Kenneth Ogosia and Tom Matoke
14 July 2008
Nairobi — Members of Parliament have opposed President Kibaki's directive that the succession debate should end saying it was undemocratic, even as some ministers backed him.
Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang'ula said the Head of State wanted leaders to concentrate on development instead of putting the country in a permanent political mood.
He said the succession issue could consume a chunk of government business and compromise service delivery.
"If you go to Uganda or Tanzania it is very difficult to know whether they ever politic and I think until the time of elections, people should concentrate on development rather than blame games," he said. The minister said Kenya had a duty to feed its neighbours in East and Central Africa.
But assistant minister Dick Wathika said the debate should continue, noting that the process of choosing the next president required consistent public debate.
Service delivery
He said that the President did not call for a stop to the debate, but only wanted leaders to concentrate on service delivery.
"The President wants us not to spend a lot of time talking instead of service delivery. Kenyans need to be prepared psychologically for who to support," he said
Mr Wathika asked leaders from central Kenya to support an individual from another region for the next President in order to reconcile their community with other Kenyans.
"As former Vice-President Wamalwa Kijana and Prime Minister Raila Odinga supported President Kibaki in 2002, we must support a leader from another community capable of uniting us with other Kenyans," said Mr Wathika.
Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo said the debate cannot stop because President Kibaki was expected to retire at the end of his term.
He said President Kibaki should not attempt to impose his successor on Kenyans "because the scheme will boomerang like what retired President Moi faced when he tried to push Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta on Kenyans."
"Kenyans will decide who should be their next President and the Head of State is least qualified to stop the debate because his tenure was contested and many Kenyans died as a result. Let the people decide," said Mr Jirongo.
Karachuonyo MP James Rege said President Kibaki's stand was similar to what President Jomo Kenyatta subjected the country to by declaring that imagining his death was treasonable.
"To me the debate is healthy and I do not think we should be taken back to the Kenyatta era when imagining his death was treasonable," the MP said.
The MPs said the expanded democratic space should not be thinned by such declarations and asked the President to uphold freedom of speech and expression.
A professional association said politicians were fond of holding the public at ransom. "Politicians in this country are not serious because they jump into issues which can only be discussed after investigating the motive of the succession agenda," said Mr George Ojema, chairman of Kenya Economists Association.
Mr Ojema said a stable financial base devoid of political pronouncements was essential for economic growth.
President Kibaki on Saturday berated leaders aspiring for high office in the country, saying there was no vacuum in the top leadership.
The President, who expressed the sentiments twice while on a tour of Nyeri, told leaders to instead concentrate on serving the people.
While acknowledging that it was their democratic right to publicly declare their interest in the position, the President called on such leaders to stop dividing the people as they seek high office.
Elsewhere, Agriculture minister William Ruto said those who had started campaigns for the presidency had lost direction and urged them to redirect their energies to delivering pledges made to Kenyans.
"Political leaders engaged in 2012 succession debate have lost direction, they should seek ways of delivering services to the people of Kenya first."
At the same time, Mr Ruto urged his Cabinet colleagues and top government officials to fight tribalism, which threatened to split the country during post election violence.
Speaking at Kapsabet Boys High School accompanied by Mosop MP David Koech and his Emgwen counterpart Elijah Lagat, Mr Ruto called for unity in the Cabinet and fair distribution of the national resources countrywide.
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