Kibaki must step aside

When the ailing gentleman took office a couple of years ago, who would have thought he will be the supervisor of yet another African embarrassment in this modern age?

Yet as unbelievable as it may seem the aspiring septuagenarian has managed to plunge a once shinning Kenya into the darkest pits of politics.

The glory days are no more and Kenya’s future now more than ever looks so bleak.

Surely this is criminal and he must be given the boot.

Mwai Kibaki before January 2008 had a fairly impressive record. He campaigned on an anti-corruption ticket offering visions of real change for Kenya. His tramp card was to bring about economic growth by promising to rescue a failing economy.

Back then Kibaki said this will help bring equal opportunities to a nation which had been divided on tribal lines. Huge investments have been made in the education sector. Currently over 7.6 million children are enjoying primary education countrywide because of President Kibaki’s policy of Free Primary Education.

His spokesperson Dr. Alfred N. Mutua, E.B.S. says “President Kibaki has a vision that touches on every Kenyan's life.” He argues in the magazine “Truth be told” that the president has a “vision of economic growth, of supporting Kenyans of all walks and equity. “ It is a vision that he has implemented.” he argues.

The plan then had been to thrust Kenya further into the global spotlight by making it an African model. If you ask me these were laudable ideas by all standards.

Surely he has managed to thrust Kenya somewhere but not quite what voters asked for. The East African nation is now the centre of discussions on conflict, war and civil strife in Africa. And to think that all this happened because of one man and his team of power drunk hot heads is simply incomprehensible.

When the majority of Kenyans voted for him five years ago, this is not what they asked for. I’ve been speaking to a colleague of mine who’s from Kenya about the current crisis. She’s as shocked as anybody else. She told me as a kid she used to measure the stability of a nation by how often it appeared on the major news networks such as CNN. The more often a country was in the news the more unstable it was. Looking back now, she says the attention that Kenya is getting from the rest of the world was the final confirmation that all is not well at home.

Indeed all is less than well at home. Annan has described the scene at the conflict ridden Rift valley as “heart wrenching”. Thousands of Kenyans have been orphaned and left homeless. Rape is being used as a tool of war. Thousands more have died and about 600,000 people have been displaced. In Naivasha Kenya now has its own version of ‘camp Darfur’. These were scenes that were unthinkable even in the terror days of Arap Moi.

It’s an understatement to say that his political stock has immeasurably reduced ever since the crisis started no matter how bad his main challenger Raila Odinga looks.

I suppose I have some sympathy for the president on account of his past record but any such consideration begins to fade looking at the enormity of his crime. Others are not so considerate and maintain that he is fully deserving of the abuse and opprobrium that he is facing nationally and internationally.

He turned his back on a country that had so much faith in him. Consider the countless number of Kenyans who entrusted their lives and that of their children-including the unborn-to his care. He was the chief executive of one of Africa’s most promising nations.

When it came down to it, Kibaki was woeful, clueless and simply inept. He has proved that he is totally incapable of ruling a nation. Isn’t this the most important duty of any leader?

Mwai Kibaki is a managerial disaster.

His laissez faire fair attitude is a typical reflection of the African “big man” and “big boss”. Not quite what Kenya needs.

Kibaki has dashed everyone’s expectations and he must step down. Now.

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