YVONNE'S TAKE: The shoe is on the other foot

If it is one thing we have seen in this country, it is that an electioneering period can seem like the end of the world. That is if the statements and positions of the politicians is anything to go by.

These politicians adopt an apocalyptic approach to every fight and every issue. Arguments are made as if there is no tomorrow. Every fight is a world war. A scorched earth policy is adopted, annihilate everything and everyone in your way. In the course of that, even reason and common sense is annihilated.

But time has shown us that there is always tomorrow and that it can really be embarrassing, at least for the politicians. What was right in 2007, was wrong in 2013, and what was wrong then was right in 2017. What was right in 2017….you catch my drift.

Sample the latest debate on the role of Cabinet Secretaries in engaging in political campaigns. On this, it would seem, the tables have turned. The Kenya Kwanza team has raised issue with members of cabinet openly campaigning for their opponents. They claim that it is against the law and have even lodged a complaint with the electoral management body.

Well, in 2017, when the very same cabinet secretaries took part in the campaigns, this time for them, it was those in the ODM brigade waving the red flag. And seeing as the shoe is on the other foot this time around, there is not one word of condemnation from the Azimio brigade, the beneficiaries of today.

You see this is because in this country, where you stand, depends on where you sit. Something is only wrong, when it is not being done in your favour. And this is not the first time we are seeing politicians flip flopping on issues.

In 2019, MPs allied to Deputy President William Ruto had their security withdrawn, at the time the police spokesman termed it ‘reorganisation of police services personnel’. Around this time, these MPs were on the leeward side of the March 2018 handshake. Those in the handshake were silent.

However, in 2017, when security detail attached to the then NASA leaders was withdrawn on the eve of their protests against the IEBC, those in Jubilee were equally mum. In all these instances, it would seem that when one is enjoying proximity to power and all that it brings, then they are comfortable and happy as larks and seem blind to what they might otherwise term an injustice. 

So, I have a few questions. Was it right for Cabinet Secretaries to campaign for President Uhuru and his running mate in 2017, and is it wrong for them to campaign for the Azimio candidate in 2022? Was it wrong for NASA leaders to have their security withdrawn in 2017 and right when it was withdrawn from what were then known as the Tangatanga MPs?

Should the Kenya Kwanza team have raised issues with cabinet members campaigning for them in 2017? Should the Azimio team now reject the support from cabinet members in 2022, now that it is in their favour? What is right and what is wrong? Or does that depend on where your allegiances lie at that particular point in time?

It would seem that the current victims cheered when it happened to their opponents back then. And going by what we have seen, the current victors, could end up being the victims in 2027. What is good today, could end up being ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘immoral’ in the next 5 years, and vice versa.

Let me end by quoting from 2 great human beings. Martin Luther King talked of injustice anywhere, being a threat to justice everywhere. Everyone must learn to condemn that which is wrong or unjust, regardless of political inclination or any other persuasion. You never know when it will be your turn, for when government goes rogue, it is only a matter of time before it literally eats even its own children.

For like the great American moral and political philosopher John Rawls once said, “When contemplating a moral action, imagine that you do not know if you will be the moral doer or receiver and when in doubt err on the side of the other person”.