Lessons for Kalonzo

RECENT POLITICAL INTRIGUES PROVIDE VITAL LESSONS FOR KALONZO


Vice-president, Kalonzo Musyoka, is the latest victim of political machinations. Recent attempts by his political comrades to edge him out of the much-hyped G7 alliance is a clear illustration that,indeed, politics is a dirty game. In fact, as one pundit aptly put it, there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics; only permanent interests!

The G7 alliance, whose main agenda is to lock prime minister, Raila Odinga from acceding to the presidency come next general elections, decided to use the same tactics to one of their own. Vice-president, Kalonzo Musyoka, was accused of allowing members of his Wiper Democratic Party (WDP) to make utterances that allegedly rubbed his fellow G7 alliance members the wrong way. This, according to William Ruto, deputy-prime minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, and company, called for punitive actions to be taken; and fast.

This was Kalonzo's worst nightmare. It is alleged that, it took the intervention of his boss H.E the president Mwai Kibaki, to bring the alliance back together. Kalonzo saw it necessary to seek his boss' assistance lest he finds himself in political oblivion. But even after they mended their differences and agreed to work together, the harm had already been done. However, several lessons can be drawn from the vice-presidents' latest predicament. First, you can not impose your friendship on uninterested fellows. Unwanted friendship is just what it is-unwanted friendship-and it is usually rejected or treated with contempt.

 Kalonzo Musyoka has on various occasions failed to read the 'writings on the wall' and therefore failed to save himself from unnecessary embarrassment. For example, how many times has he tried to shake hands with his Ukambani political foe and water minister, Charity Ngilu, in vain? Even when it is 'not business as usual' with his political colleagues, Kalonzo almost always fails to acknowledge that fact or ignores it altogether.

Therefore, when he saw how his fellow G7 alliance members loosing slip on how or when to evict him,  Kalonzo should have moved fast to act accordingly. Failure to do so would mean that he was a political opportunist who was only interested in ' reaping where he never sow'. Am sure he saw that coming.

The second lesson is that there is no such thing as ethical politics in Kenya. Backstabbing is an age-old political tradition that has punctuated the Kenyan post independent political landscape. Needless to say that the political uncertainty that Kenya faces is a result of disquiet among the key players in the political arena. To understand this assertion better, one needs to recall the countless memorandum of understandings (MoU) between politicians that have been dishonored in the past. One example of such a pact is that which was singed between the current president, Mwai Kibaki and prime minister, Raila Odinga, back in 2002.

The last fundamental issue is the expectations that Kenyans have on the political parties act. The political parties act is expected to restore sanity in politics in Kenya by reining in lords and masters of political deceit and rendering their influence ineffective. Although this expectation could be viewed as far-fetched, the political parties act is the the only one which will allow Kenyans to engage in issue-based politics for this country's own good.