When President William Ruto and Rigathi Gachagua, then Deputy President enjoyed a cup of tea in the house of Mama Mirriam Njeri in Muranga County after launching the last mile electricity connectivity project. [File, Standard]
Kenya registered yet another low moment on Thursday last week when, in-facto leader of the Opposition, Rigathi Gachagua, came back after more than a month’s sojourn in the US. Chaos erupted along Mombasa Road when Mr Gachagua’s motorcade was teargassed and goons descended on everybody in sight. This culture of political intolerance and thuggery is inexorably being internalised.
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Amid blame and counter-blame, it is difficult to apportion blame. Three schools of thought exist. The first argues that Gachagua is the brains behind the chaos, seeking to paint the government in a bad light.
The second blames the government, largely because police officers passively stood by and watched chaos unfold, but more so because Gachagua has been a thorn in its flesh, and it can’t resist the itch to get even.
The third possibility points at government apologists and opportunists seeking to capitalise on the bad blood between President William Ruto and Gachagua to defend, and win the former’s favour.
And while this is happening, regardless of the truth, Gachagua gets political mileage if only because he comes through as the victim. One wonders, is the use of brawn the only way to deal with Gachagua? The manner in which former South African President Nelson Mandela handled his fiercest critic, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party, could offer lessons to our political elite.
Before and post-independence, Buthelezi, leader of the semi-autonomous KwaZulu enclave under apartheid, was a divisive, contradictory and polarising leader; the very attributes that Gachagua has been accused of.
Buthelezi was afraid of losing the power he enjoyed as South Africa moved towards independence and demanded that the status quo be maintained. However, Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) objected. That infuriated Buthelezi, who triggered violent clashes between IFP and ANC that claimed between 12,000 and 15,000 lives.
Between them, Mandela was the bigger person, with a bigger heart and full of wisdom, who chose the path of reconciliation. In 1994, he formed a government of national unity, brought in opposition parties, and made Buthelezi the Minister for Home Affairs. Mandela’s decision cooled down political temperatures. President William Ruto took similar action by onboarding the Orange Democratic Movement in his Kenya Kwanza government to cool down political tension.
Buthelezi may not have been entirely tamed by the ministerial appointment, but Mandela’s master stroke was delivered in February 1997. To the disbelief of many, including IFP diehards, he appointed Buthelezi Acting South African President for two days while he and his deputy Thabo Mbeki were in Davos, Switzerland, attending the World Economic Forum.
In justifying his decision, Mandela said, “He (Buthelezi) is an able and experienced leader. If it will promote reconciliation, we shall be happy”. Buthelezi’s ego was massaged to no end, and he ceased being a thorn in the flesh of the ANC.
His temporary appointment as president, the first and so far the only from the opposition, was a milestone that not even his inflated ego wanted to soil. Mandela’s action stemmed from the strength of character and wisdom, not weakness. Buthelezi ceased being the irritant; the gadfly everyone wanted swatted.
The South African situation mirrors ours today, but the one-size-fits-all approach is not applicable here. Borrowing from it, however, Ruto could find a way of taming Gachagua and achieving his goal of a united Kenya.
Gachagua gets ammunition from the negativity thrown at him. Remove it, ignore and treat him like he doesn’t exist, and he will gradually run out of barbs and fade out.
Another way to go is to de-campaign him. The tribal tag, for instance, has stuck. It will take forever for Gachagua to change this narrative, whether true or not.
The government must not do anything untoward that will keep Gachagua in the news. You can’t wrestle a pig in the mud. Gachagua was once a District Officer under the old political dispensation; he knows a dirty trick or two.
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When President William Ruto and Rigathi Gachagua, then Deputy President enjoyed a cup of tea in the house of Mama Mirriam Njeri in Muranga County after launching the last mile electricity connectivity project. [File, Standard]
. [File, Standard]
Kenya registered yet another low moment on Thursday last week when, in-facto leader of the Opposition, Rigathi Gachagua, came back after more than a month’s sojourn in the US. Chaos erupted along Mombasa Road when Mr Gachagua’s motorcade was teargassed and goons descended on everybody in sight. This culture of political intolerance and thuggery is inexorably being internalised.
Follow The Standard
channel
on WhatsApp
Amid blame and counter-blame, it is difficult to apportion blame. Three schools of thought exist. The first argues that Gachagua is the brains behind the chaos, seeking to paint the government in a bad light.
The second blames the government, largely because police officers passively stood by and watched chaos unfold, but more so because Gachagua has been a thorn in its flesh, and it can’t resist the itch to get even.
The third possibility points at government apologists and opportunists seeking to capitalise on the bad blood between President William Ruto and Gachagua to defend, and win the former’s favour.
And while this is happening, regardless of the truth, Gachagua gets political mileage if only because he comes through as the victim. One wonders, is the use of brawn the only way to deal with Gachagua? The manner in which former South African President Nelson Mandela handled his fiercest critic, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party, could offer lessons to our political elite.
Before and post-independence, Buthelezi, leader of the semi-autonomous KwaZulu enclave under apartheid, was a divisive, contradictory and polarising leader; the very attributes that Gachagua has been accused of.
Buthelezi was afraid of losing the power he enjoyed as South Africa moved towards independence and demanded that the status quo be maintained. However, Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) objected. That infuriated Buthelezi, who triggered violent clashes between IFP and ANC that claimed between 12,000 and 15,000 lives.
Between them, Mandela was the bigger person, with a bigger heart and full of wisdom, who chose the path of reconciliation. In 1994, he formed a government of national unity, brought in opposition parties, and made Buthelezi the Minister for Home Affairs. Mandela’s decision cooled down political temperatures. President William Ruto took similar action by onboarding the Orange Democratic Movement in his Kenya Kwanza government to cool down political tension.
Buthelezi may not have been entirely tamed by the ministerial appointment, but Mandela’s master stroke was delivered in February 1997. To the disbelief of many, including IFP diehards, he appointed Buthelezi Acting South African President for two days while he and his deputy Thabo Mbeki were in Davos, Switzerland, attending the World Economic Forum.
In justifying his decision, Mandela said, “He (Buthelezi) is an able and experienced leader. If it will promote reconciliation, we shall be happy”. Buthelezi’s ego was massaged to no end, and he ceased being a thorn in the flesh of the ANC.
His temporary appointment as president, the first and so far the only from the opposition, was a milestone that not even his inflated ego wanted to soil. Mandela’s action stemmed from the strength of character and wisdom, not weakness. Buthelezi ceased being the irritant; the gadfly everyone wanted swatted.
The South African situation mirrors ours today, but the one-size-fits-all approach is not applicable here. Borrowing from it, however, Ruto could find a way of taming Gachagua and achieving his goal of a united Kenya.
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Gachagua gets ammunition from the negativity thrown at him. Remove it, ignore and treat him like he doesn’t exist, and he will gradually run out of barbs and fade out.
Another way to go is to de-campaign him. The tribal tag, for instance, has stuck. It will take forever for Gachagua to change this narrative, whether true or not.
The government must not do anything untoward that will keep Gachagua in the news. You can’t wrestle a pig in the mud. Gachagua was once a District Officer under the old political dispensation; he knows a dirty trick or two.
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By Alexander Chagema