Fast tracking the EA Federation is a long shot ( Part 1)

Actualising the much talked about apex of the East African community, what is referred to as the political federation, seems to me to be a very long shot. The talk about having a federation by 2012 is not realistic. Before we talk about politically federating we will require taking stock of where we are, where we have come from in order to inform us about where we need to reach. This is precisely borne of the fact that crafting of a new political dispensation within this region will not be an easy task. Why do I say so? Because the countries that make up the community happen to be those mostly located within the Great Lakes Region of Africa. This region is a very volatile one politically. Our past is greatly troubling to say the least. I will now expose my argument by advancing historical hindsight for each of these countries that make the East African community. I will first of all look at Kenya followed by Uganda. Next I will put Tanzania on the telescope. I will then wrap up by looking at Rwanda and Burundi. Kenya Kenya is in transition. A very chaotic one. Perhaps one person who seemed right in giving Kenyans future food for thought is President Paul Kagame when he last made his visit to Nairobi. Kagame said that Kenyans ought to plan for a Government of National Unity as a constant feature of its national politics in the future. This he said should replace it with the ‘winner takes it all’ political system which is actually the Westminster model Kenyans are used to. This is part of the system bedeviling Kenya. What is now apparent is that the second part of Kenya’s transition backfired badly. It unleashed post election violence. This nearly brought the regional economic system to its knees. Kagame’s advise is actually an indicator of this concern. Commentators say that this reality about crafting a new dispensation for Kenya has not yet dawned upon its political elites. These commentators are quick to point out that Kenya’s political elites interpret power sharing as inappropriate. This is a radical departure from say other EA countries whereby power sharing is informed by a general consensus fed by the basic desire by the political class to thrash out national interests. Prof.Yash Pal Ghai, a constitutional expert, paints a very gloomy picture of Kenya. He talks about the rule of law floundering while human right abuses being rife. Ghai adds that there is actually ‘a political paralysis’ which has in turn bred a failure by public institutions such as security agencies and judiciary to protect citizens. Corruption in Kenya is actually an entrenched industry involving prominent citizens. To quote this eminent scholar ‘Kenya’s sad transition whose main thrust was to offer redresses has been its main predicament. This is the reason Kenyans find themselves in a dire situation’. Making an overhaul of this situation which is so basic to the rule of law is not likely to be an easy undertaking for Kenyans. This is due to the fact that the status quo views constitutional reforms which is the centerpiece of crafting a new dispensation as something going against their interests. There you go. We are only 3 years from 2012.At this rate Kenyans will be expected to fast track its house keeping before talking about fast tracking federation issues. This house keeping is bound to take time…. To be continued…. ojiwah@gmail.com