By Alexander Kimanthi
In the dignified milieu of public service, where words ought to be weighed with the gravity of their consequences, a disturbing dissonance has emerged from Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga. His can only be described as a lamentable departure from decency for unleashing such a torrent of reckless words concerning the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Let us be unequivocal. Governor Kahiga’s conduct is a profound betrayal of the statesmanship demanded of a man in his office. No wonder he has rightly provoked such a tide of national disgust.
The passing of a figure of such monumental stature as Raila Odinga necessitated a period of national reflection and a collective pause where political rivalries, by unspoken national consensus, are set aside. Kenyans have lately been through a moment that has revealed their capacity for unity and their inherent sense of self-honour ably rising above the fray.
However, while the nation mourned the passing of Raila with dignified sorrow, Governor Kahiga chose to desecrate this sacred space with hopelessly inflammatory and ill-considered rhetoric. To engage in such posthumous character assassination is to spit despicable phlegm upon the very notion of national unity and to disrespect the millions who held the former Prime Minister in high esteem.
One must question the motive behind such a gratuitous offensive. Is it a desperate and flailing attempt to seize the limelight or perhaps a desperate bid to inject one’s name into the national conversation by any means necessary, however sordid?
Or is it a more calculated, though no less contemptible, ploy to stoke the very embers of divisive politics that the nation has so recently and admirably sought to dampen? Whatever the rationale, the outcome is an unhygienic and a shameless exploitation of a moment of collective vulnerability for what appears to be clamour for cheap political gain. Indeed, Kahiga’s was the very antithesis of leadership if at all!
The office of a governor is not a bully’s pulpit. Ideally, it should be a sacred platform from which to build, to heal, and to unite people. Governor Kahiga’s remarks represent a gross abdication of this responsibility. He seems to labour under the misapprehension that political strength is demonstrated through vitriol and verbal belligerence.
Kahiga is profoundly mistaken. True strength lies in restraint, in wisdom, and in the magnanimity to acknowledge the legacy of an adversary with respect, even in disagreement. His actions betray a startling paucity of character and a fundamental lack of judgement that calls into question his very fitness for the office he occupies.
Furthermore, Kahiga’s words are an affront to the memory of the late Prime Minister and the Odinga family, who are at the moment enduring a period of grief. To subject a bereaved family to such a venomous broadside is an act of profound cruelty that should be condemned by all codes of human decency. There is a line that civilised society does not cross, a boundary of respect for the departed and compassion for the living. Unfortunately, Governor Kahiga has crossed that line with flagrant disregard for common decency.
Kahiga’s recent episode serves as a reminder of a persistent malaise in our body politic. It questions why political relevance should be won through noise and nastiness.
The people of Kenya have demonstrated in recent days that they are weary of Kahiga’s type of tired script of perpetual verbal tirade. They have shown a readiness to claim a national soul defined by shared purpose, not by the bitter divisions peddled by political rubble-rousers. Kenyans look to their leaders for elevation, not degradation. In Kahiga’s reckless diatribe, he has positioned himself as a relic of a less enlightened age mired in the din of petty squabbles and toxic rhetoric that the nation is increasingly leaving behind.
Therefore, we say to Governor Kahiga, in the clearest possible terms that he is awfully offline. He has offended the memory of a national figure, disrespected a grieving family, and brought his station in society into disrepute. His words have advanced a yawning deficit of the wisdom and restraint required of a person of his kind of office.
The people of Nyeri, and indeed all Kenyans of goodwill, deserve far better. Governor Kahiga must learn to temper his tongue with the discretion his station demands.
Kimanthi is a Nairobi-based teacher turned businessman
