Following my penning a recent column Martha Karua Tosha for Raila’s Running Mate, I received some interesting comments and feedback from readers and some friends. One friend and a Jubilee partisan provided his reasons why she did not think the Iron Lady is ideal for Raila as a running mate.
Given the specificity of the reasons she offered, I decided to seek audience from the former Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs during the Kibaki administration. It worked out well as I also had a planned return trip to Nairobi and fortunately she obliged, and we met a few days ago.
While I cannot divulge what we discussed or what she told me, I can say what my friend told me was not true as I suspected it may not be—but it’s always better to confirm from the horse’s mouth.
I also came away from the meeting that the NARC-Kenya leader is as sharp, no buts and ifs leader with all the qualities one should expect from anyone aspiring to be leader of a country, which is a pre-requisite for being selected as running mate for any serious presidential candidate.
I have shared some of the following privately with those it is most relevant but am sharing here for any doubters and to provide more context why I believe the Honorable Martha Karua is ideal for Raila as his running mate:
We are coming up to a unique election in our country’s history. Yes, one can say every successive election has been unique for both good and bad reasons, but 2022 will be uniquely unique for the simple reason it will be the first time since independence that we will not have a serious presidential candidate from Mount Kenya region.
This presents both opportunity and challenge for both Raila and the only person who can be a serious enough contender to derail Raila’s final quest as president and that is none other than Deputy President William Samoei Ruto.
Yes, Raila has not declared but that is by now a foregone conclusion. Ruto, for his part, has been running for president since the day he was first sworn as deputy president.
Who both Raila and Ruto pick as their respective running mates will have an impact on their fortunes at the polls unlike any running mate from all prior elections. In my recent column Railas Running Mate Pick Will Be Consequential, Ruto’s Won’t, I made the case and provide reasons why Raila’s choice will be consequential, but not Ruto’s.
Let me now expound on that viewpoint.
A. Qualifications for Running Mate
Our Constitution requires that the person nominated as a running mate of a presidential candidate must satisfy the requirements of being nominated as president under Article 137.
MK meets all those requirements.
B. Leadership
What most people do not realize or have simply chosen to ignore is the fact that the Constitution only sets the minimum qualifications a person seeking elective office must have.
In advanced democracies which also set bare minimums on such qualifications in their respective countries, voters demand that candidates must meet an even higher threshold before earning their votes.
We are yet to get there in Kenya, but it starts by aspiring national leaders parting with status quo and making bold decisions and leadership to make that happen, even if it is at the risk of suffering political consequences or backlash.
When it comes to ideal leadership, these are the uncontroverted and obvious:
- There is a correlation between leadership and the development of a nation.
- Almost all that ails Kenya and Africa for that matter is directly linkable to bad governance and leadership.
- Kenyan and African leaders, save for Nkrumah and Mandela have largely failed their citizenry largely because of lack of vision or inability to provide the leadership needed to make their vision become a reality.
- The failure of Kenyan/African leadership is not due to lack of education as Kenyans are some of the most educated in Africa and besides the Constitution itself has set high educational standards for those seeking high public offices.
- Kenya and Africa for that matter has individuals who can rise to greatness in leadership anytime and I believe this is a status Raila will acquire if he is sworn as our next president, right at the heels of President Uhuru Kenyatta who is himself doing the utmost to earn that status.
The term “leadership” is one that is used across the globe and in all languages and cultures and perhaps the most if not the only common concept all peoples of the world commonly have in mind when thinking and deciding about how to govern their affairs.
Yet, as one of my mentors the late Dr. George McCregor Burns describes it, “Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth.”
To be sure, leadership is a subject that has been studied for centuries and many scholars have tried to define what it is exactly, but none has had lasting acceptance. Analyzing these studies is beyond the scope of this piece but I have drawn from these studies qualities, attributes, and skills (QAS) I believe are essential and a must have for the person we elect as our next president to possess.
To be effective as a leader of a country such as Kenya, as measured by QAS, one must have the following qualities beyond merely being qualified to vie for the office:
- Some Modicum of Religious Conviction
- Honesty, Trustfulness, and Integrity
- Firm Educational Foundation and Wisdom
- Experience and Exposure
- Inspiration, Vision and Self-Confidence
Martha Karua has all those qualities.
Her record as a key player in the development of constitutional, administrative, and family law as one of the no nonsense Cabinet member in the Kibaki administration speaks to that.
C. Political Disadvantages
Martha Karua shot to fame during PEV and most Kenyans associate her with being retired President Mwai Kibaki’s hardnosed negotiator, a role she played so well, earning her a prominent position in Kibaki’s cabinet.
For many, especially those in ODM picking her as Raila’s running mate will be tantamount to betrayal but a leader and must not always conform to what the electorate or followers desire; as a leader, one must make decisions informed by his or her wisdom and facts and then bring along everyone to see and accept things from their perspective.
Not everyone will come on board for sure, but a good leader aught be able to have a majority come along if anything because of the political capital they have in stock besides being given the benefit of doubt.
This is something those who have known or followed Raila for a long time know it is not an insurmountable task for Raila holds no grudges and is a forgiving person.
In any case, my personal view has all along been let the bygones be bygones with lessons learned. I truly believe 2007 was a once-in-a-lifetime event and that there will never be a repeat, especially given the trajectory we are on.
That is not to say we will no longer have political violence in the country, but I doubt it is anything that can yet again bring us to the brink of a civil war as happened in 2007/2008, or even remotely close.
The handshake started the healing process, and now let us complete it and having Martha Karua as Raila’s running mate will be symbolic in closing that chapter of our history and at the same time putting us in an even better position to tackle situations going forward in the spirit of national unity as embodied in BBI, which still must be pursued and completed.
The second disadvantage I see with Martha Karua analytically (not my view) is she is a woman and a tough woman to boot both of which don’t sit well in Kenya where male chauvinism is still prevalent if not dominant.
Nowhere is that even more defined than Martha Karua’s neck of the woods where we know some prominent men are totally against a woman outshining them from the region.
However, as noted above, a good leader must provide leadership and let others follow and one way to take this issue head-on as a leader is for Raila—or even Ruto for that matter, to nominate a woman as running mate and I see no one better in that regard than Martha Karua.
There are some who come close as I noted in my column, but overall, Martha Karua checks more boxes than any of them does.
Political Advantages
Let us start there: Martha Karua is a woman, and it is about time the country had a woman in the highest possible office in the land and in this case and at this time that is being a deputy president.
The odds are Raila’s has the inside track to finish first come 2022 and therefore if he picks a woman as running mate, the odds are, too what the lucky woman will not only be our next deputy president, but also potentially our first woman president.
Some may argue that Martha Karua’s toughness which earned her the nickname “Iron Lady” may not augur well with Raila and that the two may not get along but if both leaders have the QAS listed above, which they do, getting along should not be an issue.
In sum, there is no reason Raila should not pick Martha Karua as running mate, and if he does, Martha Karua has no reason not to accept the honor.
The country needs this as we forge forward in a new direction coming out of this unique election.
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