Why I would give Kenya grade B minus for this year

By Charles Kanjama

Wisdom is one of the greatest virtues in theology. St Bonaventure notably warned against, reading without repentance, knowledge without devotion, research without wonder, prudence without joy, work without piety, learning without love, intelligence without humility, study without grace and thought without wisdom. What exactly is this wisdom, which adds a right proportion to every human quality? Leo Trese explains that wisdom gives us a right sense of proportion so that we esteem divine things; we value goodness and virtue at their true worth and see the goods of this world as stepping stones to holiness, not as ends in themselves. Wisdom gives us an other worldly vision or, even better, perceptive hindsight so that we look at things now as we would look at them after future experience.

A key quality of wisdom is the ability to harmonise today’s foresight with tomorrow’s hindsight. To look at your life today as you would look at it with the hindsight of ten years hence. Or even, to take an eschatological turn, to live your life today as you would want to have lived it at the moment of death or of judgment after death. Hence, true wisdom means to view temporal matters with the perspective of eternity.

As we complete 2013, we can apply some wisdom in reviewing the year that was by comparing it with the year we anticipated. As a nation, our fear was the prelude and aftermath of the general elections. We were also apprehensive about the implications of the International Criminal Court (ICC) cases on Kenya’s governance, and of the challenges of implementing the Constitution, especially devolution.

In February, I observed, “With only a week to go before Kenya’s general elections, we are all in serious need of pre-electoral defeat counselling: politicians and voters alike. Even civil society and media, who also have their horses in the race. Evidently about half of Kenya will have to accept defeat for their presidential candidate after 4th March. And because we cannot honestly be certain of the final outcome, both halves have to be prepared for defeat.”

Looking back, we can commend all the elections stakeholders for largely peaceful polls, and a mature approach to dealing with post-election disputes, a stark contrast to the 2007 situation. But we cannot pat ourselves on the back too much, for we recognise deep persisting grievances in a section of the electorate and political class, which the Government should work more sensitively to address. In August at the height of political differences over devolution, I observed, “Our constitutional design of devolution is workable, and has inbuilt mechanisms and organs for co-operation and conflict-resolution. But without good faith from stakeholders, it will fail, with or without amendment.” Devolution has continued to be a sticking point.

Positively however, the initial acute differences especially between the council of governors and the national government have significantly diminished. That silence you now hear is the sound of governors who have finally got down to work. In January, I reviewed the ICC Kenyan case and noted as follows, “On 18th December 2012, the ICC delivered its judgment... in Prosecutor v Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui. One of the judges... gave a separate concurring opinion where she trashed the tenuous concept of indirect co-perpetration. The confirmation of charges against Uhuru, Ruto and Muthaura explicitly relied on indirect co-perpetration. If ICC was a normal criminal court, it would mean that the Kenyan Case would be dismissed or the charges withdrawn by the Prosecutor. As it is, we don’t know.”

While the ICC cases have continued chugging along, their weaknesses have already led to the dropping of charges against Muthaura, and the Prosecutor’s request to delay Uhuru’s case for lack of evidence. Kenya meanwhile has used the ICC cases as an opportunity to flex diplomatic muscle, with limited success.

One hopes that 2014 will be definitive for Kenya’s ICC cases, allowing us to change our focus to development.So how can we grade Kenya’s Jubilee year and Jubilee government? A year ago, I had noted, “The Latin phrase ‘in cordis jubilo’, ‘with joyful heart’, summarises our hope as Kenya enters its jubilee election year. That even as the Cord and Jubilee alliances engage in political battle, may Kenya be renewed...”

Looking back at 2013, the final grade is a B- (minus), because we are yet to realise many promises in Jubilee’s manifesto. Looking forward to 2014, we hope the economy and devolved government will thrive, and key projects like the LAPSSET Corridor Project will finally take off the ground.