Namibia, Beware of Kenya Politics
DEAR Editor, please allow me space in your esteemed newspaper to air my view in response to the SMS which appeared in The Namibian of Tuesday, 12 March 2013. It went as follows: “Uhuru Kenyatta is the president of Kenya, son of the Founding President. Beware Namibians. Utoni Nujoma may take over as president in 10 years.”
Uhuru Kenyatta has been elected president of Kenya in spite of him being indicted by the ICC [International Criminal Court]. The question that many of us are now asking is: What do we African citizens owe to our presidents who see it fit to groom their own sons to succeed them even when these sons are dull and useless? Do we have to accept anyone to rule us just because he or she is a son or daughter of the former president? I think it is time to stand up to our rulers and say to them enough is enough.
Look at the Democratic Republic of Congo president. He became president of that country by the mere fact that his father, Laurent D Kabila, was assassinated and Joseph Kabila, the son, took over.
Now look at how inefficient and ineffective Joseph Kabila’s leadership is and how it is affecting that country. Uhuru Kenyatta was duly elected president of Kenya and we should congratulate the people of Kenya for conducting fair and peaceful elections this time and we should therefore respect their decision. However, winning elections does not necessarily mean that the winner is always the best person.
Some of us have lived long enough in Kenya understand the politics of that nation, particularly Kikuyu/Luo politics. After the Kenyan elections, Peter Gitau, the Kenyan High Commissioner to Namibia, has urged Kenyan and Namibian institutions to work together in the fields of agriculture and engineering, among others. Kenya in fact has a highly developed economy in East Africa and therefore, our two countries can only benefit from this mutual relationship. However, we Namibians have to be vigilant to avoid being dragged into politics such as those of Kenya.
AKS
By email