Politicians and political class are at it again. They have hijacked the Kriegler report and turned it into political fodder. If the ongoing debate over its (no)implementation is anything to go by and if the previous culture of Kenyans of waiting for their political leaders to read and interpret for them documents of national importance holds, very soon it will be difficult to know what the report was ever about and what its real recommendations are.

Grand Coalition haunted by Grand ghost

There have been so many vested political interests riding on this report and they are manifesting rapidly as the political word fight rages on. In predictable manner, both ODM and PNU are interpreting the Kriegler report in the way that best reinforces their respective pre-peace accord positions over the flawed elections. 

Judge Krigler Hands Report to Annan

Hon. Raila & Co. have latched onto the phrase that “it’s difficult to determine who won the 2007 election”; using it as an opportunity to haunt Hon. Kibaki with discourse that questions the “legitimacy of his presidency”. Notwithstanding that the Kriegler report acknowledges ballot-stuffing, it proceeds to baffle students of logic by concluding that there was however “no election rigging”; an assertion which the PNU bandwagon has adopted as a rebuttal on Kibaki’s tenure legitimacy. Hon. Kenyatta has suddenly found his tongue and ventured a media appearance on the issue as though it assuages the many days of silence suffering from a struggling conscience over his “inherited sin” as exposed in the discourse of problem Land, Squatters and Landless Kenyans. The Attorney General and the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, as would be expected in modern democracy, in the wake of the Kriegler report the AG and Minister should have stepped up and given the nation legal and technical guidelines on how to midwife a graceful exit for Kivuitu & Co. in order to pave way for the creation of new election management body but they are quiet.

Diplomatic Activism 

Also in action is the West, through their Ambassadors, our media is filled with “diplo-activism” on implementation of Kriegler report characteristic of  demands made on Western donor projects. But what else do we expect? There seconding nation footed the bill that put together the report and they just want value for their money. 

Kalonzo’s mastery at political misperception 

In Hon. Watangula’s characteristic reactionary outburst, he has termed the diplomats’ actions as a “relic of colonialism” suggesting that perhaps the West is truly only involved because of a colonial mindset that pushes them to lord the world. Enter Hon. Kalonzo, in his usual out of fashion perception of events, reacting as though personally affronted by the recommendation to overhaul the ECK and street chants of “Kivuitu must go!” Is it because he views Mr. Kivuitu as a precious voter from his Mwingi constituency? Perhaps, more on point, Kalonzo has conveniently found Kriegler report a miraculous vindication and justification for his desperate move in joining PNU against popular counsel? 

Civil Society’s inaction 

Surprisingly absent is the voice of the Civil Society in the raging debate over the report and the chorus chants of “Kivuitu must go!” This shouldn’t happen considering the work done by civil society in getting PNU and ODM on negotiation table after election debacle. Why have we left the work of holding Mr. Kivuitu and 21 others to Western Ambassadors? Is it the case that the Kriegler report does not look like attracting our usual donor driven programs hence our lack of interest? I would want to believe not. Again, since I belong to the same platform I cannot safely condemn without biting my tongue. Also absent is the voice of the church. Perhaps because they lost their moral standing in the period leading up to the election and in the aftermath of the election; and are yet to regain their feet enough to speak with authority after the flawed election. 

My Reflections 

My personal take following the report, is five pronged. Firstly, Kenyans are clear in their mind that they want change, as evidenced by their eager adoption of phrases like there not being “business as usual” unless certain key issues are addressed or resolutions adopted. The Kriegler report is not for the political class and the politicians, it is for Kenyans – you and me. It is a document that we should use to clinically interrogate our institutions such as the executive, the electoral system, the judiciary, the police, the parliament amongst others as a necessary precursor to any major changes including in the making of a new constitution. 

Secondly, the major underlying cause of the election debacle and the subsequent post polls violence was our archaic constitution. The adoption of a new constitution must be accorded much more urgency and priority than it currently is. With a new generation constitution we will be able to address issues of resource distribution, historical injustices, ethnicisation of politics, social imbalances and regionalism, all part of the forgotten agenda no.4 of the national dialogue and reconciliation initiative. However, before we get a new constitution, minimum reforms are required ahead of the referendum especially on the referendum process and related institutions such as the ECK and the police, in order to avoid the election nightmare. 

Thirdly, Kivuitu and his team must exit the ECK offices. However innocent and competent they may want us to believe they are, remaining in their current positions is neither useful to them nor the public. Continuing to draw salaries and benefits from dissatisfied taxpayers is not justifiable. This is the time for Civil Society to kick out the ECK team. 

Fourthly, dear Kenyans, we must not leave it to politicians and political class to deal with issues affecting us, because these issues are not important to them unless it gives them some form of political mileage. We must cease to be cheap pawns on their political chessboards and start to mobilize and organize ourselves around our issues. We must start organizing ourselves in whichever form is most accessible and practical – be it as villages, neighbours, students, workers, taxpayers, voters, oppressed, poor or middle class. We must organize so as to represent ourselves in lobbying our issues. No one loves you so much that they will keep worrying about your problems like you would. You must stand up for yourselves. Right now the issue at hand is that Kivuitu & Co. mismanaged elections which resulted in violence that left 1200 dead, 350,000 displaced and billions of property destroyed.

While we bore the brunt of it and still continue to struggle in the aftershocks on the economy, our politicians and political class were not only instigators of this suffering, but they are largely insulated from the realities of its impact. We must stand up against the status quo and reject the culture of impunity that our representatives have clothed themselves as they rape our country and refusing to be accountable. 

Lastly, all of us, must stand up to deconstruct this neo-colonial state called Kenya with its socio-economic and political structures that support injustice. We must stand up to emancipate ourselves and our country. You and I must stand up to reconstruct the Kenya we want. 

By George Nyongesa 

Bunge la Mwananchi