The Road Ahead For The 4th President of The Republic of Kenya

They said it could not be done. That he needed to deal with the charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) before he could be considered seriously for the position. That Kenya would not elect another Kikuyu so soon after Mwai Kibaki. That wazungus would not condone an Uhuru presidency.

Well, Mr President-elect, you proved them all wrong. And in the first round!

Mr President-Elect

 I must admit that the feeling I got when Uhuru Kenyatta edged closer to victory and was finally declared winner by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was similar to the one I had when Barack Obama became the 44^th President of The United States back in 2008. Only more powerful.

It was a mixture of pride for the success of one of my own - in Obama’s case, the fact that he was African American running against a Caucasian candidate - and a big f*** you to all those who predicted doom if Uhuru was elected.

It was a good feeling, though I was disappointed by all the mean things that were said on social media by supporters of both Uhuru and Raila Odinga in the wake of the declaration by IEBC.

I know that both candidates put up a strong fight in this election, and that Raila has rejected the outcome and is headed to court. But it is time for the rest of us to move on with our lives and put the election behind us.

Candidate Kenyatta made a raft of pledges during the campaign. The Kenyan people will be waiting to see if he comes through on any of them. Failure to which they will call shenanigans on him and cause him to lose his premium on all the goodwill he appears to have collected.

But for me, I think the thing that he has to do before all that, and with speed, is to put in place measures to unite and heal the rift that would threaten to divide this nation. There are millions of Kenyans who voted for Raila and the other six candidates, probably because they did not believe that Uhuru was the best choice for president.

This is the constituency that he needs to address as soon as he is able to. He needs to go to Luo Nyanza, Raila’s largest stronghold, and all the other places in which he performed poorly, and assure them that although they did not vote for him, he has no intention of marginalising them. That his will be an all inclusive government that will treat all Kenyans equally, regardless of their political affiliation.

The President-elect should avoid the mistake of allowing his administration to be hijacked by tribal cabals, in his case the Kikuyu and Kalenjin “mafia”. President Kibaki lost much of the goodwill he got from Kenyans in the first year of his presidency for this exact reason. Kenya belongs to 42 tribes, and not just the two that feel they won the election.

I have a great deal of admiration for Deputy President-elect William Ruto. He came from nothing to the second highest office in the land. His stratospheric rise is dizzying, and when the reality of his situation finally hit him yesterday in church, he bawled like a baby. That made for good TV, and I am sure his popularity ratings among women must have gone up.

He is an intelligent man, and he works hard. He will be an important resource for President Kenyatta. He is also extremely ambitious, and my worry is whether he can contain his ambitions for ten years. I pray that he can. Any power plays within the Jubilee government will have negative consequences for their agenda, and that cannot be good for the country.

"Do we rock or what?"

  
The president will need to keep a tight leash on his team and maintain a strong and mature level of discipline if he is to get the job done. We have had too many years of political interference in government operations, and it is time to put aside the politics and get down to work.

The ICC issue, sadly, will not go away any time soon. I am not a political analyst, and neither am I in the President-elect’s inner circle. So I have no way of knowing how he intends to handle that matter in relation to his duties as president. But I am sure that he will do everything within his power to make sure that the job for which he applied, and which has been given to him, shall not suffer on account of his “personal problems”. I have faith in him.

Western governments are not happy with Uhuru’s victory. This is evident in the congratulatory messages they sent to Kenya, in which they avoided any reference to the President-elect and his team. Who do they think the people voted for? Stones?

Anyway, barring any surprises from the Supreme Court, Uhuru Kenyatta will be President of The Republic of Kenya for the next five years, and they will just have to find a way to live with that fact. I, for one, cannot stand the way that they treat us in a condescending manner.

I liked how Uhuru, in his victory speech, asked the international community to “... respect our sovereignty and the democratic will of the people of Kenya.” That is how it should be.

In this, the 50^th year of Kenya’s independence from British colonialists, we refuse to be talked down to like errant children by the West. And while we appreciate that we are, and shall continue to be part of the international community of nations, both economically and politically, I expect my president to make it clear to the West that Kenya shall never bow down to intimidations and blackmail. In no uncertain terms. Because we have balls of brass.

Enough said.

Congratulations, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta on your election as the 4^th President of The Republic of Kenya, and I wish you well in your new job.

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Can somebody on the President-elect’s staff get him a large supply of eye drops for his eyes?

We do not want to fuel any rumours about excessive indulgence in certain recreational habits.