Tuesday, January 31, 2006
KIBAKI'S ARMY OUT OF STEP
The Kibaki government is finding itself in very unfamiliar territory where it is cornered and is seeking to defend itself. The various commanders are trying to muster their troops but most of them are either AWOL or on sick leave. The few present are simply too demoralized to act. A demoralized army is a defeated army. The Kibaki troops are well fed, pampered and brightly attired but their morale is zero. The commander is not able to give that pep talk that uplifts the sunken spirit. The troops are unwilling to die for their commander.
Every commander knows that his troops will die for him if they believe that he is there for them at all times. Soldiers would fight in tatters, hungry and cold if they believe in their commander. If they see his tenacity, resolute determination, guts, and sheer abrasiveness in the face of the enemy, they will throw their full might at the battle ahead. Soldiers do not necessarily believe in a cause, they believe in their commander. When a commander commits his troops to battle he better be prepared to lead them. All successful generals in history physically led their troops to battle, Hannibal, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, McArthur, Swarznekoff, etc., were physically there with their forces. Their presence emphasized their commitment, and their leadership from the front augmented the resoluteness of their cause. The war on corruption is no exception. The big general and his field commanders must be physically present.
Kibaki is sending his lieutenants to marshal the troops, but there are no discernible battle plans they are articulating. Theirs is to praise the genius of their general at reading the many battle plans and commissioning the drawing of others that are never tested on the ground. Out of all those commanders only the novices are loud enough to be heard. Where are the battle tested old guards? Or are they just laying low mistaking the cannon booms for thunder, the bullets for hail stones and saying it is a matter of time the cloud will pass? How wrong they must be, the battle against corruption and looting of public kitty is not a passing cloud. It is a relentless bombardment and onslaught of justice on the ubiquitous malady that has permeated the Kibaki government in the short time it has existed. The corrupt dealings and subsequent imbroglio that the nation has been immersed into, will face the unremitting artillery of public scrutiny and accountability until every penny is accounted for and every culprit punished.
Do the various field commanders have faith in their general? There are feelings that some of the field commanders have sold the others to the enemy. As such they are wavering and teetering in their support, and are not confident of winning the battle where trust is lacking. The big general himself is loud in his silence. Wars are not worn in the silence and comfy of the garrisons, they are worn in the rough of trenches and bunkers, the desert sand dunes and the urban dark alleys. The soldiers need to be exhorted, encouraged and reassured that the though the battle is tough the war is just and winnable. This can only come from the big general himself and it must come sooner rather than later. It must be accompanied by actions that will reinforce the words and reinvigorate the troops with morale and drive for victory.
Some of the Kibaki troops are too polluted to be allowed into the public domain without risk of contaminating the rest. They will need to be quarantined until their suspected plague is diagnosed and treated. Unless this happens, all the efforts at damage control by the other lieutenants are futile. Excreta do not stop to stink just because you cover it.
When the World Bank turns off its flow of support, it is a clear signal that something is drastically wrong. Kenyans remember the way donors and foreign governments were competing to be the first to open their coffers for us after the 2002 elections. The looters thought this was because of their own selves rather than the trust bequeathed them by the Kenyans, they squandered this goodwill that we enjoyed. Other foreign donors are surely going to follow the World Bank lead. You do not go borrowing or begging to maintain affluent lifestyles incongruent with your capacity and sustainability. Kenyans today view any defense of the corrupt Anglo Leasing and allied dealings as effort to preserve the frivolous and wasteful opulence that the leaders exhibit in the midst of misery and hunger.
The big general has caused the war on hunger to be forgotten. Corruption and maladministration has turned famine and accompanying human suffering to the periphery. We should fight both fronts with same vigor and vitality until we achieve victory. One thing is clear, the war on corruption will be relentless, not the way the government sees it but the way it should be, which is no sacred cows to be spared. Resigning of the leaders, though a necessary pre requisite is not sufficient. After any war, there are war criminals, and there are trials and meting of justice, or at least there should be. Kenyans will not be satisfied until justice is done and seen to have been done. They will not be satisfied with commissions, judicial or otherwise. History has shown that commissions in Kenya are just a way of buying time and wishing away an issue. There have been far too many commissions whose reports have not been implemented. Some have not even been made public, this has been shear waste of our meager resources.
This is the time the clean men and women of our nation came forward to salvage the little credibility remaining in our nation. Kenyans cannot continue to entrust their sheep to the hyenas. There was an allegation, which has not been denied, that the president’s lieutenants told the anti corruption czar that the president himself knew how these things (corrupt deals) worked, him having worked in the treasury. That this has not been dismissed as upumbavu talks volumes. Where there is smoke there is fire. The big general must muster his troops and lead from the front.
Moi, despite his failings, led from the front. His troops knew where to tread, if they got out of step they were quickly sent back to the ranks. But the big general knows this for he was a culprit once. Our troops are not matching together, some are out of step and others are simply too tired to match. Halt the whole platoon and sort them out otherwise they will sort you out.
Capt. (Ret) Charles Wairia
Every commander knows that his troops will die for him if they believe that he is there for them at all times. Soldiers would fight in tatters, hungry and cold if they believe in their commander. If they see his tenacity, resolute determination, guts, and sheer abrasiveness in the face of the enemy, they will throw their full might at the battle ahead. Soldiers do not necessarily believe in a cause, they believe in their commander. When a commander commits his troops to battle he better be prepared to lead them. All successful generals in history physically led their troops to battle, Hannibal, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, McArthur, Swarznekoff, etc., were physically there with their forces. Their presence emphasized their commitment, and their leadership from the front augmented the resoluteness of their cause. The war on corruption is no exception. The big general and his field commanders must be physically present.
Kibaki is sending his lieutenants to marshal the troops, but there are no discernible battle plans they are articulating. Theirs is to praise the genius of their general at reading the many battle plans and commissioning the drawing of others that are never tested on the ground. Out of all those commanders only the novices are loud enough to be heard. Where are the battle tested old guards? Or are they just laying low mistaking the cannon booms for thunder, the bullets for hail stones and saying it is a matter of time the cloud will pass? How wrong they must be, the battle against corruption and looting of public kitty is not a passing cloud. It is a relentless bombardment and onslaught of justice on the ubiquitous malady that has permeated the Kibaki government in the short time it has existed. The corrupt dealings and subsequent imbroglio that the nation has been immersed into, will face the unremitting artillery of public scrutiny and accountability until every penny is accounted for and every culprit punished.
Do the various field commanders have faith in their general? There are feelings that some of the field commanders have sold the others to the enemy. As such they are wavering and teetering in their support, and are not confident of winning the battle where trust is lacking. The big general himself is loud in his silence. Wars are not worn in the silence and comfy of the garrisons, they are worn in the rough of trenches and bunkers, the desert sand dunes and the urban dark alleys. The soldiers need to be exhorted, encouraged and reassured that the though the battle is tough the war is just and winnable. This can only come from the big general himself and it must come sooner rather than later. It must be accompanied by actions that will reinforce the words and reinvigorate the troops with morale and drive for victory.
Some of the Kibaki troops are too polluted to be allowed into the public domain without risk of contaminating the rest. They will need to be quarantined until their suspected plague is diagnosed and treated. Unless this happens, all the efforts at damage control by the other lieutenants are futile. Excreta do not stop to stink just because you cover it.
When the World Bank turns off its flow of support, it is a clear signal that something is drastically wrong. Kenyans remember the way donors and foreign governments were competing to be the first to open their coffers for us after the 2002 elections. The looters thought this was because of their own selves rather than the trust bequeathed them by the Kenyans, they squandered this goodwill that we enjoyed. Other foreign donors are surely going to follow the World Bank lead. You do not go borrowing or begging to maintain affluent lifestyles incongruent with your capacity and sustainability. Kenyans today view any defense of the corrupt Anglo Leasing and allied dealings as effort to preserve the frivolous and wasteful opulence that the leaders exhibit in the midst of misery and hunger.
The big general has caused the war on hunger to be forgotten. Corruption and maladministration has turned famine and accompanying human suffering to the periphery. We should fight both fronts with same vigor and vitality until we achieve victory. One thing is clear, the war on corruption will be relentless, not the way the government sees it but the way it should be, which is no sacred cows to be spared. Resigning of the leaders, though a necessary pre requisite is not sufficient. After any war, there are war criminals, and there are trials and meting of justice, or at least there should be. Kenyans will not be satisfied until justice is done and seen to have been done. They will not be satisfied with commissions, judicial or otherwise. History has shown that commissions in Kenya are just a way of buying time and wishing away an issue. There have been far too many commissions whose reports have not been implemented. Some have not even been made public, this has been shear waste of our meager resources.
This is the time the clean men and women of our nation came forward to salvage the little credibility remaining in our nation. Kenyans cannot continue to entrust their sheep to the hyenas. There was an allegation, which has not been denied, that the president’s lieutenants told the anti corruption czar that the president himself knew how these things (corrupt deals) worked, him having worked in the treasury. That this has not been dismissed as upumbavu talks volumes. Where there is smoke there is fire. The big general must muster his troops and lead from the front.
Moi, despite his failings, led from the front. His troops knew where to tread, if they got out of step they were quickly sent back to the ranks. But the big general knows this for he was a culprit once. Our troops are not matching together, some are out of step and others are simply too tired to match. Halt the whole platoon and sort them out otherwise they will sort you out.
Capt. (Ret) Charles Wairia
