, for us observers of this unfolding drama, the moment of truth has come when the boys must be separated from the men. The wheat must be separated from the chaff and the goats must stand apart from the sheep.
Mutahi has hard choices to make. He has to choose between his young and promising political career and momentary bliss as a cabinet minister in a regime that has turned on its children. Either he reforms it to do better for the next few months or he gets out to save his political career.
In African societies, it is a given that the young have to listen to wise counsel and wisdom from their more experienced elders. However, the young can only listen to reasonable and logical advice from their elders. If your elder tells you to cross a raging river knowing well that you have never learnt to swim, that elder is dangerous; disobey his counsel.
Lastly, there is a strong rumor doing the rounds that the Kalonzo-Kibaki story was actually planted by a newly acquired operative at State House masquerading as a communications advisor to some big wigs in there. The rumor goes that this smart Aleck was once a celebrated columnist with one of the leading dailies. He was initially very critical of the Kibaki regime in its early stages until he saw the light.
It is alleged that one evening he came up with a very brilliant idea of how to disorganize the ODM and at the same time put the Standard Group Management team on a collision cause with the government on the one side and shareholders on the other.
In his zeal to executive his brain-child, he sold the idea to selected power brokers of the regime who swallowed the bait hook and all.
His objective was first to cause a split in the ODM, a movement that had shown signs of cracks after several of its leading lights had declared their candidature for the presidency. His soft target was Kalonzo Musyoka who he believed was the most vulnerable and most fickle of them all. He was convinced that Kalonzo was not happy with leading lights in the ODM who were bent on derailing his chances of occupying State House after Kibaki. Hence the story of a fictitious secret meeting with Kibaki that he knew would have the ODM members blow their tops.
His second objective was to put the Standard Group in an ethical quagmire- of peddling and reporting falsehood. This tactic would paint them in bad light, make the public look at them afresh, rob them of credibility and allow the State House to deny the story as Kalonzo would do then set the Standard Management on a coalition cause with the government and its owners. If this succeeded, there was a chance the entire Standard Editorial team, at least the Sunday staff would have been sent packing. Sacking them would have sent a chilling message to the rest of its staff and other media that reporting State House stories was always risking, happening so soon after David Makali was also sacked under more or less similar circumstances.
Now that both schemes have backfired on the very government it was supposed to help bolster its image, I wonder whether the secret genius still has his job!
Over to you Alfred Mutua and Isaiah Kabira for clarification.
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