Prof. Ali A. Mazrui
2 August 2008
opinion
Political dynasties are families that have exerted disproportionate influence on the politics of their societies. If they are successful, they may produce more than one Head of State or Head of Government. But at the very minimum, political dynasties have produced political leaders in varied ranks of the political process.
The Bush family in the US has become a political dynasty. It has so far produced two presidents: George Herbert Bush and George William Bush. It is possible that there will be a third President Bush: President Jeb Bush, currently the Governor of Florida.
The Kennedy family has also been a US political dynasty. One brother (John) became president; another (Robert) became Senator and then Attorney General, and the third (Edward) has been a Senator and would probably have become president but for the Chappaquiddick tragedy.
The Odinga family of Kenya is becoming dynastic. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga rose as high as Kenya's Vice-Presidency. But his dream of becoming President of Kenya remained elusive, partly because of contrived impediments put in his way by rival political forces. Politicisation of Raila Odinga is turning the Odinga family into a political dynasty.
The Kenyattas have also been evolving into a political dynasty. In 2002, Uhuru Kenyatta attempted to become President of Kenya like his father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Uhuru is young enough to ascend to the pinnacle of power in the future. Asia has experienced female succession to male martyrdom. A male leader is assassinated and a female relative emerges as a political force to take his place.
In Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed as Prime Minister. Ultimately, his daughter, Benazir Bhutto, became Prime Minister of Pakistan twice before her own assassination. In Bangladeshi history, Sheikh Mujib Rahman and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq were killed. Rahman's daughter and Zia's widow rose to exercise ultimate political leadership. In Indonesia, Megawati Sukarnoputri eventually succeeded her father, the late Sukarno, as Indonesia's Head of State.
Africa is revealing a pattern of male succession to male heroism rather than female succession to male martyrdom. In the DRC, assassinated President Laurent Kabila was succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila. In the Republic of Togo, the long presidency of Gnassingbe Eyadema was succeeded by the presidency of Abass Bonfoh. Both the DRC and Togo have been cases of interfamilial succession by military means. The rise of Odinga and Uhuru to national prominence in Kenya have been through democratisation rather than through military intervention.
Two assassinations in Kenya in the 1960s had significant consequences for Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. One was the assassination of Pio Gama Pinto, a Kenyan born Asian whose prime passions were serving socialism and helping Oginga. When Pinto was killed in 1965, Oginga lost a gifted political organiser. But Pinto did not produce a heroic successor after his martyrdom.
The second assassination which shook Oginga's career, was the murder of Tom Mboya in 1969. Mboya was Oginga's ethnic compatriot and political rival. His death unleashed political turmoil among the Luo and resulted in Oginga's detention and banning of his political party. But the Mboya assassination did not lead to a Mboya political successor either, whereas Oginga's natural death did result in one high profile political Odinga.
Oginga's obstacle towards the presidency was persistently ethnic. There was a concerted drive to prevent a Luo from becoming president. Kennedy's obstacle towards the presidency was religious. The US never had a Roman Catholic president. Kennedy needed to convince the American voters that he was more American than Catholic.
Both Oginga Odinga and Raila Odinga have tried their utmost to convince the Kenyan electorate that when the chips were down, the Odingas were Kenyans first and Luo second. But, have Kenyans regarded the Odingas in the reverse order- as Luo first and Kenyans second? When Oginga Odinga said uhuru had not yet been achieved, and offered to lead Kenyans to social justice, it was fellow Luo who followed him regardless of income or social class.
As far as the Kenya electorate was concerned, the messenger was more politically relevant than the message. The message was a call for greater social justice, but the messenger was judged by his ethnicity.
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.
