Tabu Butagira
11 January 2008
Kampala — A leading Kenyan political science academic, Prof. Ali Mazrui, has accused President Mwai Kibaki of plunging the relatively peaceful East African nation into tribalised bloodshed by grabbing state power through a "civilian coup".
"This (Kenyan post-election scenario) is a civilian coup at a presidential level," Prof. Mazrui, who is the director of Global Cultural Studies at State University of New York in the US, said.
The globally renowned scholar warned that the on-going diplomatic maneuvers and political tinkering to entrench Mr Kibaki in power would be untenable in an ethnically polarised nation where "a particular group thinks they have been marginalised".
"The ethnic factor is still alive in electoral behaviour across Africa. I don't agree with the notion that ethnicity is not the root cause of the Kenyan (electoral) problem," Prof. Mazrui argued on Wednesday during the Straight Talk Africa talk show programme on Voice of America, moderated by Ugandan-born American journalist Shaka Ssali.
Other analysts had previously warned that the post-independence political dominance and economic monopoly of the ruling Kikuyu people over a myriad of other tribes, makes Kenya susceptible to sustained genocidal war if the disparities are not addressed sooner.
Prof. Mazrui, who said he had been labeled a Kibaki sympathiser during the heated campaigns, suggested that a handful of hawkish political cronies could have persuaded President Kibaki not to relinquish power after the electoral defeat.
But Dr Jesse Mashate, a Ugandan-born journalist/communication policy consultant based in London, who was hosted on the same show via a video-link, said the plot to rig the disputed polls was mooted in 2005 after the government-touted referendum to amend the Constitution was defeated.
The main issues of contention throughout the drafting of the constitution were over how much power should be vested in the head of state (the president, in this case), with many believing that Mr Kibaki was attempting to garner dictatorial powers.
In previous drafts, those who feared a concentration of power in the president added provisions for European-style power-sharing between the President and prime minister. However, the final draft of the constitution retained sweeping powers for the head of state.
"The Kenyan situation is a general reflection of the upheavals in the Great Lakes region," Mr Mashate said adding, "Kenya seems to be joining the league of other disturbed countries like the DR Congo, Uganda, Sudan and Burundi to some extent".
Prof. Mazrui, who confessed to feeling "let down by the stolen elections", said only intensified pressure by the African Union and other world leaders, coupled with fresh polls within three months, could salvage Kenya from further turmoil.
He suggested that the Kenyan Parliament should initiate a process for a popular referendum for a new and more liberal constitution and create the position of prime minister, which should be headed by the Opposition to balance political power.
Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga have agreed to work out a power-sharing mechanism. Mr John Kufour, the Ghanaian President who is also the chairman of the African Union, was in Kenya a few days ago to play a mediation role.
Mr Kibaki has already named 17 of his ministers, and it is expected that the other 15 will be named after completing negotiations with Mr Odinga, who claims he was robbed of victory.
"The parties agreed to work together with a panel of eminent African personalities headed by former U.N. boss Kofi Annan ... towards resolving their differences and all other outstanding issues including constitutional and electoral reforms," Mr Kufuor told reporters yesterday. "Both sides agreed there should be an end to the violence and agreed there should be dialogue."
Turning to the American politics, Prof. Mazrui speculated that Mr Barrack Obama, the Democrat contender in the race for White House could be assassinated if his popularity continued to surge like in past weeks.
"There are many people who are worried about the life of Mr Obama. If he becomes more and more popular, there could be a 'lunatic fringe' to sabotage or assassinate him," he said while discussing the topic: Presidential Elections, Is it time for change?
Citing the 1963 assassination of President J. F. Kennedy and the similar shooting of Martin Luther King, Prof. Mazrui said the United States might be immune to collective crime but that "targeted" criminal killing is still rife in the world's most powerful nation.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
I have read news about Professor Mazrui agreeing with the allegations that president Kibaki stole the elections. He actually states categorically that Kibaki stole the elections. This is of course what is claimed by Raila and his ODM. With due respect, one who was in Kenya during the run up to the elections would testify that Raila, through the media, especially the KTN tried very hard to show that the poll will be rigged. There were two incidents of stage managed incidents of alleged admnistration police being ferried to places to mark ballot papers. No one was able to establish these allegations. On the eve of the polls, a man was allegedly arrested carrying what the TV station said, were 2 million Kenya shillings to buy or bribe voters. It might have appeared that the TV station was at the spot and knew a man was coming with the amount mentioned. Those who allegedly arrested him were even aware of the money he was carrying. This was clearly stage managed to try and prove plans to rig the elections. When the results were being tallied at KICC, there was also an ocassion when the ODM presented a man alleged to be a returning officer of Molo, but again on being interviewed by the press, could not identify himself clearly or prove his allegations:The idea apparently was to give the media, both local and international a picture that the poll was being rigged. Again this was another failed attempt to show that the poll was being rigged. There was total confusion at KICC during the reading of the results and at one time one, orengo attempted to manhandle the Chairman of the Commission. I have not had anyone provide any tangible revealations. In the absence of this, a respectable professor cannot repeat such as an activist would, that Kibaki rigged the poll. Of course Mr Mazrui, you can only do this if you are an activist of Raila. In the absence of any prove, and if you have made your statement depending only on the press or the European Union, who also appear to be backing Raila, I submit this is unscholarly. In fact it is also immoral.
I agree with Pro. Mazrui for his boldness of standing up for what is right despite the fact that he is an appointee of Kibaki's regime, i.e Chancellor of Jomo Kenyatta University College of Agriculture and Technology. I watched him last week on VOA in interview with Shaka Ssali and he was candid that the so called 'kibaki win' was a hoax as their was no correlation in numbers. Half of his arrongant cabinet was dismissed by the people and he recieved votes only from one province and a half i.e central and upper eastern province. Raila beat him with huge margins in 6 of the 8 Kenya's provinces. Kibaki who is an economist should easily discern that numbers don't add up. I've heard that he has refused to hand over power to Odinga who's a Luo and that if it was someone else he would. This is shame as I recall Dr. Martin Luther King when he said that he had a dream that one day his children will not be judged Not by colour of their skin but by the content of their character. This is the scenario beckoning in Kenya today and in the past where Kenyans have missed out on employment, project development such as roads, electricity etc on grounds of religion and ethnicity. This has resulted in economic sanctions by the government on her subjects and has generated a lot of resentment in the country. Large parts of Kenya lags behind and we thought Odinga had promised to address these issues beginning this year but this has been postponed by Kibaki's hold onto power. What we are witnessing in the country today is the fact that people cannot wait anymore for 2012. Some regions in the country are not partcipating in the mass action called to address these issues simply because 'Kibaki is one of our own. If this wrong was done by somebody else how would they react? This is a fight for a better tomorrow and all Kenyans with conscience should stand up to be counted just like our good professor. We should stand up for what is right.
Let me join my fellow Kenyans in the mass action to eject Kibaki from power for his theft.