Kenya Stockholm Blog

After the departure of former Central Bank Governor Professor Njuguna Ndungu (a Kikuyu) last month,  Uhuru Kenyatta may not have surprised Kenyans with his new choice of governor – another Kikuyu. He has forwarded to Parliament the name of Dr. Patrick Ngugi Njoroge, an IMF advisor, as the proposed next Governor of The Central Bank.

The move is yet another clear indication that the President is determined to continue perpetuating the “House of Mumbi doctrine” in government appointments which dictates that in any key government institution that matter in the wielding of power, the policy must remain “Kikuyu come Kikuyu go”.

If the proposal is approved by Parliament, Njoroge is likely to continue with the corrupt policies of Ndungu and, by extension, protect and cover up his predecessor’s economic crimes at the Central Bank of Kenya. These crimes have been well documented in Reports gathering dust on the shelves.

For Uhuru, there is no one in Kenya outside the Kikuyu community who can run the Central Bank. The president continues to maintain this position despite having campaigned on a platform of fighting tribalism. That was before the very Kikuyu ruling class that was running the government under Mwai Kibaki rigged elections in 2013 to install Uhuru as President.

Most likely, the appointment will add even more anger within members of the 41 tribes who continue to put up with political marginalization, corruption in government and looting of the economy following one election rigging after another.

The lamentable aspect of this latest move by Uhuru is that even after having entered into a Coalition government with URP headed by ICC suspect William Ruto, the President does not think that there is a Kalenjin fit enough to run the Central Bank. Despite a 50-50 power sharing deal between Ruto’s URP and Uhuru’s TNA, the Kalenjin have been short-changed since day one. In fact, the best Uhuru could have done to hood-wink the Kalenjin and to reduce URP grumbles could have been to appoint a Kalenjin to head the Bank following the departure of the scandal ridden Professor Ndungu.

Kalenjins looking back in Nostalgia
For now, the Kalenjin will have to continue playing the role of political spectators on the sidelines and may be, learn one key lesson from the bitter experience – that the Kikuyu ruling class will never share real power with members of any other ethnic ruling class even after joint campaigns, joint election rigging and pompous signing of political deals.

Kalenjins can only look back with nostalgia at the days when the Central Bank was being looted under the governorship of Eric Kotut, a Kalenjin (1988-1993) before Micah Cheserem, another Kalenjin, took over (1993-2001) to perpetuate “eating” by the “Kabarak Syndicate”. These were the good days when the Kalenjins were “eating” under former dictator Daniel arap Moi’s tutelage but as soon as the Kikuyu returned after rigging two consecutive elections in 2007 and 2013, the Kikuyu ruling class is back on the “eating table” as millions of starving Kikuyus cheer them from the rural villages and city slums.

In terms of  “eating”, the Central Bank is “the mouth” through which Kenya’s resources enter the “national digestive system”. By installing a Kikuyu at the gate of the Bank, Uhuru Kenyatta and the cackle of blood-thirsty hyenas surrounding the high table, can be sure that their pot-belies will not be losing weight even with an impending change of guard at the Central Bank.

The only known alternative to tribalism (in government or society) is class politics. However, the capitalist ruling class cannot take up this alternative because this thieving class of wealth grabbers uses tribalism to divide the oppressed classes in society in order to rule them.

Although it is the Kikuyu ruling class wielding real power with Uhuru as the figure head, the poor Kikuyu worker or pauper has been made to believe (through organized media propaganda) that every Kikuyu is in power and that Kenya belongs to the Kikuyu. This is the twisted logic that informs the impending appointment of another Kikuyu to head the Central Bank.

Okoth Osewe