Uhuru determined not to be Kenya's worst President

President Uhuru Kenyatta when he presided over the Passing-out Parade of KDF recruits in Eldoret. PHOTO/PSCU

The argument that we are seeing a different Uhuru Kenyatta is false. The same Uhuru that we saw in the first term is the same Kenyatta we are seeing in the second term. The only difference is that he has nothing to lose in his second term because he will not be seeking any re-election.

We are seeing a man who is determined to do whatever his heart and spirit wants. And the question of benevolent dictatorship does not arise. To whom is Uhuru benevolent? To whom is he giving or donating anything on matters democracy, governance? What we are seeing is a President in his second term who realises that he must do whatever he should do, and he must do whatever he can do. One, to make sure that he lives through his second constitutional term, secondly, that nobody gets to mess up or meddle his Presidency, and thirdly to work towards a potential or possible legacy for which he should or can be remembered.

We are seeing a President who is committed to the realisation of the fact that he has been in charge president and that his Presidency should possibly not be among the worst Kenyan history can record. The only challenge is that as he is grappling with that fact, he is also trying to balance a couple of realities. He, for instance, has a deputy who aspires take over after him who would want to be an appeaser, a strategic fellow who will in the end not care much about Uhuru’s legacy; but to what extent will that that legacy donate to his own success in the succession matrix?

So even the issues that have been happening in the couple of weeks or days ago –– be it the deportation of Miguna Miguna, the switching off of TV stations and the respect for the rule of law – we are seeing a President who is struggling with a delicate balancing act between perceptions, realities and imagination. But more importantly, we need to have a President who keeps on pronouncing himself on issues of the rule of law, separation of powers, constitutionalism and good governance.

On the issue of the media, the President seems to forget momentarily that the Bill of Rights, whatever happens, cannot be suspended, cannot be wished away and must be respected and upheld.

The writer is Director at Interthoughts Consulting.