Pundit
The president of Kenya is a powerful man. It has always been like that and remains so despite the 2010 Constitution.
There is another constant: Presidents have from time time thrown about their powers and in countless instances embarked on a vindictive journey against a citizen. The methods used have varied and in fact have been reduced over the years. That is the point of departure.
Moi and Kenyatta had unlimited options. Kibaki inherited some but soon found them useless. He tried them in 2007 and almost lost the country. He was ready to surrender the useless powers in 2010.
In come Uhuru and he still believes he has the powers Moi and his Father Jomo had. He has not bothered to check if the guns he found can still fire or if the gunpowder has not been contaminated. He just believes he has the power and has been increasing brandishing the image of those powers.
Let's see, he has various options:
1. Scientific Exorcism*: He can order Joho EJK'd. In that event the least he can get is a kiss to all the votes in the Coast. At worst, he would face what Kibaki faced when his people were forced to return "home" in Nyeri, Murang'a etc and started eyeing the land that was once theirs and for which they got no compensation when it was seized. It could spread throughout the country. Right now Uhuru is deeply resented around the country outside Central (don't believe the so called "polls"). It's like a Gas Tanker that is leaking super petrol waiting for a lazy, drunken and careless AP to light a cigarette.
2. Administrative Tyranny: He can use the powers of his government to make life difficult for Joho. We already have the Police, The Provincial Admin.; The KRA, KPA, etc all working in tandem to get one man. Again this is an old weapon that has not been regularly fired. In the days of Moi, Joho would be on his knees begging. In fact you would only hear of it perhaps three years after fact. Now Grifters know that their career comes to an end when they appear in the media complete with mug photos, aliases and residences. Already the story is in the media. As Mike Cain (playing the wealthy big time grifter in
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) says of Steve Martin (acting the hand to mouth conman) when it is claimed that he was the best scammer in Europe:
How good can he possibly be when he is in the newspapers?.
Even Moi had to eventually give up this. MoonKi would understand when I make reference to the Deadly weapon that one finds in Gulliver's Travels. It can be used to great destruction. It's a mass of land floating above and if it comes down would cause massive damage. But there is a caveat:
Use it at your own peril!. In the end he had to let Matiba ruin his own hotels and businesses campaigning. S. K. Macharia btw is quite an experienced man when it comes to political persecution of his business. Ask him about Madhupaper etc. Here is what I found :
In 1979, Macharia left the Public Service to run Madhupaper International Kenya Limited, a tissue production company he had started three years earlier. By 1985, Madhupaper had 300 employees and its main product Rosy was becoming a household brand. Madhupaper was the only tissue manufacturer in Kenya at the time. On 25 October 1985, Kenya Commercial Bank placed Madhupaper under receivership in what Macharia believes was political persecution by the Moi government.[7][8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Kamau_Macharia
3. Legal Jungle: He could inflict some damage using the courts. It is the same courts that will also provide relief to Joho. The DPP as he nears the end of his tenure and looks beyond the horizon for international jobs has become less useful as we saw with the Ouko Persecution. He not only refused to prefer kangaroo charges on Ouko but he went public to reveal the intrigue.
I am not sure what the purpose of the freezing of bank accounts is. It will probably paralyze legitimate business. Uhuru has to ask himself if he banks all the money he dishes out to politicians. If the answer is yes, then he should know he is back in the US or has migrated to Europe having left Kenya a long time ago. In the end the taxpayer will foot the bill of this mischief and Joho will have lost no sweat.
Pundit, the bottom line is that both Uhuru and Joho are racing for August 8. Whoever between them is NOT smiling on 9th or 10th will find his knees and lower them to the ground.
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*Scientific Exorcism = Assassination (Soyinka)
