Ruto-Raila 'deal': Lessons from 2008 power sharing experiment paints gloomy picture

Kenyans should not expect a magic wand from the so-called broad-based government of President William Ruto, which incorporated Opposition chief Raila Odinga’s ODM party after the Gen Z protests.

This is because similar deals made in the past failed to address the menace of runaway corruption, tribalism, unemployment, abuse of human rights and police brutality, among other vices bedeviling the country.

Political analyst Martin Andati says nothing much will come out of this new arrangement, given rampant corruption claims that were raised after ODM joined the government in the 2008 grand coalition government (nusu mkate) formed by President Kibaki and Raila as an example of what to expect.

“They have only made it worse because it compromises the Opposition’s ability to check government. ODM’s oversight role collapsed the moment they went to bed with Kibaki’s PNU in 2008 and that is exactly what they have just done,” he says.

He finds it difficult to understand, for example, how effectively Saboti MP Caleb Amisi (ODM), now nominated to replace Cabinet Secretary nominee for Treasury John Mbadi as Public Accounts Committee chair, will reprimand his former party chairman and predecessor for any transgressions and malfeasance.

It has also been argued that though Mbadi may have good intentions, the entrenched bad governance systems he will find at the Treasury will complicate matters for any reforms he may propose, added to the fact that some personnel in senior positions are appointees of the president.

In the nusu mkate government, nothing changed in terms of service delivery, a case in point being the mess that was created in the Department of Immigration where claims of bribery and mass issuance of passports to illegal immigrants and refugees was reported.

That happened under the watch of the late Otieno Kajwang' (ODM) as the Minister of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons from 2008 to 2013 in the grand coalition government.

Claims of more scandals were made in the Prime Minister’s office, among them the infamous maize scandal where thousands of tonnes of grain were looted from National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) stores and further claims of graft in the Lands ministry.

It appears that the mess in the Immigration Department which begun during the Kibaki administration over 15 years ago has never been resolved because the Interior CS nominee, Prof Kithure Kindiki, is still grappling with it.

“They were selling identity cards and passports left, right and centre, which compromised our security and that is how we ended up having attacks as happened at Garissa University,” claimed Andati.

What happened then is that ODM became very ineffective as an Opposition party, the only solace being that although both sides “were eating”, they also somehow were watching each other.

Andati sees some slight improvement, especially at the Treasury where Mbadi may want to stamp his authority because he believes in systems that work, although others think the unenviable task will be monumental.

Speaking early this week, Tetu MP Geoffrey Wandeto welcomed Mbadi’s appointment with a rider, saying: “Mbadi has been very vocal about many issues. As National Treasury minister, we are all looking up to him to steer the country out of the debt crisis, fiscal deficit and to create alternatives for the botched Finance Bills.”

He also expects good things from Energy portfolio nominee Opiyo Wandayi, urging him to ensure that past challenges of power blackouts and shortages is comprehensively resolved and all Kenyans are connected to the last mile.

Andati, however, thinks Wandayi will find it hard to operate because all CEOs of energy parastatals and power production agencies have been there for long and will not change overnight just because a new CS is in office.

“These are politically correct appointees who are properly entrenched. He will also find existing signed procurement contracts he cannot countermand. These are challenges he has to deal with,” added Andati.

And so he believes Wandayi will find very little wiggle room dealing with local and international cartels that have featured heavily, not only in the importation of oils and other products, and but also in mega infrastructure construction and development projects.

To complicate matters more, it has also emerged that Raila and Ruto did not sign any terms of engagement, creating some sense of ambiguity especially because it appeared to have been hurriedly done to deal with the unrest and protests from Gen Zs.

Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka argues that instead of joining government, Raila should have led the Azimio Coalition team in pushing the government to sign an agreement between the two parties for governance structures to improve.

“We should have had a memorandum capturing all governance issues that have been raised. Because it is now difficult to tell the government that they are stealing when we are inside if they continue with corruption as expected,” says Onyonka.

He also says it was hypocritical for ODM leaders to say the four nominees moved into government as individuals, and yet they still also want to have leadership positions in Parliament.

“My party ODM has decided to go and cohabit with Kenya Kwanza. How can Raila say they have gone as individuals and yet he is also working with the government to become the African Union Commission chairperson?” asks Onyonka.

He points out that not long ago, Raila and Ruto received the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report whose recommendations included curbing party hopping and poaching of MPs.

Prof Peter Kagwanja, the chief executive officer of the Africa Policy Institute, describes the broad based government as a copy and paste of what was done in the past to divide and rule the country.

He says that the art of sacking ministers and replacing them along regional lines was perfected by President Moi, where the 'use and dump' strategy was commonly deployed against foes and allies.

“It is the art of playing tribe against tribe, individuals against others and regions against regions to stay in power. It is an old Machiavellian style. It is about how to retain power particularly against the Gen Z wave,” says Kagwanja

Former Nairobi Town Clerk Philip Kisia says there is a big difference between the nusu mkate government of 2008 and the one being created by Ruto and Raila.

He credits President Kibaki for providing an environment that made his government deliver despite carrying the burden of including Opposition figures in leadership positions.

“I think it was a better government because although they were working together, they also treated each with suspicion and in the process, check-mated each other to stop excesses. Each side also positively wanted to outshine the other in terms of performance,” added Kisia.

He, however, regrets that unlike the 2008-2012 administration when the man at the top empowered his Cabinet to work independently, the current office holder has a different style that micro-manages people and hinders performance.

Kisia also credits technocrats, especially Francis Muthaura, a seasoned civil servant and career diplomat, who helped the president by drawing a clear road map for his Cabinet that was packed with experienced people.

“The difference between that Cabinet and now is that we have someone at the top who does not believe in delegation and sticking to a laid down plan. The difference is that Kibaki allowed people to do their jobs,” says Kisia.

Apart from that, institutions such as the Directorate of Public Prosecutions and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission were allowed to carry out their work without interruption or orders from State House.

Speaking at a different forum, community advocate Daisy Amdany described the so-called broad-based government as an affront to the movement for change and an insult to Kenyans because the changes were not made on principle.

She decried the current leadership’s lack of capacity and its incompatibility with the needs of the people, saying that the Ruto and Raila arrangement was meant to silence Gen Z protests.

“We know what happened after the Uhuru and Raila handshake. There were no ODM people in government but the cooperation led to silencing whistle-blowing. What we are going to see going forward is covering up of bad governance,” she predicted.