Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2014 4:36 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Saba Saba in Retrospect - My Views
Some lessons from Saba Saba, especially for CORD leadership
by Matunda Nyanchama
- Don't promise more than you can deliver: CORD supporter expectations were
high, some even anticipating storming State House or raising an Arab Spring
like revolution. It never came to be! And that's a dent on CORD leadership.
- Never issue threats where you have no capacity to actualize them: my friend
and patriot Raila Odinga (RAO) asked for govt to accept dialogue or else it
will "see" come Saba Saba. Govt kept cool and waited. Saba Saba came. It has
now gone. No CORD threat has been actualized. Instead, CORD support base may
start doubting their leadership's capacity to go beyond words to action.
- Build broad consensus (especially within your base) before broaching a major
issue like national dialogue: there was a substantial section of CORD
leadership absent from Saba Saba rally at Uhuru Park. Most noticeable Governors
Evans Kidero and Alfred Mutua. Others include Ababu Namwamba, Hassan Joho and
many, many others. Message: RAO we aren't with you on this.
- Keep the spirit of the original day (in this case Saba Saba) & ensure their
architects are on side: where was the support/spirit of people like of Timothy
Njoya, Charles Rubia, Kenneth Matiba, Willy Mutunga, Kivuta Kibwana, .... and
many others? This spoke millions, more than anyone could speak of at the rally.
In a way, this made the rally more like a RAO sojourn for relevance in the
Kenyan political scene. (BTW: If Saba Saba were held without the partisan
political overtones, I am sure even some from Jubilee would have attended!)
- Threats of any kind impact business: the Nairobi CBD was a no-go zone for
many who did so voluntarily. This was the case even for civil servants despite
threats of punishment by civil service mandarins. I don't know what amount of
business is transacted on a daily basis in Nairobi. What I know is that it was
a cost to all of us. And yet we need economic activity to solve some of the
problems (e.g. unemployment) that have been raised by CORD.
...
That said, we have major problems to address in this country. Indeed, we need
ongoing dialogue (yes with genuine concern for the common good) on how to
address the challenges we face: negative ethnicity, unemployment, insecurity,
... We must also hold the government to account to ensure they meet their part
of the bargain in the "social contract". Indeed, the Jubilee administration has
under-performed in many areas. It is not clear whether they are incapable or
whether they were over-hyped when they assumed power. Indeed, were our
expectations too high? Or are they held captive of cartels as some people have
suggested.
What's clear is that the government needs to act and do so drastically in some
areas (security, unemployment, social cohesion ... are some) to restore
Kenyans' confidence in the Jubilee administration. And we know there are
answers to all these problems. We just need the right people (with knowledge,
capacity, capability and mandate) deployed in the right places in service of
the nation. We need to remember that loyalty (to the administration leadership)
alone will not solve our problems; uppermost should be loyalty to the Kenyan
nation and merit to do the job.
One final note: when a nation is at war, we should all coalesce, regroup and
attack the enemy collectively. In matters of security, we should consult (not
through the media and threats) but via deliberative process that even scares
the enemy. The fact is that, as Abraham Lincoln said: a house divided against
itself cannot stand.
Matunda Nyanchama
July 9, 2014
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika
machafuko"
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