Aukot: Chebukati, politicians to blame for current mess at IEBC

What you need to know:

  • Wafula Chebukati and his team of remaining commissioners continue to bring disrepute to IEBC and have therefore demeaned it.
  • Our biggest difference from Jubilee and Nasa is that we are an issue-based political party that focuses on non tribal-based politics.

  • Thirdway Alliance is growing day by day amidst the drama within the other political formations as we know them today.

In this interactive series, we invite our readers to send in questions to selected public figures. Answers will be published in the next print and online editions. This week, Thirdway Alliance Kenya party leader Ekuru Aukot responds to your questions

1. What’s your take on the fiasco being witnessed at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission? Do you think the chairman and the remaining commissioners have the integrity to continue being in office and what options do the opposition and government have to sanitise the body to be trusted to oversee the boundaries review and future elections? Zephaniah Obaga, Gilgil

The fiasco at IEBC is unfortunate and one that invokes the letter and spirit of Chapter 6 of our Constitution relating to leadership and integrity. There is no doubt that leadership at IEBC has failed, especially from the person of the chairperson and the two remaining commissioners. IEBC, as currently constituted – although meeting the threshold of the Constitution of “at least three Commissioners” – is dysfunctional, principally because under its own rules and regulations of operation, at least five commissioners must constitute a quorum. Our constitution requires of public officers not to bring disrepute to the office they hold; or to demean that public office. Wafula Chebukati and his team of remaining commissioners continue to bring disrepute to IEBC and have therefore demeaned it; the commission has since lost credibility, integrity, faith and trust of Kenyans as well as international community. IEBC cannot, therefore, be trusted to oversee anything, let alone boundaries and any future elections. The honourable thing to do is to resign so that a new team of commissioners is appointed. However, and even as they resign, it is also important that an investigation be launched on account of blatant mistakes and election offences committed last year. Individuals within the IEBC must take both institutional and personal responsibility for the irregularities and illegalities committed in the August poll, as established by the Supreme Court. Having said that, we should not also excuse the political class, especially those that boast of greater political and tribal persuasion; they are to blame for the character and nature of our public institutions we have today. Most institutions – including IEBC – are failing because of the tribal and political balancing as opposed to appointing individuals based on merit and suitability to perform a public function. This is also the letter and spirit of Chapter 6 of our Constitution. So when Chebukati, who appeared last in the selection interviews, was rewarded by the number one position at the IEBC, the compromising of the IEBC started then. So both Chebukati and the political class must take equal blame for the moribund IEBC we currently have.

2. As one of your political admirers, I miss your active participation in the current 2022 political debate. What could be behind this notable situation? Francis Njuguna, Kibichoi

We believe in the rule of law and we shall not engage in premature campaigns, which are electoral offences. In fact, our party is focused on ensuring that the Jubilee government is called to account on its electoral promises; we are also strengthening the party including the registration of new members. We have a number of activities that we are currently undertaking including our PunguzaMizigo.com project that seeks to reduce the size of Parliament from its current 416 members to just 194; increase more money to the counties; bring equality between men and women in election; strengthen Senate. We have a full plate and would not engage in the premature politics of 2022. Those discussing 2022 right now are furthering the political conmanship that is part of our political narrative. Kenyans must be given a break from irresponsible and misguided politics, and let us ask Uhuru Kenyatta’s government to account first. In fact, should we not pray to Almighty God for life first before 2022?

3. Why did you participate in the repeat election that had been declared a sham by Nasa? Ann Wambui

The prosperity of any nation can be traced to its fidelity to the rule of law. To refuse to participate in the repeat poll would have been an act of cowardice and dishonesty. You cannot use the Constitution to declare an election invalid and refuse to use it to repeat the poll. We made a decision as a party to participate since the only available option to us as a country at the repeat election was nothing else but to comply with the dictates of our Constitution. The declaration of the election by Nasa as sham - even before the election was held - was misguided and the usual political trickery. The allegation that the election was stolen even before it was conducted was and still is a fairy political tale. Such claims that are not backed by facts are mere lies. Let me summarise this by asking you, would you lynch anyone for merely suspecting they could steal from you? I think Nasa’s claim was part of their strategy to join government. With the handshake, now we know they had no intention of going into a repeat election. I believe they did not even have the 10 million strong voter base they claimed during campaign time; to refuse to participate was face-saving.

4. Do you believe the minority leaders in the two Houses are doing enough as a government-in-waiting in putting the Jubilee administration on its toes? And do you see the executive winning the war against graft with the current opposition from some members of his party? David M Kigo, Nairobi

The minority leaders have failed miserably. They are politically compromised. They were politically clipped especially with the coming of the “handshake” politics. Instead of focusing on their mandates, they are busy campaigning for their preferred candidates ahead of the 2022 elections. This is a clear dereliction of duty and they should resign from those positions to give way for legislators who are keen on delivering for the mwananchi. For your information, we presented a memorandum opposing the passing of Division of Revenue Bill No. 7 of 2018 to the Senate. Sadly, the Bill - which was unconstitutional - was passed without any opposition from the minority leaders in both houses. Therefore, there is no opposition inside Parliament. We only have buddies just managing their political bases. This is partly the other reason our PunguzaMizigo.com campaign is key because it also aims to send to our next Parliament real men and women of integrity who will not sleep on the job; we want parliamentarians who are servants to the electorate; not political masters and political demigods. Parliament, as you know, carries with it the sovereign authority of the peoples of Kenya. This is currently being betrayed inside Parliament.

5. Despite the introduction of the new Constitution, the social order in the country has remained the same or even worse in some fronts, for example the corruption index. In your honest opinion, have Kenyans gained anything from the change of law? Benard Nyan’gondi, Mombasa

A constitution will only remain a piece of paper as long as people stick with their bad manners. A constitution can only serve the people if and when we breathe life to it. It is not self-executing. It must be implemented by leaders who believe in it. To your question, we are equally worried as a party that in a country where almost 90 per cent of citizens proclaim one religion or the other, our country is still dogged with all sorts of evil. It is therefore important to note that our bad manners as a country has defied the teachings of holy scriptures. Our Constitution is only eight years old and a majority of us are born into religious homes with religious teachings, yet it appears we never wanted to change. So let us therefore not use the Constitution as an excuse or instrument of change when the Bibles, the Qurans, the Torahs we read haven’t changed us. In fact, I would challenge you to visit our prisons and you will find out that 99.99 per cent of jail birds are from the two dominant religions.

6. Dr Aukot, if it were in the 1990s and you happened to lose the presidency as you did last year but still won a parliamentary seat, your true position would have been that of the official Opposition leader. In our current Constitution, this has changed. Which role do you think the government should allow you to play having come second after Uhuru Kenyatta last year? David M Kigo, Nairobi

Good question. However, we do not need the government’s approval to play the role we have been playing since the October elections. As you may be well aware, the Constitution of Kenya 2010 gives a lot of room for citizens to participate in formulation and approval of public policy through public participation. Furthermore, Article 119 of our Constitution allows every citizen to petition Parliament on any matter. During last year’s election, we were the only party that campaigned on a clear thematic platform and one of our pillars was to call corruption what it is really is, and that is, “end theft of public money”. As you may, by now, have noted the President and many other leaders have adopted our narrative of theft of public money. This proves to you that you do not have to be elected to participate in the political life of our country. After all, we only have 416 members from a population of 46 million Kenyans. In fact, a majority of the 416 MPs, are yet to even speak in Parliament. Compared to our party, we have outdone those majority parliamentarians who are failing in the role of representing their constituencies, make laws and oversight government. You would recall that in our concession speech, we vowed to play opposition politics with a view to changing the character of our current toxic politics. We are doing exactly that.

7. Why hasn’t your party risen to be a party to be reckoned with, given that you have worked hard to keep the party alive and even having a shadow cabinet? What is the shadow cabinet’s role? Betty, Machakos

Our party is growing day by day and with time we shall be the largest political party in Kenya. We are continuously recruiting new members and as you know Rome was not built in a day but with time it became what you know today. We are working on building a party that is focused on medium to long-term solutions for Kenya. We may not shout the loudest but we believe that we are on course. Never underestimate the power of smallness. If you do, try sleeping in a dark room with a mosquito. You may remember that last year, it was our party that saved the country from possible political chaos when we insisted the repeat poll must be held in accordance with the dictates of the Constitution. We conceptualised the shadow Cabinet to help us build a team comprising of experts who are able to mirror policies of the government of the day and also enrich our capability to respond to various national issues that require specialised professional responses and solutions.

8. I always respected you as an independent-minded person not to be easily convinced to fall for some misguided allegations. In the first presidential elections, you rightfully conceded defeat and endorsed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory, only to change your mind again and challenge the victory. How did you let yourself be misled by the foreign funded civil society extremists to dim your star which was starting to shine bright in the Kenyan political arena? Erick Ole Agade, Malaba

I believe you never read and understood the statement we issued then. The correct position is that we conceded defeat, congratulated the President for an early lead, but promised Kenyans that we shall look into the electoral processes and make a decision. We definitely knew that no miracle would have made us winners as it was clearly evident at that point that the electorate had given us votes that were inadequate to claim a win. As you may well be aware, we later prepared an audit report on illegalities and irregularities that we filed with the Supreme Court as part of our evidence in the presidential petition. It is a matter of fact that the court relied on our evidence to nullify the election. In fact, none of the defendants’ lawyers, Jubilee, Uhuru Kenyatta’s and IEBC, challenged our evidence and as you may be aware, unchallenged evidence stands. It would have been irresponsible of me to keep quiet and not to share our finding of illegalities. That is what an honest person should do; we never wanted to just accept and move on.

9. You reportedly termed the deaths of civilians in Isiolo due to insecurity a few months ago as “genocide”. Has the media and the government underestimated the severity of the security situation in Northern Kenya?Njenga Micugu, Juja

I said it and I still reiterate the same today. Any attempt to eliminate a part or a whole community amounts to genocide. That is the law in Kenya and internationally, too. The Kenya police murdered innocent people in cold blood on the pretext that they were cracking down on cattle rustlers. What better word would you like me to use apart from genocide? Why storm a manyatta in the morning and slaughter the aged and the sickly? Go after the bandits. When they steal cattle, they won’t go hide them in the manyattas. That’s only common sense. A government operation that targets only members of one ethnic group can’t be anything else other than genocide and forceful displacement of a population. The policemen who did that are sure clients at the ICC at The Hague. If our President and his Deputy were tried at The Hague, nothing is special about the policemen who massacred innocent lives in Isiolo County. They must be tried.

10. A number of Kenyans have claimed that the handshake killed any hopes of a functional opposition. What have you been doing as a party to put the government in check? Ann Wambui

The 'handshake' has nothing to do with a functional opposition. The opposition, especially the one that served between 2013 to 2017, was a disgrace. For example, the national parliament where many of their members represented Kenyans failed to debate and approve the audited reports for the years 2014/15, 2014/16, and 2016/17.

Let me update you on what we have done as a party this year:

We initiated a 14-point agenda that focuses on basic life needs for all Kenyans; we launched the Punguza Mizigo Campaign that intends to amend the Constitution to reduce members of parliament and also cap and reduce the cost of parliament from the current Sh36.8 billion to Sh5 billion; submitted a memorandum to Treasury on the budget estimates; submitted memorandum to Senate on division of revenue bill no 7 of 2018; submitted a memorandum to Parliament on the proposed constitutional amendment bills by Hon Aden Duale and Hon Chris Wamalwa; submitted a memorandum to Parliament on vetting of executive appointments; submitted a memorandum to Parliament opposing the proposed Tax Laws (Amendment) bill; submitted a memorandum to Parliament making various proposals on the finance bill 2018/19; we called on Nasa and Jubilee leaders to make specific public apologies after the handshake.

As you can see, we are an active and issue-based political party.

11.You have claimed that your brand of politics is different from Nasa and Jubilee. How different is it? Daniel Kivuva

Our biggest difference from Jubilee and Nasa is that we are an issue-based political party that focuses on non tribal-based politics. We are certainly the only Kenyan political party that has consistently pursued non-confrontational and issue-based politics. Effectively, and because of that kind of politics, no single Kenyan life lost can be associated with our kind of politics. Last year alone, 300 Kenyan lives were lost because of the confrontational and belligerent type of politics played by those other formations. In fact, our brand of politics is distinctively different from that of Nasa and Jubilee. We are aware that the patrons of tribal-based politics see, as an enemy, any individual or party that will focus Kenyans to issues rather than tribes. For your information, we are the only party that never lost a single court case last year because we operated within the confines of the law and stood by the right side of legal and political history. Both Nasa and Jubilee benefitted from our principled stand. We were never and shall never be an appendage of either Jubilee or Nasa. In fact, both formations are simply political Siamese twins. We are finally having the last laugh now that they are even working together, as we had foreseen.

12. Your party officials have in the past posted on social media that Raila Odinga and Nasa principals prevailed on you to withdraw your case before the judgement. Is this true? If true, why did Nasa want you to withdraw the case? Julius Mutunga

 It is true that the Nasa principals reached out to me on 9th of October last year requesting that I withdraw the case whose judgement was to be delivered by Justice Mativo on 11th October 2017. They, however, did not have any cogent reasons that would have convinced me to go against the Constitution. We were in court to fight injustice meted on us by IEBC when they gazetted only two individuals and it was therefore weird for a party that supported our case in court to turn against us and demand that we withdraw the case before judgement. In fact, I read a lot of mischief on their request. I chose to do the right thing, that is, follow and respect the rule of law. You must remember that one of our campaign pillars was to “enforce and protect the Constitution, Devolution and Rule of law”. There was therefore no way I could betray myself, my beliefs, the party and the people Kenya whose Constitution dictated how an election could be nullified and repeated at the same time.

13. Why did you go for the presidency against all odds yet there were other important positions that required your skills and competencies, for example the chair of IPOA, EACC and the Ombudsman, having served as the Secretary/CEO of the Committee of Experts that crafted the Constitution 2010? Paul Gesimba, Nairobi

I know that people said that I am over-ambitious and that I jumped the gun. But I decided to go for the highest job in the land because I believed and still believe that it is from that office that meaningful change can start to happen for the benefit of our beautiful country. I passionately believe that I can be the initiator of that change. Furthermore, our Constitution does not discriminate; I duly qualify to run for office of President under our Constitution. The choice is for Kenyans to make a final decision. I still believe that I was best suited to be Kenya’s President. As a democrat, I respect the decision of Kenyans and will continue to chaperon my party to the kind of political conversation we want Kenya to adopt; and that is politics of ideas, and being able to elect the most suitable candidate for the job, not because of money or big name or tribe. I have capability and suitability of supervising all public officers, and that can only be effective when you are President.

We were aware of the politics of tribal mobilisation from the time we formed Thirdway as a movement. That is the kind of politics that we are up in arms against. If you may recall the black movement was started by a single woman known as Rosa Parks and then the rest were able to gain courage and follow in her footsteps, this is possible in Kenya too. In fact, the people who are always “joy riders” in the political contest are the individuals who accept to be misled by the the tribal-based leaders. We urge you to join us and be part of the only Kenyan political party that is committed to meaningful change.

14. Which parallels can you draw from the Deputy President’s generosity in harambees in light of the corruption scandals plaguing our nation? Njenga Micugu, Juja

Our position as a party is that in the very least public servants should be barred from participating in harambees. However, before we have a law governing harambees, in the event that they are invited, they should also declare the source of their contributions and whether they have met their tax obligations. I do not believe that public servants, whose salaries we know, should be or are able to make such exorbitant and obnoxious contributions. This is a clear case of theft of public money for irresponsible political reasons. In fact, it worries me that President Uhuru appeared to have backed off from his proposed lifestyle audit of public servants.

15. Why did your party choose to use the symbol of a camel? Jarfar Anwar

We were inspired by four thoughts that define our country’s political journey and status:

Resilience of Kenya and Kenyans: Our beloved country Kenya and Kenyans for decades remained resilient and still standing despite all the ills that characterise it: tribalism, theft of public funds, historical injustices, human rights violations, marginalisation, economic and social injustice, misrule, bad and corrupt leaders, recurrent droughts and famines, exclusion of women and youth from government and leadership. We sought a symbol that denotes resilience; the camel, as a desert animal, symbolises resilience and survival under very difficult circumstances; a resilient animal can only overcome survival in the desert without water, under scorching heat and sun. We want to capture the spirit of resilience. Hence the camel as a symbol.

We have been in the desert of bad leadership: Kenya has been in the desert of bad, non-transformative and non-responsive leadership since the era of the colony. The leadership that dominated Kenyan political history to date has grown and engendered a desert of poor, corrupt, tribal, selfish leadership and therefore poor development. Today, Kenyans need a leadership that can take them from that desert (like the children of Israel) to an oasis of good, transformative, and responsive leadership (to the land of milk and honey).

The two-horse race misnomer: The common narrative in Kenya’s political struggle and competition is that leadership is always a “two-horse” race of either the two big tribes, or two most supposedly “popular” personalities. They have described anyone else seeking leadership as a “donkey” that cannot compete with the two horses. Thirdway presented to Kenyans a “camel” to rival the horses. A horse only runs for 40-48km/hr for a short distance of just eight minutes while a camel runs for up to 65km/hr for a long distance of 18 hours. So, we are giving Kenyans a much faster and resilient alternative.

Taking back our Country and winning the people. Using the two-horse race narrative, Jubilee and Nasa look at Kenya in the very short term. They have been myopic on the real change Kenya needs. Theirs is contestation for just power, winning an election and that is where they stop. As soon as they win an election, the problems of Kenya start: from tribalism (in the choice of government that is currently two tribes), land grabbing, theft of public funds. Thirdway wanted to win the country and the people; it wants Kenyans to take back their county, and to optimally exploit it towards a good life. This is all possible under a good leadership that offers the stewardship that has lacked since independence. It seeks a sustainable, transparent and accountable leadership.

16. Some of us believe your brand of politics is good for Kenya but we are unable to know why you are not as visible as top Nasa or Jubilee politicians. Marcelyn Odhiambo

 Visibility is actualised through various mediums. As you may be aware, there is still a sizeable number of Kenyans, including mainstream media personalities, who are still stuck in the old order of politics. Our content may, therefore, not be getting the space it deserves in the mainstream media. We are, however, optimistic that with time individuals in the media will be able to give us space like Sunday Nation has done today. It is without doubt that the events we have been carrying out as indicated elsewhere in my responses herein will make sense to a majority of Kenyans but we need a medium that is committed to the welfare of Kenyans. In fact, you may have by now noted that we are using alternative media such as social media a lot. As a matter of fact, about 20 million Kenyans use alternative media such as Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook, Istagram and Telegram.

17. Do you think Turkana residents are justified to demand a review of the oil revenues sharing agreement? Njenga Micugu, Juja

 There has been a lot of mystery since oil was discovered in Turkana in 2012. The Turkana people, like all other Kenyans, demanded the production sharing contracts in order to inform their benefit from oil exploration. Government and Tullow Oil have been secretive about this despite it being a right under Article 35 of our Constitution. Turkana people, just like other Kenyans, deserve to know the impact on the environment, both natural and social. Again, government has been reluctant with this information. So, for the Turkana to demand that which is rightfully theirs is well in order including revision of revenue share. We just need fairness and justice. That is not too much to ask.

18. If a strong presidential candidate were to name you a running mate in 2022, would you consider the offer? Githuku Mungai

To currently discuss 2022 elections is very unfair to Kenyans and to even oneself. Our party, the Thirdway Alliance Kenya, is focusing on formulation of alternative viable solutions that will help make the lives of Kenyans better. We are so far the only political party that has actively participated in public issues including presenting written contributions on what the national budget should look like; proposed to President Uhuru what to look for in appointing his Cabinet; made recommendations on the Division of Revenue Law of 2018; proposed a 14-point agenda for national Conversation, among many other activities that we have taken part in. However, the party will make a decision on who runs for president in 2022 and of course the candidate will nominate a running mate. We would, of course, like to explain at a later date why our party so far remains the strongest political party even if you were to consider our manifesto, its pillars and what we stand for.

19. It has always been remarked that great democracies are built around “great institutions” and not “great men”. After the 2017 General Election, existing political institutions seem to be disintegrating as expected. Nasa and Jubilee coalitions are now heading that direction despite numerous pledges to hold on for the sake of democratic ideals. This is worrying. Sir, how far have you advanced the building of Thirdway Alliance as an alternative political institution in the midst of this current confusion? Komen Moris, Eldoret

Thirdway Alliance is growing day by day amidst the drama within the other political formations as we know them today. Kenyans are not naïve to the fact that the said formations are built around political dynasties and tribes. That has and will always be a very weak foundation on which to build a political outfit. We at Thirdway Alliance Kenya chose to go a different route. We are continuing to structure the party on the premise of Kenya’s diversity, that there be inclusion of all Kenyans regardless of their ethnicity, gender and status. That is the backbone on which Thirdway Alliance is built and on which it is gradually growing into a formidable political party. In fact, we formed Thirdway to challenge Kenyans to think outside the usual political boxes. Thirdway is therefore the natural home of all those transformative leaders.

20. What happened to the Punguza Mizigo initiative and how many people signed the petition? Betty, Machakos

The Punguza Mizigo signature collection campaign is ongoing and the public is very receptive to the idea of reducing Parliament. In fact, this weekend we were in Lodwar, the capital town of the greater Turkana County. Our signature collection agents are out there. We want to remain meticulous in this exercise so that we don’t fail like the previous ones before us. In fact, compared to previous initiatives, our PunguzaMizigo.com campaign is not being driven by political expediency. We truly care about the reasons why our Parliament must be reduced. Imagine that our current parliamentarians cost us Sh36.8 billion annually. We want to reduce that cost to just Sh5 billion per year. The Sh31.8 billion could go into development projects. In fact, I am very surprised why President Uhuru Kenyatta has not supported this initiative that aims to save money that he could easily put into his Big Four projects!