A bemused Opposition is simply hobbling along

There is no love lost between former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto; once very close allies. Senator Kipchumba Murkomen believes Raila holds the key to Ruto’s ICC case at The Hague but cannot countenance anything CORD proposes. National Assembly Leader of Majority Aden Duale cannot, in a year of trying, find a kind word for the Opposition, and then out of the blue, the Opposition conjures up an impeachment motion against President Uhuru Kenyatta which it avers is designed to benefit the URP. Clearly, the tenon does not fit into the mortise.

Magnanimity is not a forte of any Opposition salivating at the prospects of occupying the high table; passing crumbs to supplicants and hoi polloi. This portrays the Opposition as being dishonest with itself and the public at large by purporting the impeachment Motion would solely benefit the DP who, constitutionally, would ascend to the presidency should Kenyatta be shown the door.

It is not hard to interpret the Opposition’s move as psychological warfare aimed at breaking the choking grip of the tyranny of numbers that Jubilee exerts in both Houses. This can be seen as an attempt to exploit emerging cracks in URP so as to indoctrinate Ruto’s loyalists into believing occupying the presidency would automatically tilt the balance in favour of their man.

The assumption, and which the public has somehow been led into believing, is that the presidency cushioned President Kenyatta against the ICC and finally let him off the hook. To some extent, that could be true, judging by the flurry of activities Kenya’s Foreign Ministry undertook in getting to lobby other African countries against the ICC. The Attorney General also put up a spirited fight for the President. Being the government’s principal legal advisor, the authority of the office of the president provided the motivation.

Interestingly though, the Opposition seems to have gotten the attention of sober minds in Jubilee. Even though Jubilee has the numerical advantage on its side; despite its MPs traversing the country holding prayer sessions for Ruto against the ICC that turn ridiculous at times, simply sitting on its laurels could prove disadvantageous, given the developing mistrust between TNA and URP.

The tyranny of numbers, in view of some URP MPs disillusionment and wavering, has not been able to reassure The National Alliance wing that President Kenyatta is completely insulated against assault from the Opposition which requires a specific number of votes on its side to get at him. Grumbling within the URP wing of government has belatedly galvanised hitherto lacklustre government functionaries into action to reassure an increasingly jittery Rift Valley voting block that the DP is still part of the equation.

And Ruto has said he is not interested in the presidency as insurance against the ICC which, in any case, he believes is typically on a witch hunt; especially after readmitting recanted evidence.

Even with Jubilee’s jugular repeatedly exposed, the Opposition has all along been fumbling. Instead of turning the government’s shortcomings into advantage, CORD has been trailing it like a hyena to a man; hoping the swinging hand would somehow drop off and accord it a meal.

Having shown its indecisiveness even when it had the upper hand, Jubilee will be waiting for CORD at every nook and cranny. If it springs another surprise on the Opposition in 2017, I will not be flabbergasted.