THE EAST AFRICAN, 6TH JANUARY 2003-NAIROBI-KENYA
Opinion
Mwai Kibaki�s ascendancy to the presidency in Kenya last week has several lessons for the region. Here are 10 of them in descending order of seriousness:
Lesson One: Patience is a virtue. There is an old saying from western Uganda that the rat that lives long enough will eat the hide of the cat. Mwai Kibaki has plenty of patience. Recall a 1989 incident at the Kenya Medical Research Institute premises in Nairobi. This was during the era of "inventions" in Kenya. They would invent a Nyayo car, an Aids cure, name it.
So, another "breakthrough" was being launched at Kemri and president Daniel arap Moi was flanked by his new vice president, Josephat Karanja. The health minister, freshly demoted ex-VP Mwai Kibaki, was seated at a respectful distance.
A man carrying a strange bundle started making his way from the back of the audience to the front. Kemri director Joseph Koech paused in his presentation. Silence descended on the hall as the man determinedly made his way forward. It was now clear he was heading for the president.
As everybody watched transfixed, health minister Kibaki had the presence of mind and sense of duty to protect the most important personality. He jumped from his seat and swiftly positioned himself directly in front of President Moi. An army major, who was the president�s military ADC, jumped from the row behind his boss and joined Kibaki in shielding Moi. It then occurred to VP Karanja that the head of state had to be protected first, and he clumsily joined the shield.
Security men soon apprehended the man, who turned out to be a disgruntled peasant with a petition about a plot of land. Though he had just been humiliatingly demoted, Kibaki lived up to his loyalty to the presidency, to the extent of physically putting his life on the line for the president.
Lesson Two: Succession projects don�t work. An old saying from Central Uganda teaches that even the best dancers should leave the stage when their time is up. Any attempt to stay on via proxy will fail. This is especially true when a president has spent too long in power. If he had only done five years like Mandela, maybe. But certainly not after 24 years.
Lesson Three: You don�t need guns to take power. Power can shift to the opposition without bloodshed. The money being spent on guns by the Congolese and Burundians should be used to buy computers for their children.
Lesson Four: Two African presidents can live in the same country at the same time. The former does not have to go into exile to make room for the current one.
Lesson Five: It is never too late to become "a grand old man" of Africa and join the ranks of Nelson Mandela.
Lesson Six: Uhuru Kenyatta is a gentleman.
Lesson Seven: Not many Kenyans want the job of president. How could there be only three presidents in four decades? Uganda had had 10 of them in the 25 years since independence. Even Kibaki did not want the job badly enough, otherwise he would have waged a guerrilla war in 1988.
Lesson Eight: Twende Nairobi, tumuyimbie Baba Mwai � Musicians don�t need to compose a song for Kibaki. Just substitute Baba Moi with Baba Mwai in Mbilia Bel�s classic.
Lesson Nine: Musalia Mudavadi may look serious and scholarly, but he is not the smartest guy in Kenya.
Lesson Ten: East Africa is still under the three Ms; the K factor in the Great Lakes has added a new member.
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