This Content Is Only For Subscribers
Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju made a show of arrogance today when he appeared in an interview on NTV Kenya. Tuju was invited onto prime time news to explain Jubilee’s and the President’s standpoint on the events that led to the shooting down of the BBI by the High Court. Raphael Tuju showed a lot of arrogance and was very rude. Many have felt as if he was talking down on the reporter and Kenyans in general. He was so belligerent and spoke like he had the keys to the kingdom. He mentioned civil war and even compared Kenya to African countries led by dictators. Tuju even insinuated that the BBI has to pass if the country does not want to go back to electoral clashes.
Unraveling the Past
The most painful thing to Kenyans was when he said that those that oppose the BBI and are celebrating the high court’s ruling are “dancing on the graves of the victims of the 2007 post-election violence”. That statement really got on Kenyans’ nerves and many have felt so angry that politicians think we are so aloof as to tie such notions to anything remotely truthful. Tuju, despite once being a respectable politician is today in the president’s pocket. Even though he said that he does not speak for the president during the interview, he sounded a lot like his boss.
Personal Attacks
Raphael Tuju also launched personal attacks on activist and economist David Ndii. Ndii was one of the complainants that filed the anti-BBI case. David Ndii is a staunch critic of Uhuru Kenyatta and Tuju seemed to take the chance to swing blows at him. The BBI did go down and as much as its proponents do not want to accept the reality, the law is the law. The ruling by the High Court was so damning that even the IEBC, through its commissioner, voiced intent to appeal the decision. The High Court of Kenya, according to Kenyans, did a wonderful job of breaking down the law in a digestible and understandable way. It cemented the commitment of the judiciary to justice and the rule of law.
Read the David Ndii Causes a Stir on Twitter article below.
Read more opinion and news here.
The Linda Katiba Movement
The Linda Katiba movement led by Hon. Martha Karua lauded the high court for the tremendous job. Linda Katiba asked the president and his men to internalize the ruling and move on to more important and urgent matters such as tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. Linda Katiba is one of the numerous social justice movements that have arisen in recent years to protest and condemn the derogatory leadership of the current government. Hon. Martha Karua has always been a sober lady and in all honesty, would feature prominently as the candidate many would vote for in 2022. After all, Kenyan’s feel it’s time we had a woman on the top seat of leadership in this country.
ODM Woes
The Orange Democratic Movement, ODM party launched procedures to appeal the decision by the High Court, insisting that the drivers of the BBI were mainly Dennis Waweru and Junet Mohammed. The two, as we all know by now, were proxies of the two seniors, i.e. President Uhuru Kenyatta and Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The argument they intend to make in court that the BBI was not the president’s bill or that it was not promoted by the president is just baseless. Such arguments among many others lack merit and even as several entities will appeal, many are doubtful of whether the appeals will lead to anything substantial. There are even suggestions that the referendum could be rescheduled to be conducted along with the 2022 general elections. This remains to be seen and would cause a lot of chaos as two elections in one would be very hectic.
Read the High Court Shoots Down the BBI article below.
Read more politics and news here.
Strongman Syndrome
Raphael Tuju displayed the strongman syndrome in his arrogance during the interview. He acted in a manner that brought questions to his integrity and, ironically, he did this while defending similar conclusions made on the president’s conduct. Tuju even went as far as to invoke notions of post-election violence and that to me felt very wrong. We should let the past be the past and do all we can to ensure such clashes do not occur in the future. It would not benefit anyone to invoke the ghosts of the past. It does no good to those who lost loved ones, and those who still live with the scars of the unfortunate events of 2007-2008. The matter should be laid to rest, and remain untouched. The nation needs to heal and forge peaceful paths for the future, not unraveling past conflicts. Kenya is a mature nation and many Kenyans believe that the country will go through the 2022 election free of chaos or violence, God Willing.
