End this emerging pay to play culture

The Mathioya MP, Joseph Kamotho in his recent Op-Ed commentary noted, “Campaign fund raising in an open, transparent and accountable manner is a global phenomenon in the Western democracies.” The former KANU minister went on to add that, the proposed President Mwai Kibaki re-lection fund raising should not be viewed negatively.

It is troubling that President Mwai Kibaki’s Presidential campaign team is organizing “a Sh 1 million per plate lunch” in an effort to raise Sh1 billion campaign funds quickly. Of course the President’s allegedly private Presidential Elections Board is within its rights to conduct the fundraising and for charging such an exorbitant amount of money. But what the fundraiser is doing is paint a glossy picture that Kibaki’s second term will be a reserve for the rich and famous (who can pay their way in) and not for the common man. It is natural to assume that anybody who is going to pay such steep amount of money you can bet your life that he or she must expect to get something in return — ‘pay to play’ so to speak. The campaign team reportedly plans to invite 1,000 exclusive individuals where each and every one of them will cough Sh 1 million and not expect anything in return from the government.

Even in the Western democracies, campaign contributors’ are the ones who are favoured when it comes to ‘administrations’ (and or government) contracts. None of the 1,000 invitees will be expected to turn down an offer of future lucrative government contracts. My question comes, is the Presidential Elections Board introducing a new political culture of pay to play? I would urge President Kibaki or his close associates to act fast and see to it that “millionaires’’ campaign fundraising is put to halt.

This is reminiscent of retired President Daniel Moi strategy of yester-year where individuals were “forced” and or expected to pay from Sh 5 million to Sh 100, 000, where they raised Sh 100 million. This was because Moi was very unpopular and as such his handlers needed money to buy voters who would otherwise would have voted for the opposition. We have not reached the level of the Western democracies where they need large sums of campaign funds to not necessarily bribe voters but for TV, print media ads, brochures, air travels et al. Even those western democracies they do not select certain individuals for high profile campaign fundraising and if they do so, they don’t charge such exorbitant large sum of dough. For instance, even the US Presidents when they go around the country raising campaign funds either for their own Presidential campaign or for their respective parties’ campaign kitty, attendees pay US$2,500 (Sh17, 000) per plate on lunches and perhaps additional US$ 500 to have one take a picture with the President. They don’t pay US$ 15,000 as is the case in Kenya. You know the funny thing, US is the one of the richest nations and Kenya one of the poorest one, and yet in Kenya ‘political campaign contributors’ are expected (if not pressurized) to come up with more money than their US counterparts.

Kamotho and the assistant Minister for Energy Mwangi Kiunjuri in support of this ‘millionaires’ lunch’ fund raising both cited the record breaking Barrack Obama Presidential campaign where his team raised over US$ 30 million as an example of ‘friends’ are assisting their friend financially to win an election. For the benefit of Kamotho, Kiunjuri and everyone else, the fact of the matter is that Obama fundraising collected close to $ 37 million in personal contributions not from 30 or 300 ‘friends’ but from more than two-hundred and fifty thousand friends, supporters and mostly well wishers in four months and not in a couple of hours. If we want to imitate the Western democracies, then instead of the millionaires’ luncheon, the Kibaki campaign team should organize breakfast and lunches around the country.
They can charge a nominal amount of say between Sh 10 to 15,000 per plate in order to have as many people contribute to the campaign kitty. The campaign breakfasts, lunches and even dinners should not be restricted to the Kibaki campaign. The opposition could do the same on their part. This way, Kibaki supporters or one hand and Opposition supporters on the other hand can be able to come up close and personal to see, meet and mingle with their President and or favoured candidates.
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Ngilu’s woes self created

The masaibu of Health Minister Charity Ngilu run with the law has nothing to do with President Mwai Kibaki. Ngilu or anyone else should desist in dragging the President’s name in her troubles of her own making. Many people are wondering why the President’s name is mentioned in this self debacle. The fact of the matter is that, the Kitui Central MP broke the law by helping a police suspect escape from police custody, period. Unless that is not what happened, that police are just harassing Ngilu, the Health Minister broke the law. It doesn’t matter even if those suspects who were assisted their escape were innocent. It is against the law to aid and abate a suspect to escape. This is something Ngilu knows, I know that and everyone else knows that. The way I see it is that, the Kitui Central MP was seeking political sympathy from the unsuspecting public after realizing what she thought was a courageous act had gone too far. Ngilu and others should heed the Police Commissioner’s free advice when he told Ngilu and her fellow politicians: “I want to advise those seeking votes to campaign in their constituencies and not police stations.

There are no votes there.” Maj-Gen Ali could not have been clearer in his free counsel to the politicians. Ngilu was treated just like any other individual but he theatrics by wanted to create a scene hence the hiring of high profile lawyers, Paul Muite, James Orengo and Tom Ojienda. Why did Ngilu need a battery of high profile lawyers if she knows she was not wrong? When did you see a simple police suspect hiring three lawyers, even before he or she has been charged? Why did Ngilu want to know from whom did the police take their powerful orders from ‘above’ other than from the Head of State? I don’t think President Kibaki is the type of Head of State who would have the time to get involved in such mundane police matters.

I am no fan of the OP, Provincial Administration and National Security Minister John Michuki, but Ngilu was going too far in mentioning names in this matter, the President, the minister et al. Everyone in country knows that Ali is a very independent police chief and no politician, a minister or otherwise would give him orders and (for Ali to agree) to humiliate any politician and above all a serving government minister. If every minister was allowed to behave as they are laws into themselves then that ‘just society’ that Ngilu is claiming to be fighting for will not be attainable.
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Kalonzo’s defection not a storm in a cup of tea

When Kalonzo Musyoka abandoned the Liberal Democratic Party for Labour Party Kenya it was more shocking than the recent tremors that hit parts of Nairobi and the surrounding areas. People have forgotten about the tremble and are now trying to come to terms to what is going on within the Orange Democratic Movement – Kenya, the only party and or coalition that had a shot of unseating Kibaki from the Presidency.

Supporters and foes alike must give it to Musyoka that his boardroom coup in the ODM Kenya was a well orchestrated and choreographed political move. No one expected it, perhaps even Musyoka’s own close political associates. If the associates knew (about it before hand) then they must be credited for maintaining the silence until it actually happened and they pretend they are not aware of it. Let us not forget that in Kenya when a politician makes a political move by say jumping one ship to another, his or her former comrades have a tendency of trying to belittle the act and pretend to ignore it as if it is inconsequential and insignificant. That is even if when it is momentous and significant.

A recent perfect example is when the Transport Minister Chirau Mwakwere led a group of Coast lawmakers and other politicians to defect from NARC Kenya to the Coast based Shirikisho Party. The move was very significant because of the fact that, the Coast people for the first time in their history, have now a party they can associate with and would fight for their rights. But the Matuga MP and his group’s move were disparaged by the likes of Information and Communications Minister Mutahi Kagwe and others in the what is now turning to be a Mount Kenya people’s party who do not know any better. Today Shirikisho under the leadership of Mwakwere and Morris Dzorro is an important player of the bigger picture in the President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election strategy.

If the Mwingi North MP political defection from LDP, of which he was one of the founder members, to the little known LPK was a storm in a cup of tea, then there would never have been a need for a series of meetings by those who believe that the move in insignificant. The true officials of ODM Kenya are unknown and has put the party into question where the court has given it 30 days to put its house in order or face deregistration. Kalonzo’s move was definitely not a storm in a cup of tea but a storm in high seas where it has the potential to wreck an ocean going vessel like the ODM Kenya. The government has nothing to do with the problems facing ODM Kenya and they should leave the government out of their woes.