Moses Kuria’s ‘apology’ was nothing but crocodile tears

Moses Kuria is not a man you'd publicly declare your friendship with.

He is an abrasive character with a corrosive tongue. His language is uncouth, his mannerisms uncultivated, his politics divisive.

He is known for stretching the boundaries of public decency and throwing caution to the wind.

From mocking Chris Msando's brutal murder to inciting inebriated goons against those calling for the prosecution of those involved in the National Youth Service money heist, the Gatundu South MP not only prides himself on causing political controversy but also on making personal enemies.

This week, though, he made a miraculous attempt to cleanse his sinful past.

In a rare show of public repentance, he admitted that MPs are responsible for the suffering Kenyans are going through right now, as they had failed to perform their oversight role, putting the suffering Kenyan at the mercy of a loan-hungry executive.

APOLOGY

It takes an act of immense courage to apologise for the evil you have done. Rarely do our public officials publicly admit guilt and ask for fair judgment for their sins.

In Kenya, politicians would rather die than accept responsibility for messing up our country. Mr Kuria deserves an ‘A’ for putting his political career on the line.

Confessions are good because to err is human and nobody likes a perfect person. Confession lightens the burden of the sinner and offers the victim the first step towards closure.

Kenyans now know who to blame for our unfriendly economy because one of our MPs has correctly diagnosed the problem. Sadly, that's as far as our praise for Moses Kuria should go.

CONSEQUENCES

When you make a public apology for your misdeeds, you not only open yourself to scrutiny but you also put your fate in the hands of those you have wronged.

People who confess their sins must also be willing to take the punishment that comes with turning a new leaf.

Confession for confession’s sake is not done in good faith and therefore, is not welcome.

In mature democracies, Mr Kuria would not only have confessed to being complicit in impoverishing Kenyans, he would have proceeded to resign from his seat and present himself before the law to pay the price for defrauding the Kenyan taxpayer — if he was indeed serious about mending the awful fix he and his colleagues have put us in.

It is not enough for him to apologise for letting down Kenyans and plunging us into this economic black hole.

That Mr Kuria still retains his Gatundu South seat with all the perks that come with it, despite openly admitting that he has failed in his role, points to a man who wants to gain favour from both sides of the divide.

PUBLIC ENEMY

At best, his hollow confession should be treated with contempt. At worst, he should be called out for being a two-faced opportunist.

Kenyans are right in being sceptical about this confession because it is not the first time Mr Kuria has seen the light on his Road to Damascus.

This is a man who has been a regular guest at the National Cohesion and Integration Commission over public remarks amounting to incitement to violence, hate speech and ethnic contempt.

Many times he has received a slap on the wrist after giving half-hearted apologies good enough to keep him out of jail and bad enough to renew his hate speech licence.

Moses Kuria has taught Kenyans not to take him seriously, and he cannot blame us for taking his recent apologies at face value.

Mr Kuria is used to having his cake and eating it, and that's typical of the Kenyan political class.

If this latest show of remorse was genuine, why did the National Assembly suffer a lack of quorum the very next day when the Finance Bill amendments debate was going on?

RESIGN

It means the confession was just another way of distracting Kenyans from focusing on issues of national importance, and that ‘sorry’ was just a sorry word.

Kenyan MPs do not deserve any handkerchiefs for crocodile tears shed during public confessions.

They have consistently demonstrated that they haven’t learned their lesson and they are only cleaning their image to make us forget the bad things they have done to us.

They are not only selfish and forgetful, but also shameless and narrow-minded.

If Moses Kuria wants Kenyans to forgive MPs for sleeping on their oversight role, he should sponsor a motion in Parliament compelling all MPs to resign for letting Kenyans down.

We have seen enough theatrics from Moses Kuria; it is time for him to step down from being MP and join his fellow clowns at the Annual Gatundu Circus Festival.

The writer comments on topical issues; [email protected]