Kenya witnessed arguably its toughest and most inspiring moment in recent history towards the end of June.
Toughest because of the enduring pain of watching the needless loss of lives, injuries, and blatant abductions, all almost entirely attributable to the state.
Inspiring because of an uplifting revival of hope from an unlikely quarter and in an even more unlikely manifestation.
Recently, Kenya was engulfed in a cloud of despair and hopelessness, with Kenyans drifting into debilitating apathy in the face of crippling extraction from the Kenya Kwanza administration.
The situation emboldened the government, knowing that the response from Kenyans would be no more than momentary reaction and objection, followed by ‘accepting and moving on.’ Except it was not to be this time around.
The publication of the Finance Bill 2024 would trigger much more than just the customary momentary objection.
What began as a strong online protest, even arrogantly dismissed by some government officials, morphed into a powerful offline movement, the like of which has not been witnessed in a long time. Largely led by the youth, popularly known as Gen Z, the movement shook the government out of its comforting arrogance and complacency.
Walls hitherto considered impregnable were brought down. Nothing ever prepared the nation for the sight of Parliament being occupied, with MPs scampering for safety.
President William Ruto acceded to the protestors’ demand and declined to ascent to the Finance Bill. Vacillating between ‘retaliation’ and ‘conciliation’, the President promised to have a dialogue with the youth.
To that end, he proposed the establishment of the National Multi-Sectoral Forum (NMSF), bringing together representatives from various interests; youth, civil society, faith groups, professional bodies, academia, private sector, Parliament, governors, among others. The set-up is however replete with flaws from the word go.
Firstly, the foundation has been unilaterally laid, with the President deciding on his own what format the consultation should take, who (and how many) to participate, and issues to be discussed. Ironically, executive unilateralism is at the heart of the very problem he is seeking to address.
The know-it-all attitude and failure to consult is a visible ingredient to the current chaotic recipe. Such a foundation offers nothing more than a fleeting guarantee and is less likely to deliver the desired result.
Secondly, the proposed structure lacks any legislative or regulatory framework to entrench its existence and purpose. The absence of a grounding framework renders it more like the President’s advisory body, just adding to a list of existing advisory entities already in place and whose impact is yet to be felt by the public.
Kenya’s history is awash with stinging memories of entities set up to serve at the discretion of the sitting president. The fate of the NMSF will be no different, that is, if it picks.
Parliament is one of the identified participants in the Forum; both the Majority and Minority sides. They must follow the President’s instructions like everybody else on the list, including the number of representatives they should nominate. The President seems to be far from internalizing the full import of our institutional independence.
Parliament cannot, and should not, be part of the charade. It must seize the latest crisis, one it has immensely contributed to, to finally free itself from the executive’s stranglehold. There is no denying the fact that Parliament’s subservience is to blame.
The problems afflicting the country are well known and do not need any hard thinking, let alone adding to the endless list of dedicated task forces and commissions. Corruption, wastage, bloated public service, incompetent cabinet, institutional failure.
What the President needs is to act decisively in addressing these problems. Anything else is window dressing that will do little, if any, to restore public faith in his floundering administration.
