Why speechwriter Eric Ng’eno is Jubilee coalition’s Miguna Miguna

By Makau Mutua
Twitter@makaumutua

I had hoped never to write about ODM’s tormentor Miguna Miguna again. But a man who goes by the name Eric Ng’eno – and describes himself as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s speechwriter – has forced my hand.

There’s no doubt Mr Ng’eno fancies himself a literary pugilist, although he’s more propagandist than scribe. That’s because the ink that spews out of his pen is laced with verbal hemlock. I know it’s tempting to dismiss him as an insignificant gadfly.

But that would do injustice to the truth. The reason is that Mr Ng’eno sits in the inner sanctum of power. Or that’s what he would like mere mortals to believe. Where’s the truth?

The similarities between Mr Ng’eno and Mr Miguna are legion. But there are dissimilarities too, although these are only a smidgeon. This is a good one – the former, unlike the latter, doesn’t have the same name twice. But it’s what they’ve in common that’s huge. Both are creations of political titans – Mr Ng’eno is an ideological progeny of President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto, while Mr Miguna was the political scion of ODM’s colossus Raila Odinga. Neither of the two is politically self-made.  Quite the opposite – they were both plucked from political obscurity, or exile in Mr Miguna’s case. The ambitions of both appear to outstrip their political talent. There’s no doubt the two are birds of a feather.

First, Mr Ng’eno, like Mr Miguna, appears to be a rogue elephant. He quite often “speaks” for the boss by appropriating – I believe incorrectly – his master’s pen. I am not talking about the instances where Mr Ng’eno supposedly writes speeches for Mr Kenyatta. No – I refer to the occasional newspaper column that he authors.

Here, Mr Ng’eno, like Mr Miguna, is often full of fury and brimstone. I doubt his intemperate language is Mr Kenyatta’s. Methinks that Mr Kenyatta can speak for himself, and doesn’t need a greenhorn to simulate, or channel, his thoughts. We know this – a speechwriter isn’t a policy-maker. In Kiswahili, he’s “mtu wa mkono” or a peon in the king’s court. He’s a worker-bee.

I once wrote that Mr Miguna conflated his role as Mr Odinga’s official sidekick with his rights as a private citizen. Mr Miguna was Mr Odinga’s mouthpiece. Similarly, Mr Ng’eno is Mr Kenyatta’s confidential assistant. As factotums of their bosses, neither Mr Miguna, nor Mr Ng’eno, have public minds of their own. Servants in the king’s court are to be seen in public, and not heard, unless the king so orders. Anything they utter in public is attributable to the boss. The constitutional speech rights of private citizens are inapplicable to them. The speech rights of senior aides at the heart of power are extinguished upon employment. This is a fact Mr Miguna didn’t understand. Nor does Mr Ng’eno.

Second, I warned that it behooved Mr Odinga to bring Mr Miguna to heel, or suffer heartbreak. My argument was that either Mr Odinga condoned Mr Miguna’s written projectiles, and should’ve publicly owned them, or fired him if Mr Miguna was speaking out of school. My view was that Mr Odinga would look weak if he didn’t rein Mr Miguna in, or sack him. It is instructive Mr Miguna became a vicious attack dog when Mr Odinga finally gave him the boot. The problem was Mr Odinga waited too long to bring down the axe. Mr Kenyatta risks repeating Mr Odinga’s mistake with Mr Ng’eno. The time to teach Mr Ng’eno a lesson is now.

I was particularly struck by a number of pieces Mr Ng’eno penned inveighing at corrupt and obstructionist senior bureaucrats. He’s accused these Mafioso-like cartels of sabotaging the Jubilee government.

I don’t doubt that he’s absolutely right. But it’s not his place – as a mere speechwriter for Mr Kenyatta – to attack his superiors. He warned that they would be professionally decapitated. Wow – since when did a junior officer talk like that to the most senior public servants? I can see the Head of the Public Service issuing such a blistering attack. Or even the Secretary to the Cabinet – but not a lowly speechwriter. But perhaps I am wrong – Mr Ng’eno might have a senior title that’s hidden.

Finally, I’ll remind you my crystal ball’s prediction about Mr Miguna. I foresaw – which came to pass – that Mr Miguna would be tossed and that his public life would end in ignominy. Yes, the man wrote tell-all books targeting Mr Odinga. But those tawdry screeds drip with malice and bitterness. No intellectual worth the name has given them credence.

Mr Miguna flew like a drone, but crashed like a kite. His opposite number in Jubilee – Mr Ng’eno – seems destined to a similar ignoble fate. He’s Jubilee’s Mr Miguna.