GOOD PEOPLE CHANGE WHEN THEY BEOCME PRESIDENT

I cannot quite remember how old I was when it happened (but I was not yet 7). And yet the memory is still to vivid on my mind. Very telling because I have forgotten so many other things from my childhood but this little incident

My dad had come from work at the end of a long hard day and was changing from his imposing police uniform to casual wear so that he could go our for his usual drink. I questioned him persistenaly over something that had been disturbing me for a number of days.

I wanted to know how many steps he was in the hierarchy away from the presidency. He tried to explain that the president was not a policeman (he was an assistant commissioner of police than) but I insisted that he give me a number which he finally did.

Many years later I learnt that the number took into account the parliamentarians and the policemen above him in rank but was given more out of desperation so that I give him peace. It was the kind of answer that you give a child when the question they ask is too complex for their young immature minds to grasp.

Still the point is, like many Kenyans even at 7 years old I was awe-struck by the Kenyan presidency. I had watched many times on TV as the president arrived for various functions. Complete with a motorcade with numerous motorcycles and vehicles. I watched as the military parade stood to attention and the smart respectful salutes. Even as a naïve youngster it blew my mind away. There and then I decided that I wanted my dad to be president of Kenya and then I would take over a president myself from him when I grew up.

Although the presidency was has always been an elective office at the beginning, many African presidents modeled it after royalty in a kingdom and did everything to surround the office with mystique and grandeur. As well as spilling plenty of blood to ensure that they remained in office until death snatched them away. They succeeded big time and quickly became life presidents and gods who straddled the entire way of life of their countries.  To this day too many Kenyans still look at the office of the president with awe and will be quick to remind you that not anybody can be president. If the second coming were to happen today it would be found that most Kenyans fear the presidency more than they fear their creator God almighty. Very sad but true. as a result numerous things remain hidden about the presidency past and present.

In writing this book I hope to begin a journey of discovery for Kenyans. More so in discovery how we have suffered and been help in bondage by some mystique created for mostly selfish reasons.

I have been to state House Nairobi: Once. It is such an anticlimax this revered house on the hill. The sacrifices, the murders, the killings and all the crazy things Kenyans have done in the name of wanting to live at his address (or remain there definitely); you would have thought that it would be a much grander place than what you end up seeing. Alas the red carpet is clean and well maintained but it is rather old. In fact the whole place looks like it needs an interior designer badly.

In the 46 years that Kenya has been independent only three men have called this place their official residence and held the office of president of the republic of Kenya. Johnstone Kamau (aka Jomo Kenyatta) for 15years, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi for 24 years and the rest of the years to date, Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki. Interestingly whatever happens Kibaki will be the man who has occupied that office for the shortest time and yet history will record that his presidency has caused the most damage. His supporters will be quick to argue that Kibaki was only a victim in that he bore the brunt of all the cumulative evils of the presidency before him that boiled over during his watch. Others including this writer will think otherwise.

But even more fascinating is the fact that these three men have all been very ordinary simple very different shortly after taking office. Kenyatta was a humble teetotaler after publicly promising church elders in the 1920s that he would never touch alcohol again in his life. 30 years later there was evidence that Kenyatta not only kept his vow to the church but detested alcohol and strongly believed that the drinking of beer was hindering the coming of Uhuru. Moi grew up wlaing extremely long distances to school and developed into a strong patient and tolerant man could forgive almost anything.

Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki was a staunch catholic and brilliant economist who attracted the attention of the young Kanu party because of his educational background at a time when it was very rare for an African to have a high school education let alone be a university lecturer. This prompted Tom Mboya to drive from Nairobi all the way to Makere University in Kampala, Uganda in an air cooled VW bettle to persuade Kibaki that his country needed him more than Makerere University did. Mboya is said to have come back with Kibaki in VW. Always the reluctant politicians and determined to retain his dignity and stick to his principles, Kibaki became a very different person when he entered state house. Kenyans got a glimpse of his other side when the post election crisis of December 2007 and January 2008 unfolded. A friend of mine was so shocked that he just kept on muttering under his breath... .This is not Kibaki, this is not kibaki, over and over again.

In this book we shall try to understand these three men intimately and the magical transformations they underwent better. Because in understanding this we will understand our beloved country and the institution of the presidency completely. Trust me on that and hold me to account for it when we finish our journey right at the end of this book. We shall dig into the true characters of these men and reveal many never told before secrets in their lives.

This book is deliberately written to be a quick entertaining read. it is my hope that this will provoke huge readership amongst Kenyans and get all of us thinking very deeply, more so as we prepare to usher in a new constitution which despite our best efforts still has a powerful presidency. It is my sincere prayer that later somebody will be inspired by my work to do a much more detailed thesis.