<Kenyatta (left) and Moi (right)
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Kenya has been a peaceful nation for many years. Thanks to former Presidents Jomo Kenyatta, and Daniel Moi.
Now it is Mwai Kibaki’s (right photo) turn to continue ruling 
the peaceful nation. The man has experience from from the two former presidents. He is a humble man and non-confrontational. Kenya will benefit if they left him to serve one more term, because he is a uniting factor in Kenyan politics.
Kenyans should be grateful, because of the peace they have enjoyed to date, and let Kibaki use his time as head of state to help guide Kenya continue to prosper.
There are countries that change presidents often. Kenya has been blessed with peace, and have had only 3 leaders since independence. This is remarkable and is because of good leadership, not confrontational.
But the opposition comprising of young Turks, nearly ten in number are impatient, and would like to jump in and take over power. And for them, it seems it does not matter how it happens.
Some of them are even soliciting help from foreign powers to help them in taking over power. They forget it is the Kenyan people to decide how and by whom to be led.
Many seem to forget how good it has been without war in their country. Look at Uganda, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Kenya’s neighbouring countries that have experienced war.
Now it is easy to criticise former president Moi, on what may have gone sour in Kenya during his rule. People blame him for the wrong deeds committed by officials in his administration.
Reality has it differently. Most of the people who served under Moi, committed atrocities behind Moi’s back. They enriched themselves by forcing banks to give them loans, many falsely used his name to acquire wealth, and most of the people got free land.
Now some of those people sit and criticise, acting as if they were the clean guys throughout the Kanu rule.
It is wrong, because those who know how a governments function, they are well aware not everything reaches the president, and yet people think it is the president that authorises everything good and bad in the country.
Although people talk about collective responsibility, it is lacking in Kenya. Most of those appointed to positions, immediately use the chance to get rich quickly using the immediate power acquired through their new appointments.
Look at what parliamentarians did when they were elected to power. Before the elections, they talked much on corruption. Immediately they were in parliament they approved highest salary ever for themselves. “Corruption by use of legal power!
Recently, they wanted more. It is because they are looking for money to use next year to buy voters, because most of them know only too well that the voters will not return them to parliament.
The next elections will be the most interesting one to watch. The method leaders will use in their campaign should also face thorough media scrutiny in order to avoid voter bribery!.
I disagree with many when they ridicule former President. Yes, he may have wronged some, but he also did a lot of good to many people. No leader will ever be loved by everyone!
And leaders must not be expected to keep quiet, and allow jumpy fellows looking for power to destroy for the majority. That is why leadership is not a game. And those playing with it must be disciplined, and that was what Moi did at times to correct difficult politicians.
Whenever he locked them up, after their release, they were calmer and ordinarily polite. Detention corrected them and Kenyans continued to live in peace.
Kibaki has been very kind. No one is in detention. However, I think if he used detention to tame some of the ODM-K leaders, Kenyans will continue to enjoy peace and stability, otherwise Kenyans should prepare for ethnic cleansing and conflict that is most likely to take place next year.
When Moi was handing power in a peaceful manner, some leaders in the new administration were uncontrollable. Their boss President Kibaki had to step in at a later date and tame them.
People like Kiraitu Murungi landed into power and got drunk with it immediately. It was only after Kibaki kicked him out of his ministerial position, that his behaviour has been cooled down, and he personally told parliament recently that he learned his lesson in the political cold and is now a changed man.
It is easy to get drunk with power, if one is given and not guided on how to exercise it. Now that Kiraitu has been brought back by the President and given a second chance, he should work for the electorate and not start political bickering.
He has also started feeling isolated by his colleagues in the cabinet, and it is possible he understands that his colleagues do not care to fear him any more, because he no longer has the same power he had before his sacking as Justice and Constitutional Minister.
Those days, Kiraitu if threatened politically, could simply use his position as Minister of Justice to punish his opponents. Now as minister of Energy, he does not have the same powers to order arrest, unless he decides to organise for your electricity bill to redoubled.
I do not dislike Kiraitu, but I dislike the way he humiliated the former president. He wanted to revenge the years Kanu may have disciplined him when he was a lawyer.
Kiraitu learned his lesson when he lost power overnight, he now seems to be thankful and working step by step very carefully.
Recently he called on the president to bring in David Mwiraria, his former colleague, the minister of finance. He uses an excuse that he is lonely in the cabinet.
It is awkward argument. If he is lonely, he should be more closer to his constituents who comforted him when he was thrown out by Kibaki. It is the same electorate who went to the president and begged for him to be taken back.
Now the new elections is near. Moi and Kibaki are talking, and I believe they are doing it to enable Kenyans to continue living in peace. It is not a conspiracy, but a plan to keep Kenyans united.
But ODM-K, with jumpy – jumpy politicians, who want power so badly are willing to do everything possible to destroy the peace the Kenyans are enjoying at present.
Who are these leaders in ODM-K? What is their track record? How did they acquire their wealth? Many questions can be asked to enlighten Kenyans about ODM-K leaders.
If Kenyans want to be thrown into war like in Somalia, then they can give leadership of the country to ODM-K leaders without checking them properly.
Leaders who travel abroad widely to castigate their own country with foreigners as their audience? How can they be trusted! If there is a problem in the country, they should deal with it there and there!
When they run abroad to wash their dirty linen in public, lecturing in forums attended by foreigners, they do a disservice to Kenyans. The foreigners consider such such leaders as unstable, but they do not say to them.
If leaders go to other countries masquerading and abusing their own country and the present leadership, why expect that if they took over power that things will be better for the Kenyans.
The voters must not be bought this time around!
The present government has brought free education, constituency development fund that is functional and many other good things for the country. They deserve another term although I do not mean that Kibaki should retain all the ministers he has at present, if he gets a new term in office. Most of them should be send packing.
By Korir, African Press in Norway, APN
africanpress@chello.no
African Press International (API) 