Daniel Njaga Profile picture
23 Apr, 16 tweets, 21 min read
Why are Kenyans missing Kibaki so much? I have lost count of the many times people are fondly talking about Kibaki and openly missing him.
And the many times we label him “the best President” Kenya has had.
Personal reflections in a 4-part thread Image
He is a great Kenyan, a great intellectual with a distinguished public career. But his Presidency was not that outstanding.
For Kenyans to miss Kibaki as they are doing, the country must be extremely in bad shape.
People look back with nostalgia when there is frustration with the current or when their dream is betrayed.
They become bitter with the betrayer and wish THE "CHANGE" NEVER HAPPENED.
That is the story of Africa’s independence
African countries invested all their emotions in independent governments and Presidents. They couldn’t contemplate BETRAYAL, CORRUPTION OR DICTATORSHIP under African leadership.

Even when it started creeping in, there was hesitancy to accept it
Kenya under Jomo Kenyatta went under this phase. Frustration with the Kenyatta government crept in due to tribalism and corruption.
But the biggest crime was snubbing the Mau Mau freedom fighters leading to many people asking “Ni uhuru wa aina gani”
I recall as a very tiny boy listening to the radio when Kenyatta was warning those who were pouring scorn at independence. “ingigukora ukiuria ni wiyathi wa naku, ingikugutha na uyu mukwanju”.

If I found you asking “ni uhuru wa nini” I would hit you hard with this stick.
But this did not arrest the tide of disillusionment. Ngugi wa Thiong’o captured this in the book, “A Grain of Wheat.”
He was giving a warning that independence may not offer what it promised since independent heroes appeared to backtrack.
Kenyatta’s call - “forgive and forget” brought about a stillbirth of change.
The country embraced past evil when collaborators of colonialism triumphed in the new government while the freedom struggle was scorned upon.
"Hakuna cha bure," was Kenyattas answer to appeal for land
By the mid-70s it was clear Kenyatta had betrayed Kenya’s ideal of Uhuru. Ngugi captured it better now in his book “Petals of Blood.”
He was to discuss it in greater detail in “Detained” which he wrote while in detention.
Betrayal was depicted in satire by Francis Imbuga in that classic play “Betrayal in the City” where a prisoner was reminiscing:
“IT WAS BETTER WHILE WE WAITED, WE HAD SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO.. BUT NOW WE HAVE DESTROYED OUR PAST AND FUTURE..”

It was truth told laughingly Image
Missing Kenyatta under Moi - NEXT

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More from @dnjaga1

25 Apr
Something happened during Kibaki’s tenure that would later transform Kenya’s business environment and become a critical economic platform.
That small innovation was called MPESA.
It may turn out to be Kibaki’s greatest but UNINTENDED legacy
Someone once said INVENTION IS THE MOTHER OF NECESSITY- corrupting the popular proverb which says the opposite.
MPESA was not a necessity before it came to our lives, it is a necessity only after it was invented, tried, and used by consumers.
I recall the speech to honour the founder of McDonalds fast foods.
It was stated he touched American life so much that “any student in America just wants to confirm wherever he goes for education THERE IS A GOOD HOSTEL AND A MCDONALD NEARBY.”
Read 23 tweets
24 Apr
Was Kibaki the best President so far? I doubt it.

As I said in a previous thread, MISSING KIBAKI IS SHAMEFUL INDICTMENT OF UHURU GOVERNMENT RATHER THAN A SIGN OF KIBAKI’S GREATNESS

tuko.co.ke/390095-kenyans…
To me, the best President remains Jomo Kenyatta.

He made many mistakes:
Betrayed Mau Mau cause
Set a precedent of tribalism by creating Kikuyu hegemony
Set a precedent of corruption through land grabbing.
But I still vote him the best among the 4
Jomo Kenyatta's leadership was much more professional and forward-looking. Kenya laid very strong foundations and institutions under Kenyatta.

The education system, health, agriculture, civil service, strong and strategic parastatal companies Image
Read 23 tweets
23 Apr
If there is one thing to learn from the interviews for CJ, it is HOW TO CONDUCT PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES.
Herding 8 candidates one evening and asking them questions for 10 minutes is not a presidential debate. That is just a waste of time

nation.africa/kenya/news/pro…
If the media is serious about interrogating presidential candidates, they should pull resources and carry out similar “interviews.” Each candidate should have a full day to themselves.
They answer questions about their visions, their past, their abilities, etc. Full day
And the time to do it is not 2 weeks before the elections. And YES, I know it's not “that easy”. But that is the way it should be done.
I am talking to you, media people.
Read 4 tweets
23 Apr
For Kenyans to miss Kibaki whose government was so average, Uhuru must have failed them big time. Part 4
Moi had so many apologists- in government, academia, legal fraternity, private sector, in politics. Most of them had resigned to the fact of a new Kenya and sought to adjust to the new dispensation.
But Kibaki’s leadership crisis gave them a moral victory
The constant wrangling in Kibaki government and a subdued President who could not command authority made people miss Mois authoritarian leadership.

"Afadhali Moi" was now an openly expressed sentiment. From Moi must go to Moi must come
Read 14 tweets
23 Apr
Who would have thought that Moi would later be discussed so favourably in political discourse?

From “Moi must go” to “Moi must come,” a testament to Kibakis betrayal and perhaps failure. Part 3
Kenyans sang “yote yawezekana mbila Moi” during his exit. He had presided over such an evil regime that destroyed almost everything in Kenya. Including Kenya’s soul.
Nothing was too sacred in Kenya under Moi - all that mattered was power and wealth.
At some point, mothers of political prisoners undressed at Uhuru Park. Some newspapers called it “Moi’s day of shame.”
But the government was so steeped in power and impunity, it was not moved. The mothers were even physically assaulted by police
Read 16 tweets
23 Apr
The early years of Moi were so great for Kenya. It was the transition from Kenyatta’s autocracy when Kenya was under the grip of ruthless, crude, and greedy Kiambu Mafia. Part 2
It was such a relief when Moi, cautiously started to dismantle the evil empire of wealth, power, crime and Kikuyu bigotry that reigned supreme. The nation celebrated Moi. He toured every part of Kenya to rapturous welcomes
I can recall more than 5 great songs, composed by leading Kikuyu musicians in praise of Moi.

A leading benga man, Kamaru even warned in one of the songs:
Tondu muraikaikania
Wa guikia Moi ni ekunyona
Ni arekwo arumie thiteringi
Read 14 tweets

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