We need dialogue about moral reform

Nasa leader Raila Odinga lifts a copy of the Bible during a rally in Machakos on January 20, 2018. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Odinga should just proceed with the swearing-in and get it over with if he is genuinely convinced that he won the August 8 election.
  • There is very little dialogue going on in the Jubilee camp anyhow, so a house divided is unlikely to risk warming up to its rivals.
  • Yet, dialogue is essential if Kenya is to genuinely address the concerns that divide the nation and that hinder democratic progress.

Maybe I am old-fashioned but the constant sight of Raila Odinga brandishing a Bible as a threat to swearing himself in as president appears to be an inappropriate use of the Holy Book.

It reminds one of the doomsday prophets threatening fire and brimstone if their followers did not repent.

It is also another unsavoury example of how politicians use religion to advance their political ends, no different from the infamous ICC prayer rallies.

Mr Odinga should just proceed with the swearing-in and get it over with if he is genuinely convinced that he won the August 8 election. This on-off threat is irritating because the chances of Jubilee yielding to dialogue at this time are nil.

There is very little dialogue going on in the Jubilee camp anyhow, so a house divided is unlikely to risk warming up to its rivals.

DEMOCRATIC PROGRESS

George Weah announced half of his Cabinet within 24 hours of assuming office in Liberia, while three months after the October 26 poll Jubilee cannot agree on its CSs. Besides, what can Nasa and Jubilee discuss if agenda number one is the August ballot?

Yet, dialogue is essential if Kenya is to genuinely address the concerns that divide the nation and that hinder democratic progress.

The question of the validity of the August election will not go away but the onus now rests on Nasa to provide evidence of their claims.

Yet, the question of the integrity of the electoral commission will not disappear and that must be comprehensively addressed immediately.

The IEBC is not the only constitutional commission that has seen its resources, powers and influence whittled away by an Executive that views them as administrative staff to apply autocratic orders.

HUMILIATION

The National Police Service Commission has become a joke as it not only permitted the Executive to make appointments that fall under its mandate but also it showed up at the swearing in and clapped at its own humiliation.

The Wiper party, through Governor Kivutha Kibwana, recently suggested that seven years after its inception, it is time to review the Constitution.

They, too, acknowledge that the constant failure of elections must be addressed as a priority and that the parliamentary system, proportional representation, negative ethnicity, corruption, national debt, devolution and social justice must be part of an agenda that includes every sector of society and not just the political elites.

The Catholic Church promised in November to lead the dialogue process and bring all players to the table. They are also initiating a grassroots consultation within the church on the issues that their faithful want addressed. The civil society, under the banner of ‘We the People,’ are grappling with a similar process and agenda.

IMPUNITY

However, the problems that bedevil Kenya have not just surfaced from a flawed Constitution but are mostly the results of flawed politicians who get away with impunity. Of course, the flawed rent seekers in oversight bodies employed to protect public interest have failed the integrity test, too.

By all means let Kenyans dialogue but let us not pretend that legal reforms alone are the panacea to all our ills.

Let us deal firmly with those who ride roughshod over the laws that we have. We need moral reform as much as legal reform.

Father Dolan is a Catholic priest based in Mombasa. Gabriel Dolan [email protected] @GabrielDolan1