Kenya becoming another Burundi?

As in Burundi, the judiciary became dysfuntional and under the control of the ruling party barons. In Kenya, the Supreme Court and the judiciary are no longer trusted intitutions

T he fight over Kenya’s soul is well under way. The proverbial cross roads are staring starkly at Kenya. Which road Kenya chooses could lead to revival and transformation or ruin and disintegration.

As in Burundi recently, the beckoning elections in Kenya are shrouded in controversy and exemplified by lack of confidence in the electoral process and its ability to deliver a free, fair, credible and peaceful poll.

Like Burundi, Kenya is characterised by an incumbent regime determined to retain power by any means, shrink the democratic space, undermine human rights and even unravel the very foundation of a very shaky nationhood stalked by ethnic chauvinism.

Just as Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza and his band of friends were willing to tear up the tenuous compact fashioned in Arusha to heal Burundi, so is President Uhuru in cahoots with those who were against the 2010 constitution willing to suffocate the possibility of a new constitutional order in Kenya.

As in Burundi, the lead-up to the next election is characterised by popular mass demonstration against a lopsided electoral contest that is wholly controlled by those in power. The peaceful demonstrations in Bujumbura were met with violent security crackdowns and persecution of opposition politicians and civil society.

In Burundi, the minister in charge of internal security, a retired army general, and the police boss could suspend sections of the Burundi constitution, banning citizens’ rights with an off-the-cuff declaration in a press briefing. So is the Kenyan retired army general reading from the same script?

As in Burundi, the Judiciary became completely dysfunctional and under the thorough control of the ruling party power barons. In Kenya, the Supreme Court and the judiciary generally deteriorated from an emerging trusted institution before the presidential petition in 2013 to a discredited marketplace of rent seekers and ethnic chauvinists. Both in Burundi and in Kenya, the judiciary is no longer a place to seek just resolution of conflict.

As in Burundi, the Kenyan electoral management body is a discredited and distrusted institution.

In Burundi, the independent electoral commission had the firm support and protection of the ruling party and the police. It had the confidence and unreserved backing of the supporters of the president and no one else. In Kenya, this similarity is there for everyone to see: In both countries the arrogance of the commissioners was also noteworthy.

As in Burundi as time went by, the media became complicit in its reporting or faced the risk of the wrath of those in power, including persecution, prosecution, denial of advertisement and other forms of economic sabotage, suspension of licenses and even complete shutdown.

Anti-media laws and administrative actions were unleashed on the media sector in a no-holds-barred fashion.

Honest journalists become an endangered species; Many faced violent attacks, incarceration or were forced to flee the country.

As in Burundi, the Kenyan ruling coalition is demonstrating intransigence.

that. is characterized by hawkish behavior, use of threatening language and a culture of impunity. The use of threatening and violent coded language and posture is setting the stage under which the next elections will be held.

The whipping of ethnic tensions and creation of siege mentality among their supporters is following the slippery slope of the Burundian hardliners.

Like in Burundi, the Kenyan ruling coalition is exploiting lack of unity among the religious leaders in the nation. The use of “gifts and favors” and other worldly considerations have silenced many would be voices of reason among the clergy. Worse still, the manipulating of ethnic sensibilities in place of heavenly commandments is irreparably damaging the credibility of religious institutions.

Like in Burundi, despite the tall-tale signs that the coming elections are going to lack credibility and may very well be disputed and could lead to violence, the region and the international community voices are silent or muzzled. The warning signs towards the 2007 elections were ignored or down played and of course the consequences were catastrophic.

What is the cost going to be for disputed elections in Kenya? Is it going to be a peaceful “reke Tumwano” as Dr. David Ndii postulated recently or is it going to be something more ominous?

As in burundi the lead-up to the next election is characterised by mass demostrations