The Kenyan Presidential Debate 2013: A Critical Analysis

The Kenyan Presidential Debate 2013: A Critical Analysis

W

hen a pastor presides over a wedding ceremony he should do only that. If a bridegroom gives him a leeway to have a cozy relationship with his bride, the former risks finding the latter in his matrimonial bed with his wife. Besides, it is human nature not to trust others too much lest you want your heart torn by the daggers of betrayal.

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

The mass media as we know it today has come a long way. Its role in shaping public opinions was long experienced and felt in the 1960s in the United States of America. The maiden debate between Richard Nixon and John Fitzgerald Kennedy ushered in a whole new phenomenon in public speaking. When the two faced off under the full glare of TV cameras, television was in its toddler years. But when Kenya decided that it did not have to reinvent the wheel I had mixed reactions. On one hand I was eager to witness the maturity of our democracy and on the other hand I anticipated the copycat of Americanization. A false confidence that we could hold our “Made in Kenya” sober debate after having made an incursion inside Somalia to conquer them like Uncle Sam did in the early 1990s.

The night of February 11 2013 was too pregnant to wait any longer to deliver. The stakes could not get any higher. What with the cloud of ICC Status Conference hanging above Brookhouse International School like the swords of Damocles. Then the case filed in the High Court challenging the eligibility of Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto to run for the highest office in the land was imminent. The small matter of locking out perceived non starters namely Mohammed Abduba Dida and Paul Muite was resolved at the eleventh hour when they were given the green light to attend the debate. I can almost imagine the makeshift metallic podiums being put together by carpenters and the mad rush. It must have been worse than the Nairobi traffic jam. It was beehive of activities.

That we are on the verge of transition meant a lot. Succession politics had entered homestretch. The timing of the debate could not have come at a more exact moment. All the eight contestants are about to tilt and tip the weighing balance of Kenya’s voting basket. It, however, remains to be seen how the debate will impact on Kenyans. The proof of Pudding is in the eating. Thanks to the mass media Kenyans will vote wisely due to the vast evaluation that revealed itself on that Monday night. The rules were strict, the moderators firm. The audience was to remain mum, no wearing of campaign attire and the contestants were supposed to address one another with respect as well as to adhere to set time slots. I guess that was too much to expect from a politician. How can someone who has mastered the art of personal attacks and used demagoguery now to be bossed around by a mere mortal of a journalist?

While the interests of the people living with disabilities like the deaf and dumb were taken care of by the sign language interpreter, there was no one to translate English to Kiswahili so that the commoner can understand the debate better.

Now we are going to get an up close scrutiny of the debate majoring on the good and the not-so-good. Then in the end I will give my closing remarks to summarize the long standing three hours and sixteen minutes. Let’s now go, shall we?

The drama was flat. It lacked originality and substance. Having copy pasted straight from the Obama-Romney format, it followed the same script although the cast was different. What the producers forgot is that the stage will be crowded by eight contenders compared to a pair in the American case. Thus this put the moderators in a delicate situation of giving equal opportunities to the aspirants. The unlucky balloting unfortunately landed Dida and Muite at the extremes of the stage. Mohamed complained that it was unfair for him to use metallic stand yet the frontrunners had polished podiums. Talk of tilting the paying ground. It was difficult to have a one- on- one talk. At one point the permissiveness of Julie Gichuru and the chauvinistic ego of male aspirants threw the show into a shouting match as they were trying to catch her attention and that of the audience. They were answering whether they had children in public schools.

Another fundamental flaw of this whole episode was bias on part of the moderators. Linus Kaikai is on record singling out Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta to square out their ICC exchanges hence reducing the other contestants to spectators. It was like Kaikai was saying that the rest were pretenders joking about ruling Kenya and Raila and Uhuru were the horses and the rest were donkeys. Isn’t it the citizens’ democratic right to choose whoever they want without being coerced?

A backgrounder about media ethics was put under sharp criticism when it coined a forty one versus one matrix-if Raila was to be believed. Media in this case advanced ethnic politics by alluding that Kikuyus were pitted against other Kenyan tribes in the referendum. Again, Mutahi Ngunyi, a political scientist and political analyst doubling up as an all-knowing pundit predicted Jubilee Coalition victory in presidential elections by making inferences from IEBC voter roll. Truth is that the IEBC did not ask voters about their tribe but political strategists pre-empted that a perceived high voter registration of Kenyans in Rift Valley and Mount Kenya gave Jubilee a head start given the voting patterns have been along tribal lines. What if we have low voter turnout? What about the independent middle class voters? How about the apathy of the post election violence victims and the Mombasa Republican Council threat to abstain from voting and/or stirring up violence at the Coast?

The media set the agenda for Kenyans to think that only CORD and Jubilee mattered. Yet we know that Eagle Alliance’s Peter Kenneth had an enviable track record of CDF management yet no one talked about it. We are also aware that RBK’s Prof. Kiyiapi and Nark Kenya’s Martha Karua resisted the temptation to be herded to tribal cocoons. The mass media has not provided equal coverage for all the presidential aspirants. Mr. Dida offered his two cents saying that he read the papers questioning why Kenyans nominated Ferdinand Waititu and shunned Jimnah Mbaru. He said the paper cautioned Nairobians to be afraid of Waititu. When he faced off with Dr. Evans Kidero in a gubernatorial interview on Citizen TV, Waititu mirrored an articulate, cool, calm and collected character but Kidero was arrogant, elitist and out of touch with both the reality on the ground and  Wanjiku. I admit that Waititu has a Stone Age juggle culture of throwing stones and slapping the GSU but he is the peoples’ choice and should be respected. The same can be said of Mike “ Sonko” Mbuvi and my crystal ball tells me the pair will triumph Nairobi general elections despite severe character assassination from the media and  yes, the moral high-grounders-The Church.

The political analysts and pollsters have not been any different. Instead of telling Kenyans the bare facts they churn out convenient half truths bordering on sensationalism. Mutahi Ngunyi’s “tyranny of numbers” theory cannot hold, whips up ethnic emotions and is utterly irresponsible. Adams Oloo’s activist and NGO stand makes him sound like Johnnie Carson of ‘Choices have Consequences’’. So what? His thinking portrays him as an American and a European mouthpiece. Is Kenya not sovereign enough to chart its own destiny? Why should we be threatened and talked down to by former colonial powers? That you brokered peace during the violence does not qualify you to poke noses in our business whenever you want. When a pastor presides over a wedding ceremony he should do only that. If a bridegroom gives him a leeway to have a cozy relationship with his bride, the former risks finding the latter in his matrimonial bed with his wife. Besides, it is human nature not to trust others too much lest you want your heart torn by the daggers of betrayal. If our leaders owned up about tribalism we would find a lasting solution. Don’t they say that the first step to healing is by accepting one’s status? Why then did Uhuru and Raila fool us that their agenda is not to lead political blocks of tribal blocs with a hidden strategy that numbers count? Karua and Kenneth were shocked by such scapegoat escapism. Uhuru and Raila buried their heads in the sand like an ostrich. Truth is that tribalism marginalizes the “small” communities and it is not taught in school. On the contrary, it is a weapon wielded by our elitist leaders in order to access and allocate resources to their kin and cronies. The rest can feed on crumbs. Ole Kiyiapi feels (and rightly so) that he stands a slimmer chance than say, Uhuru simply because he comes from a little known Maa community. Honestly, Martha Karua hit the nail on the head when she said that Kenyans should not allow themselves to be used by leaders and be dumped soon after the election because in the end it is they (Kenyans) and their God and the opportunities in their hands. “No one feeds from their tribe but from the sweat of their brow”, she said. A poor Luo equals a poor Kikuyu. In fact, there are only two tribes in Kenya; the rich and the poor. Period. Telling Kenyans to vote six-piece is akin to singularity and cancels all the gains realized by the multiparty democracy.

The non-verbal cues of the politicians were too telling. Uhuru and Raila exchanged murderous glances leaving the viewers tense and worried that they might go for each other’s throat anytime. Paul Muite did not shake hands with his rivals save for Raila who outstretched his arm. A simple smile on Karua’s face could lighten the serious mood engulfing the stage. By and large, the debate left a lot to be desired and the next episode is a must-watch.

It, however, is not lost on me that this premiere show took commendable efforts to put up. I admire the cooperation of Kenyan media houses to agree to put their rivalry aside and invest upwards of KSh. 100 million in this worthy event. I take off my hat for all the eight TV and thirty-two radio stations who served patient Kenyans for the full length of that debate. It was a tough call to resist dozing off just to catch up with the show. To the forty million plus Kenyans, kudos for attending and participating on all forums. You sent your SMSs, tweeted, Facebooked, watched, listened and downloaded on Youtube. You have only yourself to blame if you will not make an informed choice on March 4^th. The Forth Estate has washed its hands.

This man Mohamed Abduba Dida is a gem. He stole the show from the been theres and done thats. He held them to account and also made us laugh. His humor was original, fresh and timely. Hear him:

“It does not matter where you are taken for justice whether in Tanzania, Europe or here in Kibera. Justice is justice unless you have intentions to compromise”

“Any piece of art originates from the author. This world we are just acting but it has God who manages everything.”

“If you want to be healthy eat when you are hungry. This timetable I do not know who brought it… breakfast, lunch, dinner and the dinner has phase one(soup and mushroom) phase two, phase three….”

“Imagine after so many years of leadership we are treating jiggers and we are learning to wash hands then we still want to do this and that…..Where were you and who is the government?”

The humble Mwalimu ended up being the man of the moment. He shot from the hip and did not mince his words like the others who had oral weighing machines to censor what we should hear. Dida came across as a philosopher and victim in urgent need of sympathy votes. His critique against big men did not go unnoticed. He asked Raila why he claimed to be a social democrat enjoying internal democracy yet all his luminaries in Pentagon rebelled against him and walked out of ODM. As for Uhuru, he was put to task by Dida to explain why a junior clerk would resign and he (Uhuru) stay put yet he is suspected of heinous crimes against humanity. To Dida, Uhuru embodies the height of impunity. Kiyiapi, who enjoyed a gravy train of perks at the expense of peanut receiving teachers, was taken to task to justify why the huge disparity exists between PSs and teachers and I don’t know what he said. He mumbled something like that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission was to blame and not him –effectively passing the buck. Shame!

When Dida was caught by Kaikai napping he woke up with wit. He was asked how old his party was and he quipped that it may be a few days old but it is aged in terms of thoughts. Such wit is too sharp for an average politician that is the Kenyan parliament. He put up a determined spirit and defended his party.

Though the mainstream media would want to ignore Paul Muite, his brilliance as a lawyer shone bright like a star at night when he was firmly fixed on the spotlight. His answer to almost every question was full and faithful implementation of the new Constitution. He was tough, stern, firm, and articulate, had a commanding voice, and was passionate but a bit dictatorial. A little high-handed but may be the kind of stuff an African country needs to govern. A democratic dictator, sort of. Says he: “First, as your Commander in Chief I would take personal charge and a powerful message will go out. It is no longer acceptable; it will not be tolerated for communities to take things into their own hands. I would deploy the GSU, if need be I will deploy the army because the message has to get across.”

As an authority in legal matters, he stressed the role of justice as a conciliatory factor as did Martha Karua, a fellow learned friend. He begged his colleagues to steer clear of whipping up ethnic emotions as a card to edge out competitors. To IDPs he urged all to spare a thought.

The debate served its purpose though. By and large, it revealed the characters of our leaders. Skeletons fell from cupboards like the noisy dry bones prophesied by Ezekiel. This fostered transparency, accountability and nurtured our young democracy. Uhuru came across as cool when under pressure, Raila sadistic and ironical, Mudavadi sober and cowardly, and Karua an advocate for accountability and an enforcer of rule of law. The colossal failure of Kenyan leaders came to the fore when Uhuru admitted losing KSh. 30 billion through corruption and other dubious deals at the Treasury. Raila too gave us a rare sneak peek into the underworld of Kenya’s health sector cartels. Apparently, the “big boys” were arm-twisting him and Kibaki hence Ngilu’s lobbying for comprehensive health insurance scheme was shot down. Raila and Uhuru’s attempt to save face did not do much since the damage was already done. Their damage control mechanism was like crying over spilt milk. Too little, too late.

As the curtain came down I realized that these were just mere mortals just like you and me. If you cut them they will bleed. They are people with emotions. They have families and friends as us. Karua has a granddaughter, Kenneth a son, and Raila a wife. The myths of revered, awed and feared leaders were shattered. Now that the myths are debunked I suggest we treat thems our servants and we their masters not the other way round.

 *I wrote this piece on February 18^th 2013, two weeks and two days before the polls.

The writer is a blogger at musyokangui.blogspot.com and a Fourth Year Communication and Media student at Chuka University.