Last week I happened to watch a TV show where the guests were discussing a book called ‘A Tale Of Three Kings’. The author went on to explain that the three biblical kings Saul, David and Absalom represent the three kinds of authority figures one will encounter in the course of one’s life. The book talks of the leadership of David in contrast with those of Saul and Absalom.

I just could not help draw the parallels between these three kings and the current political leadership in Kenya. It is amazing that as part of the Grand Coalition, we now have the rare opportunity to sample all the three kinds of authority figures at the helm of Kenya’s political affairs.

We all know of the Saul of Kenya. He was definitely the chosen one in 2002. He and David were on one team and David did help him gain victory - the Presidency. But he was unfaithful to his calling and his leadership began to lose ground. Like King Saul, his insecurity was fueled by the growing popularity of David in the election year 2007. He was not ready to accept that David was the chosen one in 2007. He was unwilling to let go of his throne and make way for a change in leadership. Despite the disputed election results, he insisted, he was still the undisputed King. His stubbornness paved the way for the mindless post election violence which brought untold misery to the common man.

Now to the blue eyed boy of Kenyan politics, David. Never mind the eye surgery he had last week, he is still the blue eyed boy and the darling of the masses. King David was anointed for leadership while he was still a shepherd boy but he had to wait twenty long years before he got his crown. The Prime Minister truly embodies the journey of King David….you can be chosen….yet not have the platform thanks to the likes of Saul. All along the long journey to being the Prime Minister, he faced popularity, envy, love and hatred from various quarters. King David was not infallible but he was humble and that is the stuff great leadership is made of. Great leadership is all about being secure yet humble, so as to empower other members of your team. Cheers to our homegrown David!

Last but not least we have Absalom of Kenya. The biblical Absalom was the handsome son of King David but he envied the splendor, popularity and prosperity of his own father. Absaloms are opportunistic leaders who hang around with successful leaders like David but have a deep seated desire within them to unseat the Davids from their thrones. They are cunning, critical and competitive. Betraying others, promoting disloyalty and disunity are second nature to them. No one embodies this kind of leadership better than the Vice President. Betraying David was the miracle that got him the Vice Presidency. Despite the country-wide hue and cry over the results of the presidential elections, which he himself contested, he wasted no time in doing a complete turnaround and thanking the self proclaimed President for the Vice Presidency. Absaloms are self centered leaders who couldn’t care less for other people, just ask the disgruntled MPs of his own party. With the inclusion of Absalom in the Grand Coalition, one needs to watch out for signs of disunity and competion within the new government.

Tengeza,

“Any force that threatens the government by forming a parallel organisation is fair game to any government in the world. I believe it is what is called treason”

In that vein, ANC, Mau Mau were treasonous groups? There is a reason Mungiki exists, and it is not only due to thuggery. Some might say it has hijacked some of the reasons, but it does exist. It is a warning sign, there is an undercurrent of dissent, and a failure to meet the needs and wants of people.

If you look at Germany for example, Hitler did not ride in from nowhere he was able to take advantage of the dissent, anger, frustration of Germans who were undergoing high inflation,

Does this ring a bell? “between left-wing and right-wing groups, both of which committed violence and murder against innocent civilians and against each other, resulting in many deaths” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic).

The Mathare raid was for show, that was not police work, I heard of a Chinese saying that is appropiate in this case, “Slaughter the chickens to scare the monkeys”. The Mathare raid did not hinder Mungiki. Human rights is also mostly about due process, and efficient use of police efforts. We are heading into a global depression, and it might help to learn from history to see similarities and patterns, so as to draft better responses. BTW, Tengeza, I do see on your website you mention the possibility of food riots… hmm I hear echos of Weimar. We are building the fertile ground for a strong man.

Which faction extorts money from matatu operators and Eastlands landlords/residents?

I do not think that the media is manufacturing consent in this case. I have read Chomsky’s book and watched a film about it and do not think that it applies to either Mungiki or Sabaot People’s Defence Force.
Any force that threatens the government by forming a parallel organisation is fair game to any government in the world. I believe it is what is called treason.

The public is genuinely scared of Mungiki…man even matatu operators do nothing in front of them. No one objected when last year Mathare residents were subjected to lying down in the mud by armed GSU and police men - and by the way in the full glare of CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC cameras - because Mungiki had gone too far and was now causing unnecessary
tension. The public demanded that the police do something which they did in their usual brutal manner.

By the way how come the number of Mungiki killed by cops has now reached 4,000. Kiai is talking of 500 or is it 600?!

In my opinion demands for Human rights in Kenya are overrated. A country does not need human rights to develop. It is a good aim for a government, but I think we live in a freer society than what we had before. Our government has not learnt how to “manufacture consent” unless you believe the crap Alfred Mutua propagates. Maybe they will learn from ODM how to do it.

If the government knew how to manufacture consent, then I am sure the clashes we had a while ago would have been cast in a totally different light. The Anglo Leasing scandal would have been about a clerical mistake. The Standard raid would have had us thoroughly convinced that there was a plot to assassinate the president and the Artur brothers would definitely have been investors looking for business opportunities in Kenya to pour their money.

In my opinion, Mungiki is a radical religious group that got involved in politics, then extortion to raise money and has now formed a political wing to further their cause. Just like Hamas, they have politicians as a show for the world to see and on the ground they have foot soldiers who enforce their rules and values on the society and also collect “security charges” from areas that they operate in.

Onyango Oloo actually is one of the instigators of unrest, violence and bloodshed, a former leftist who has become a rabid tribalist, and he should really not figure as guest author in your blog.

Osas

On a different note, I wonder whether Bw. Oloo could tell us how he negotiates meetings such as the one he described with a well known tycoon who’s rumored to have perpetrated human rights violations. Did he shake hands and make nice? No moral judgment on my part. These things just interest me. Asante.

You can disagree with him/his posturing, but I felt that he raised some interesting things that we don’t see in the local press e.g. the rise of the Kenya national youth alliance and the hypocrisy of the “grand opposition” agitators.