After BBI, what Uhuru could do to make his last days worthwhile

President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses residents of Ndathi in Kieni Constituency, Nyeri County, February 1, 2021. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

The only loser in the BBI debacle is President Uhuru Kenyatta. After the ruling at the Supreme Court last week, his political foes were filled with mirth and sneer while trepidation and feelings of doubt about the future occupied the minds of his friends.

So, as he smarts from the death of BBI, President Kenyatta must reflect again on the implication of the loss and move on swiftly to consolidate his legacy if nothing, to make his last 100 or so days worthwhile.

Beyond the legal flaws, BBI in its form and substance was conceptualised well, but poorly executed.

Because BBI did not transport our imaginations beyond President Kenyatta, Raila Odinga and his deputy William Ruto or the feeling that it was nothing more than an act of self-preservation by him, honestly speaking, it became an unnecessary distraction and risks defining the campaign message as we head into elections.

President Kenyatta’s legacy risks being about the eroded household wealth and purchasing power, the huge debt, disobedience of court orders, and mostly, the misadventure that the handshake and its offshoot BBI became and how he shafted his deputy.

ODM leader Raila Odinga. [Emmanuel Wanson, Standard]

He needs to bang heads and clean house. Those who bungled BBI need to pay for their numerous mistakes of commission and omission. The lack of thoroughness in the draft document, for example, (the pedestrian writing littered with so many grammar mistakes) and the lack of concern in the initial stages of the case at the High Court, points to disorganisation, unpreparedness and a frightening lack of grasp of the real issues in the hearts and minds of many Kenyans.

The fall of BBI by no means amplifies the general lack of a fulcrum on which important projects and programmes were hinged in his administration. In 2013, President Kenyatta was flush with political capital. Many must wonder how that was squandered.

President Kenyatta’s weak point is the economy. The economy has woefully underperformed. So, despite many other good things like the frenzy of infrastructure projects across the country and the reforms in the education, health and financial sectors, the dire prospects of many small businesses and households dooms the rosy picture.

Despite the numerous flaws, former President Mwai Kibaki’s sunnier side was an impressive economic miracle that followed soon after the miserable days of Kanu.

Under Mr Kenyatta, government spending has ballooned and so has domestic and foreign borrowing. Taxes have been raised as well.

Yet the net effect of the near-extravagant spending and frenetic borrowing is a marginal change in aggregate production, leading to widespread unemployment and poverty and disillusionment from the masses. Without any tangible benefits – because the cash was either stolen, misused on projects that are yet to break even – the loans then became expensive and the huge infrastructural outlay, white elephants.

People expect him to speak strongly about corruption in the next 100 days. He lost the initiative when his anti-corruption seemed to spare the sacred cows in his court and those of his friends.

The feeling is that half-hearted attempts are letting the culprits get away with stealing public money. He should wage a ruthless campaign on corruption to get those who plunder public resources punished. Additionally, he must repudiate the notion that he took a wrecking ball to the constitutional set-up to satisfy a desire for a powerful presidency lording over the other arms of government.

Treasury CS Ukur Yatani. Under Uhuru Kenyatta, government spending has ballooned and so has domestic and foreign borrowing. [File, Standard]

In a properly working democracy, the balance of power between the branches of government often shifts away from the Executive. He tried so much to go against this convention. It would seem that because of this, senior civil servants (including the Attorney General) lacked the much-needed confidence to say no where it really mattered in the BBI project.

When the political independence that covers civil servants is undermined, it becomes hard for them to offer sound advice and most importantly say: “No sir, I am sorry, but this won’t work.”

He also needs to step back from the political fray and buttress his role as a symbol of national unity. Make no mistake, it doesn’t mean that an outgoing president shouldn’t have a preferred successor. But context is important. Backing a candidate undermines the neutral status an outgoing incumbent carries, especially in a brittle democracy such as ours.

Lastly, elections have proven insufficient catalysts of change. What is needed are strong institutions; we need clean, independent and speedy courts and an active civil society that can agitate strongly. We also need a media that barks and bites really hard. Would that President Kenyatta could spend the next 100 days propping these institutions for a lasting legacy.

Mr Kipkemboi is Partnerships and Special Projects Editor, Standard Group.