Yes, We Can!
None will forget the success story behind this short sentence nine years ago. The campaign that started in Illinois, USA when the junior US senator Barack Obama announced he was running for presidency, ended up bringing to the White House the first African American President in the American history.
The real lesson from this slogan is that nothing is impossible, nothing is set up to last forever. Anything can change if efforts and strength are invested. From the African perspective, we were skeptical to seeing American electing a black president. Afterward, it happened, Obama was elected. The doubt, fear, and resilience were not enough to stop the energy that was propelling the young candidate. Yes, he did it.
In 2007 Kenya, one of the young multiparty democracy and stable countries in Africa, went through political turmoil due to election contests. The controversial victory of Mwai Kibaki over Raila Odinga plunged the country into a bloodshed that left more than 1000 dead and half a million internally displaced, and a country divided on a tribal line basis. The relative stability and peace preserved so far since the independence unveiled its unseen fragilities lying underneath for years, and potentially explosive for the country.
In 2013 progress was made showing that many issues have been addressed from the 2007 experience. Although Raila Odinga did not accept the results, the Supreme Court declared Uhuru Kenyatta President elected and confirmed that the elections were credible, fair, and free. That time, frustrations ended up in lower number of deaths
The 2017 elections are the most interesting both for the country itself and the continent. On August 7, the former US president Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan, called for consensus and acceptance of results. On the day of results proclamation, we all held our breath! Knowing what happened in 2007 and 2013, the uncertainty was real to what could be the outcome. After the announcement of Uhuru Kenyatta reelection by the IEBC, Odinga rejected the results, calmed his supporters, and promised to use legal ways to contest them, arguing that they were hacked. On September 1, the Supreme Court nullified the election results, and three days later announced a new date for a new presidential election. The very first time in Africa. Here is our takeaway.
First, for every election in Africa, the international community sends independent observers who serve as witnesses and give their point of view on how was the election process. In the Kenyan case, the observers said that the process was fair and there was nothing to complain about. That said, if the Supreme Court had found good reasons to invalidate the results of the elections, it means me that the entire process has failed and the observers have failed as well. We really don’t need them. They have shown their limits. The civilian society and political parties are mature enough to serve as election witnesses. By the way, there have never been African observers in Europe or America even though their elections have some issues as well.
Second, Kenyan politicians and justice system have shown maturity. They have learned from the past and decided to act otherwise to preserve peace, unity, and the benefits stability. As George Santayana once said, “those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” While Odinga was holding his supporters from unrests on streets, the president Kenyatta was deceptively accepting the supreme court’s decision. At the end of the day, the winner is not Odinga, nor Kenyatta. The real winner is the people who have been given a second chance to truly express their voices. The winner is the people who, thanks to the wise Supreme Court’s decision, have been protected from potential unrest, riots, and bloodshed. The winner is the Kenyan people who, proudly, can rely on their justice system.
Finally, Kenya has taken a leading step in showing the real meaning of separation of powers on the continent. For now, we understand that it is possible to have an independent judiciary system working in symbiosis with the executive and the legislature for the benefit of the citizens. There have been so many postelection issues in Africa. And in so many cases, the justice has always been with those already in power, assuming directly its dependence. But for now, Kenya has tried and shown that it is possible for justice to remain independent and play a fair game. Yes, even in African we can have an independent and reliable justice.
What comes next after October the 26th is up to Kenyans to show their maturity once again. The world is watching!
A Strange and Charming Land 