A double for Obama but is Kenya ready for its own PK?

This past week Kenya has hogged so many acres of media real estate you would think the rest of East Africa was on holiday. It is such times that you realise Kenya is indeed the big boss in the region. The Kenyans themselves are not shy to remind us of this on several occasions like on Friday when they officially opened the Nairobi-Thika Super highway. This amazing piece of infrastructure comes at a time when Nairobi is still faced with traffic snarl-ups that make people in places like Kigali unable to meaningfully complain about traffic jams.But even before Mwai Kibaki could make his way to the Thika Super highway another Kenyan was earning the country another dose of bragging rights. In case you have not heard, a one Victor Wanyama scored a goal against the mighty Barcelona FC in a Champions’ League game. The football crazy Kenyans now have one of their own they can talk of without having to go on and on about the Rooneys and Robin Van Persies of this world. As a Ugandan I could also add that it is nice to know that as a Kenyan shines for the Scottish team, a one Sserunkuma is the name of everyone’s lips in the Kenyan premier League. Ok I digressed a bit there; let us go back to the Kenyan issues. On the global stage I am sure we all got news of Barack Obama trouncing Mitt Romney. Yes his father was Kenyan and the celebrations in Kogelo must have resulted in several more children being ‘made’ while others were named after him. Obama did not just get four more years, a woman in Kenya gave birth to twins and named one Barack Obama Junior while the other was – unfortunately - named Mitt Romney. Poor Romney may not be happy to grow up and learn he was named after a loser. Meanwhile back in Kenya the election temperature continues to rise and amaze. Some candidates are blaming others for situations they begged for themselves. Yes William Ruto I see you. Others are busy talking of endless alliances and coalitions with “like minded” partners. Makes you wonder why they are keen to make alliances with other politicians instead of selling themselves to the voters. I am also amused by the reloaded shuttle diplomacy that money bags Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto have embarked on in a bid to chase away the ICC shadow that hovers over their heads. Uhuru Kenyatta has already met with Tanzania’s Pres. Jakaya Kikwete, Burundi’s Pres. Pierre Nkurunziza and South Sudan’s Vice President Riek Machar. In all these travels Uhuru and his joined-by-the-hip twin William Ruto have had the leaders echo their message of “Kenyans should be free to make their decisions without foreign interference”. If only they could see the irony of making these pronouncements about Kenya in Dar or Bujumbura. Soon they may be meeting Pres. Kagame and Pres. Museveni. This looks like the closest Kenyan politicians will go as far as a foreign policy is concerned. Unfortunately this is a personal not national policy because the ICC is not interested in Kenya but just four Kenyans.Meanwhile there is a Kenyan presidential aspirant that some have compared to Rwanda Paul Kagame. I swear I am not making this up. I saw on Twitter someone hinting that Kenya needs its own Paul Kagame in the form of Peter Kenneth. The reason behind this comparison is that both of them are relatively young and expected to deliver. Already Kagame’s record in Rwanda speaks for itself and Peter Kenneth has done well with the Constitutional Development Fund money in his Gatanga constituency. Peter Kenneth is considered a new kid on the block when it comes to Kenyan politics unlike most of those in the race that one Kenyan professor prefers to call Moi orphans. In that way he could offer Kenya a new start just like Kagame has done with Rwanda. Peter Kenneth officially launched his presidential vehicle the Kenya National Congress in a colourful ceremony that left many tongues wagging. The party slogan is a youthful slang “Tunawesmake” from the corrupted Swahili otherwise known as Sheng. Apart from the impressive speech by his son, Andrew Kenneth many of us were glad to see a Kenyan politician talking without making any reference to his community, other communities, ICC, or any of the tribal and empty rhetoric that many Kenyan politicians have turned into an art. Oh and by the way, he shares initials with Paul Kagame. Blog: www.ssenyonga.wordpress.comTwitter: @ssojo81