Orange--Kenya-Style

This news is of great interest to me, for obvious reasons. Will Kenya follow the reformation path?

NAIROBI - Kenya’s opposition demanded early elections today after President Mwai Kibaki dissolved his cabinet in response to a humiliating referendum defeat.

"This parliament is now discredited and the president must dissolve it to pave way for the people of Kenya to elect representatives with a new mandate," the main opposition and a dissident party from the ruling coalition said.

In a political first for Kenya, Kibaki sacked all his ministers and assistant ministers [within his rights] late yesterday, saying he wanted to reorganise and unite a cabinet which has not met for months and been too divided to pass much-needed reforms.

I can’t wait to read what my biological father—Kenyan op-ed writer Philip Ochieng--has to say about this. But, from his stance as an unabashed communist—a while back, someone hilariously referred to the old man as ‘Chomsky without the charisma’—I get the feeling from this incredibly cynical commentary that he couldn’t care less who wins.

When [most recent former Kenyan President Daniel Arap] Moi became a tyrant, his generosity ceased to be genuine. He knew our insatiable thirst for money and squeezed out of it every ounce of political profit.

If you seemed to pose some political peril, he simply called you over and shoved wads of cash into your pocket.

Where he saw signs of dangerous unity, he planted "seed money" and healthy saplings of disunity soon sprouted.

Public buildings and land were "dished out" all over. Hostile populations became docile just because he had promoted their villages to "cities" and locations to districts. [SNIP]

But better to be consistently tight-fisted or consistently forthcoming. Like a Gado cartoon, [current Kenyan President Mwai] Kibaki's sudden generosity can only provoke laughter because he is so maladroit about it. [SNIP]

If you have taken their money, don't worry. They owe it to you and this is the only time they are ever likely to part with the peanuts.

Take their promises with a pinch of salt and vote only according to your understanding of that document.

Spoken like a man who has grown too accustomed to kleptocratic, strong-man--and tribal--politics. (Sorry, Mzee.) I hope that my father’s countrymen have higher hopes.

(Thanks to Pajamas Media)