At 52, Moses Wetangula cannot be described as an “aging old man”. He is not in the category of Septuagenarians like the Chief thief, Mr. Mwai Kibaki or Rattle Snake John Michuki who is soon turning 77. Wetangula belongs to the “younger generation” of Kenyan Lawyers who left private practice to venture into politics in order to move Kenya forward.
Today, Wetangula has become the “Toilet Paper” of PNU being used to wipe out PNU dirt and everybody knows where toilet papers end. He has not learnt from Musikari Kombo, a fellow tribesman who was brought on board to join PNU toadies in the run up to elections but who now finds himself in the political cold after suffering a defeat at the Constituency level. Kombo was the Chairman of a formidable Party, FORD-Kenya but the last time he opened his mouth, he was complaining about a PNU conspiracy to ensure that he is not nominated back to Parliament after he lost elections.
One could have expected Wetangula to know better. He is heading the prestigious Ministry of Foreign Affairs and because of his legal background, PNU has accorded him the privilege of being part of the Party’s mediation team. The irony is that Wetangula sits on the negotiation table with members of ODM and after they have agreed on issues, he goes out as Foreign Affairs Minister to contradict positions agreed upon at the Annan talks.
The thrust of the talks is based on the need for a political solution but when Wetangula went out to feed the media, his key assertion was that any agreement must be in line with the current Constitution. This is the new song “topping the charts” at PNU headquarters. Don’t worry that the same Wetangula is part of an agreement that the Constitution will have to be amended through Parliament to accommodate provisions in the Peace agreement.
Wetangula has not learnt from history. The late Dr. Robert Ouko was Moi’s Foreign Affairs Minister who used to clean the government’s Human rights mess but this did not prevent Moi from sending him to an early grave when he was perceived as a threat.
If learned and well informed members of PNU like Wetangula and Martha Karua cannot guide the Party’s leadership to understand the complexity of the current crisis in Kenya, then who will do it?
When you sing it to the ears, it could be sweet for PNU supporters to hear the likes of Wetangula blabber that foreigners should not interfere in Kenya’s affairs; no gun should be held on anybody’s head; Kenya is not a colony; the United States is not heaven; Ambassadors are junior officers of their governments; diplomatic etiquette should be respected; Any agreement should be in line with the Constitution; the crisis in Kenya needs a Kenyan solution and other bromides that are increasingly becoming popular within the ranks of PNU apparatchik’s.
The risk now is that through their pallid outbursts, Wetangula and company are sending signals that PNU is not interested in resolving the crisis in Kenya because their agenda is to maintain power after the Party used the state apparatus to rig elections.
If Wetangula’s memory is too short, Raphael Tuju was the other day occupying his current seat. Although he is a trained journalist, Tuju used all kinds of sophistry to defend an indefensible government but today, he is gone after being thrown out by the people. Many journalists held their hands on their mouths in jaw-dropping disbelief when Tuju was brought in to defend acts of corruption by Kibaki’s government.
Kenya is in serious problem and if a person of Wetangula’s caliber cannot drive some sense in the heads of his bosses or give direction to PNU at such a critical time in the history of our country Kenya, then Kenyans should only hope that the situation will have to get worse before it gets better.
Lawyers of repute must today be holding their hands on their mouths at the sight of Wetangula contributing heavily on PNU’s foot-dragging at the talks when the prospect of fresh blood bath and protracted civil war is facing the country if the Annan talks fail.
Wetangula seem to have adopted the “politics of the stomach” and in the process, he has lost his sense of reason and “intellectual responsibility”. He should have been calling for order within the ranks of Kikuyu ruling class bent on destroying the country because of unrealistic power ambitions. Wetangula has entered the scene with fervor but at the end of the day, he might emerge as PNU’s ultimate toilet paper in the middle of a deep crisis that has confounded the Kenyan nation.
Okoth Osewe
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