DELICATE BALANCING CABINET OR NOT: Hard Tackle to the President Dilemma of Choice

By Prof. Dr. Halimu Shauri

Prof Shauri is a consultant sociologist & dean at Pwani University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

It is with great pleasure to acknowledge the fact that our immediate article before this one today was on “Dialogue or Action: Mr. President they are Feeding you with Wrong Fodder “, which was posted last night by this paper, but was ready in the morning predate the cabinet dissolution by the President for those who follow me on social media.

The article had outlined the real problem to President Ruto’s administration. It also suggested that time is running out and His Excellence had to pull the significant card with urgency.

I am glad the following day the President did to the surprise and relief of many who had had ill feelings about his cabinet. While the thinking and presidential advisory service was leaning on Dialogue, the correct thing to do at that moment was action to show, as the commander in chief, he was listening and committed to reforms. 

Obviously, the President did the right thing by acting to resolve the conflict focusing on the real problem, his cabinet. However, the action I am sure surprised and annoyed many of his close allies, including his then cabinet members.

This was akin to the Mijikenda saying where when one spills the soup you spill the ugali. 

Indeed, the ministers had spilled the soup of his administration through irritating opulence and arrogance, which could not be explained or accounted for suggesting serious poor leadership and bad governance.

These observations necessitated a bold and courageous move for reforms, which you did set the pace your excellence by dissolving the cabinet. Be it as it may, you have cooled the temperatures of the GenZees conflict but not to zero degrees centigrade. 

Be warned Mr President that the journey is not over yet, and you have a delicate and courageous route to take to remain in power by navigating the thorns laid on the path to your re-ascendance to your lost glory pre-election by the majority youth, then sweet hustlers. 

Dissolution of the cabinet is one successful step, and the resignation of the Inspector General [IG] gives your chances of uplifting the confidence of your perception by the GenZees on how things are unfolding.

What you need to focus on now is consistent corrective action to the issues raised by GenZees in your different departments and clean them up.

Remember the best way to resolving a conflict is focusing on the cause, which you have begun to diagnose as shared by the GenZees and you have started to fix, but much more you must know your interest and that of your worrying party, in this case the GenZees.

Apparently, I have keenly observed that certain groups want to take over the gains of your worrying party, the Genzees, and this may divert your focus on the correct path to actioning the mishaps of your administration. Mine is to say to you Mr President to stay focused on your worrying party, the Genzees grievances, and desist from addressing interests outside your immediate conflict and concern.

If you address, Mr President, the GenZees pointers to poor leadership and bad governance of your administration you emerge a hero for all. This is because the Genzees are not advocating personal interests or cosmetic interests of politicians but real interests for most of the citizens. 

The GenZees are your worrying parties and if you must get it right then you must deal with their interests and not those like of the jungle, where hyenas would take advantage of the meal that has been captured by the lion. By so doing you would have pushed the lion aside and hence you must prepare for another attack, and this time lethal, because the lion will still be very hungry.

Prudent to remember also is the fact that the cry of the Genzees is the cry for most of your citizens. While you know the majority carry the day in a democratic state like ours, your focus on the minority politicians to please them has political consequences and you are a master of knowing this fact. My word to you Mr President is desist from forces that are behaving like the hyenas in the jungle.

Accordingly, my unsolicited advice as a patriotic Kenyan, is for you Mr President to focus on the right thing. Remain insulated from forces of diversionary tactics and keep your eyes on the GenZees ball. Focusing on your interest, to remain in power, and the interest of the GenZees.

Your excellency sir, fidelity to the Constitution 2010 is the bare minimum to institute good leadership and governance in your new administration, which you can do and even transcending it, if only you can transform yourself and your administration from the lessons of the demonstrations.

A past failure is always an opportune moment for learning not to do it that way again or next time when you have a similar challenge or opportunity. You have had this first moment of a bad cabinet anchored in friendship and shareholders mentality, but you have also seen it doesn’t work that way. 

Your friends and shareholders have messed you up because presidency transcends beyond friendship and shareholding to the good of the nation and that why you are His Excellence, the President. Excellence is near sacred term meaning above parochial considerations reproach.

From the GenZees events and the outcome of those events, hard and soft, we have seen and witnessed the impact, both negative in form of loss of property, injuries and death, and more significant a threat to peace and your presidency.

I would just say stay focused now that you have another chance to redeem yourself and your administration. However, remember Mr President that when you repeat the same way you did things the results will never be different.

Wisdom has visited you and you should have been looking, reading and listening and am sure you are wiser now than when you constituted your first administration. It’s not easy in life to get a second chance, but the lucky few do, and you seem to be one of the lucky ones, and so use it well. And we are observing how you act and will not stop praising or castigating the corrective actions you take for the betterment of yourself and Kenya.

Finally, I want to remind you Mr President that the GenZees era is an era of truism. IF you stick to the truth, and in this case in your thoughts and action, guided by fidelity to the Constitution 2010, THEN you will thank me one day that I was of value by sharing my thoughts in an honest and pragmatic manner as a patriotic citizen.

Fix the stinking and ugly aspects of your administration and be truthful to your thoughts and action and you will positively shape the perception of the public on yourself and your administration. The GenZees era is an era of truth and doing the right thing, and those who will survive this era are those who are truthful and committed to true altruistic and not egoistic tendencies.

Prof Shauri