Back to Index

Kibaki Afflicted By the 'African Disease'
Mavis Makuni, Financial Gazette (Harare)
January 17, 2008

http://allafrica.com/stories/200801170686.html

As Zimbabwe prepares to stage elections in the next two months, according to the government, it continues to be instructive to watch electoral processes in other countries so as to avoid certain pitfalls and adopt transparent practices that remove barriers to the genuine expression of the will of the people.

The debacle in Kenya has many lessons for Zimbabweans, who are already familiar with the ramifications of political violence and disputed election results.

What is so excruciating about the Kenyan situation is that it was not supposed to happen under a government headed by a man who was swept to power on a tidal wave of the people's hunger for change.

Mwai Kibaki's government came to power with the promise of moving the country forward after decades of Daniel Arap Moi's autocratic and corrupt governance. Regrettably, once ensconced in Kenya's state house, Kibaki has betrayed the people by condoning and entrenching the abuses of the previous administration.

A lesson for opposition parties such as Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change and the one expected to emerge after a breakaway from ZANU PF, is that when the people agitate for change, they desire genuine change, not the mere supplanting of the visage of one authoritarian leader for that of a political clone equally afflicted with imperviousness to their aspirations.

Ruling parties in turn must realize that regardless of how long it takes, hard-nosed intransigence characterized by a resort to subterfuge is a recipe for inevitable disaster. Trickery and cosmetic changes in response to deeply felt national grievances and perceived injustices can only work for so long. At some point, the dam will burst, with tragic consequences such as the unnecessary loss of life in Kenya.

Moi's administration was criticized for its poor human rights record and the use of the legal system to harass government critics. Under Moi, opposition leaders and pro-democracy activists were subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention without trial and abuse in custody.

These and rampant corruption such as that which manifested itself in the Goldenberg scandal, which cost the equivalent of Kenya's gross domestic product, resulted in international donors withdrawing aid and countries like the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Norway breaking off diplomatic relations.

Under Kibaki, politically motivated human rights abuses abated but the security forces, particularly the police, were still accused of perpetrating atrocities against innocent citizens. The police force has been described as the most corrupt entity in Kenya, accused of demanding bribes, using excessive force and complicity in criminal activities. Most of these unacceptable traits which Kibaki allowed to remain unchecked have become evident in the current crisis.

The Kibaki government's disproportionate show of force in recent weeks using an organisation already notorious for being trigger-happy has resulted in the death so far of 700 Kenyans for whom voting should have been an empowering rather than fatal experience.

But despite the escalating bloodbath, Kibaki continues to exhibit the unmistakable symptoms of the "African disease"- a single-minded unwillingness to yield power under any circumstances.

Zimbabwe has similar problems. Its police force is notorious for its brutality and the authorities are accused of condoning widespread abuse of police power.

The police force openly enforces laws selectively, including those pertaining to freedom of speech and assembly which ultimately impact on the integrity of the electoral process and its outcome.

The Kibaki government was reported this week to have rejected a bid by former United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, to help end the harvest of death.

The Minister of Roads and Public Works, John Michuki declared: "If Kofi Annan is coming, he is coming not at our invitation. We won the elections so do not see the point of anyone coming to mediate power sharing."

It is clear that despite knowing the election results were disputed, all that those in power are now worried about is safeguarding their positions and sinecures. They are not bothered that hundreds of the very people they are supposed to have been elected to serve are losing their lives.

African governments have yet to accept the fact that disputed election results are not cast in stone. Out of self-interest, officials stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that the simplest way to deal with these disputes is to open the electoral process up to scrutiny. If the victorious party won legitimately, it should have nothing to fear from a re-rerun of the polls or a recount of the ballots.

Some ruling parties that have held sway in Africa since the end of colonialism have simply refused to accept that it is impossible to have fair and valid results from elections conducted in a flawed environment openly tilted in the sitting government's favour.

This was a factor in Kenya where Kibaki's main challenger and losing presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, charged that the Electoral Commission of Kenya was dominated by Kibaki's cronies and was therefore biased and prone to manipulation. The government has neither disputed this serious charge nor explained why the integrity of the electoral body has been compromised by inundating it with government apologists and beneficiaries of state patronage.

The role and composition of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has equally been a bone of contention because of charges that it is stuffed with ruling party loyalists and military /security operatives.

As this country's dreaded elections loom, official calls for non-violence are reaching a crescendo, the latest being made by judge president, Justice Rita Makarau who said this week: "We, as the courts stand ready to play our part in ensuring that the rights of individuals enshrined in the constitution of Zimbabwe will be given legal expression to, before, during and after the elections."

She called on the people of Zimbabwe to accept the results of the harmonized polls to be held in March. But how sincere are these calls in the midst of all else that is wrong in the country?

Me thinks the learned judge doth protest too much - in the wrong vein. The authorities cannot call for the acceptance of election results without taking any measures to ensure the existence of a level electoral playing field.

Justice Makarau knows this has been a contentious issue for many years but the judiciary has been conspicuous by its deafening silence even when blatant abuses and irregularities have been exposed.

A disturbing report is published elsewhere in this issue about the alleged intimidation of rural voters that is already in full swing as reported by Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) observers.

The methods of coercion range from threats of repercussions if the ruling party loses to using government handouts to "buy votes" even before polling day.

The declaration by Justice Makarau that the judiciary stands ready to defend the constitutional rights of Zimbabweans is therefore as hollow as her exhortation on the acceptance of the results is insincere. This plea is analogous to a criminal who declares: "I did not kill Mr X" before he or she has been charged with any crime.

There would be no need for any trepidation about the reaction of Zimbabweans to election results if polls were conducted in a free and fair atmosphere. The results would speak for themselves.

The unease betrayed by a need to campaign for the acceptance of the outcome beforehand implies that the winner is already known.

But electoral victory should reflect an expression of the will of the people, not the wishes of a particular party.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP