The beauty of building strong institutions

Everyone has said it, and we shall repeat: that no amount of right can justify the taking of a life. That is why most of the world has shunned hanging even convicted multiple murderers – because many agree that we are not God to take a life we did not give in the first place. What is happening to our biggest economy in the just widened partnership of East African states is appalling, and all manner of voices need to be brought into play to help return the warring parties to normalcy. There have been differing opinions as to who is to blame for the conflagration that has consumed Kenya in the last few days – as there should be depending on which side the wind blows. But all this is merely academic. There should be no shying away from the fact that blame for the chaos that has seen hundreds killed and many more cowering elsewhere in fear for their lives, should be put squarely on the shoulders of the electoral commission. It is outrightly unacceptable that the chairman of an independent commission can stand squarely and tell the nation – nay, the world – that he announced unsubstantiated poll results because there was a lot of pressure from some powerful individuals. And that is where strong institutions can help to chart a nation’s direction, because of not getting easily swayed by threats or bribes from any government body or official. We cannot influence events in another nation, but we can take serious lessons from there and profit by them. Let the parliament, the judiciary, the IGG, and all those other watchdogs be empowered enough to give independent judgements, without undue influence. And this is not to say we are doing badly. Rwanda is praised for being a disciplined nation simply because its leaders are disciplined enough never to interfere with the work of the institutions they are building. That is why generals can be arrested and charged, millionaires questioned, and prominent politicians probed over Genocide ideology or even crimes – all this without impunity. Following due processes as they are supposed to be followed should become a habit. The electoral commission chairman in Kenya should have resigned in honour rather than subject his country to the chaos it is going through now. Ends