KARUA'S RESIGNATION A SAD LOSS FOR KENYA

DAILY NATION
NAIROBI, KENYA
By MACHARIA GAITHO
April 6 2009

Ms Karua is the kind of plain-spoken voice we need in Kenyan leadership.

OUR POLITICS WILL FOREVER confound. A whole galaxy of bigwigs from all sides of the Government divide troop to Geneva where they bond quite famously between the conference rooms and the receptions.

Everybody seems to be in agreement that all is not well with the coalition and the pace of reforms, and they all depart pledging to, on return to Kenya, cease all the sniping and work together as a team to deliver on both development and the remaining phases of the national accord and reconciliation agreement.

On return, it is back to the usual fireworks, culminating in the most serious rift yet between President Kibaki’s and Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s wings of government, and the dramatic resignation Monday of Justice minister Martha Karua.

Moments before Ms Karua quit, I was betting with colleagues against her taking that plunge. My reasoning was that however combative and brave Ms Karua is, she is not a Raila Odinga or Kenneth Matiba; a politician with a large and fanatical following to propel her to greater heights on stepping out of the mainstream.

My estimation was that resignation would be a major mistake that will swiftly render her irrelevant on the political scene, and that the best strategy would be make herself a gadfly as a crusader for reform within government, all the while daring President Kibaki to sack her.

Well, I did not bet on Ms Karua not seeing things my way. The big question now is what next for the minister who was arguably one of the most powerful women in Kenya?

As a presidential candidate, Ms Karua strove to cultivate a softer and friendlier image. She mended fences with a media she has always been at war with, and moved within government to recapture the space left void by the assimilation of reformists into the political bureaucracy.

Her pitch for reform was so powerful that civil society types striving to reclaim lost ground were moved to complain that Ms Karua was stealing their agenda.

No longer flying the ministerial standard, Ms Karua is powerless to drive reform, but freed of the shackles of collective irresponsibility, she has the opportunity to tap into the groundswell of public discontent with the government and re-package herself as the crusader lacking in the politics of today.

WITH MR ODINGA’S ODM WANTING to have its cake and eat it by remaining in government while grumbling about unfair allocation of the jobs, Ms Karua has, indeed, made a powerful statement that will not only capture the imagination of the public, but could also add great momentum to the struggle for reforms that might have derailed along the way.

But all that remains to be seen, for lacking the powerful party and ethnic base that is still the building block of Kenyan politics.

She could easily sink into oblivion, being reduced to a lonely and ineffectual noisemaker destined to go the way of so many others who have tried to carve independent paths.

I must confess that even as non-partisan as I try to be, I wish Ms Karua well in her latest political adventure.

She not only adds a bit of verve and sparkle to Kenyan politics, but does so with a famously stubborn streak coupled with a razor-sharp mind that has reduced many foes to babbling confusion.

The dire lack of women at the top of Kenyan politics — Water minister Charity Ngilu is the only other worth a mention — also makes Ms Karua’s exit from the Cabinet that much more notable.

What she might come to discover is that whatever excuse passes for a women’s movement in Kenya will not provide her a political base to fall back on.

As a politician, Ms Karua succeeded despite, not because of, the existence of Maendeleo ya Wanawake and myriad other women’s groupings that are nothing but mere extensions of male political machines.

Like Mrs Ngilu, she discovered early that Kenyan politics is a rough affair that has no time for gender balance and affirmative action, and played it hard like a man, fists flailing if necessary, giving no quarter and expecting no special favours.

It has been a long journey from strident activism to a seat on the high table, and it would be real sad if such a stellar career were to come to a shuddering halt.

Love her or hate her, and she attracts both extremes in equal measure, Ms Karua is the kind of plain-spoken voice we need in Kenyan leadership.

READERS' COMMENTS:

Submitted by Hillaryio
Posted April 07, 2009 11:16 AM

As much as she has been one of my favorite politicians for a long time, I must admit that her calculation this time round is something she will regret in the future. She might even end up like Koigi, Muite, or Wangari Maathai. As you say, Kenyan politics is still very based on tribal affiliations. She won't recapture Gichugu's seat if she dares say one word against the President there. Anyway, I wish her well and I thank her for her strong-willed attitude while in government.

Submitted by kowochi
Posted April 07, 2009 11:04 AM

A sad loss for kenya: I dont think so.. your comments bears the marks of all too familiar streak of thinking from across Central kenya.. so called Central Kenya may suffer a serious setback in the political arena(and business sector) come 2012 if they insist on fielding "our own" and unwilling to support others..Karua may provide the much needed bridge to give the community a break from an impending onslaught by other Kenyans.ASSUMPTION: Thats if we dont go to the dogs in 2012

Submitted by mwanamfalme
Posted April 07, 2009 10:32 AM

Martha Karua has driven herself to oblivion, and that is a good thing for this country. This Government treasures the monied and ethnic kingpins, of which she is none. Was she a reformist? Tell that to the maroons. I hope the same fate befalls one Kalonzo Musyoka.