Uhuru should use second term to address historical injustices

The presidential poll last week confirmed what was apparent during the 2013 elections — that the country is deeply divided right down the middle.

In fact, I would say that the fissures have deepened because those who were opposed to a Uhuru Kenyatta presidency then have now gone through four years of his administration and have not liked what they have seen.

Their determination to remove the Jubilee government from power has, therefore, been strengthened.

SOLUTION
This resolve is not based on ideological reasons, but rather on historical grievances that have yet to be addressed.

If I were Mr Kenyatta, I would focus on this group of disgruntled Kenyans because they are the ones who will judge him most harshly in his second term.

And by focus, I do not mean bludgeoning them with rungus or depriving them of services, but seriously engaging with them and working with them to resolve their grievances.

MARGINALISED

This will not be an easy task because the level of mistrust and suspicion of the government among this group of more than seven million citizens is very high, as is evident in the coastal region.

The election results show that all of the six coastal counties voted overwhelmingly for Orange Democratic Party candidates.

This is not a coincidence. The coastal region has been an opposition stronghold since independence because it has been consistently marginalised by every government.

COAST
Since the regime of founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, governments have either under-invested in the region or exploited it for the benefit of people outside the region, which has created a deep mistrust of government among the locals.

For instance, only one of the counties (Kilifi) in the region has a full-fledged university.

There are no large-scale factories, even for products such as cashewnuts, which grow in abundance here.

Despite hosting the country’s main port, no special economic zones have been created around Mombasa.

ECONOMY

People in Likoni are still using ferries instead of bridges to reach Mombasa Island.

The lack of jobs has turned unemployed youth into drug addicts/peddlers, prostitutes or beach boys.

Coastal people are often treated by the rest of Kenyans as mere service providers — people who make tourists’ and upcountry people’s beach holidays comfortable and enjoyable (as waiters, cooks and the like).

They are not treated as equal citizens who deserve better opportunities like everyone else.

“Madharau” (disdain) is a word often used to describe those from outside the coast region, and not without reason.

LEADERSHIP

Madharau-ness under UhuRuto is expressed through a perverted tribal nationalism (no prizes for guessing which tribes express this nationalism the loudest.)

The perception that the government has exacerbated madharau-ness is evident also in other opposition strongholds, such as Nyanza.

Yet, the interesting thing about the coast is that neither of the two major parties have people from the local communities in their top leadership, yet this was not an issue for the region’s voters, which goes to show that some people in this country are still capable of transcending tribe.

DEVOLUTION
Many experts argue that under a devolved system of governance, Kenyans are more interested in who manages their affairs at the county level and are not so concerned about the national leadership, so it doesn’t really matter who runs the country.

This is a false argument, not only because the bulk of the counties’ revenue still comes from the center, but also because what happens at the center affects the counties.

National responsibilities, such as security and foreign relations, and macroeconomic policies, for example, have a deep impact at the county level.

I have also heard the argument that if Mr Kenyatta wants to appease his opponents, then he should offer them government or parastatal jobs.

INCLUSION

This, again, is a false argument. The issue is not whether a Mijikenda or a Mswahili runs a parastatal, but whether inclusion, equity and participatory governance are integral components of the national policy at all levels.

The President must also use his second term to finally address the historical injustices and grievances that have festered among the marginalised and disenfranchised communities for decades.

His lack of commitment to addressing these injustices and grievances — which was also expressed by Deputy President William Ruto not too long ago — is among the many reasons Jubilee has still not managed to capture the hearts and minds of its opponents.

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