LET NOT IMPUNITY SMOTHER THE NEW CONSTITUTION.

Today, I speak of those great patriots present and those departed, who little impressed by the audacity of the barbarians gallantly fought for the second liberation of this country regardless of their stations in life. Many among them were maimed in the struggle for the expansion of the democratic space. When death reaped one defender after the next, there was none among them who through cowardice refused to fill the gap. I salute them all.

For all those patriots departed, I know that you must be tossing and turning in your graves in impatient anger like a blood-pudding seething over a fire. You must be cursing at the site of political madness in the form of violent debauchery. I know that it pains you to see some callous individuals want to reduce Kenya to a collection of tribes and not a united Nation as you had earlier envisaged. You must be holding us in contempt as you witness the bile and treachery by some in our midst who are busy enticing our brothers and sisters to dance themselves lame to the drums of phantom wars.

You must be appalled that these individuals want to cling on the president`s coat in the hope that he will not oblige them to step aside from their lofty political portfolios. These individuals still imagine that on the balance of scale, the word of the president is still greater than the very constitution that he swore to protect. We have seen them talking tough and throwing tantrums at their imaginary political foes. Their words are like sugar coated poisonous pills. When such words are wholesomely and unquestioningly swallowed, they have the effect of creating bovine obedience in us so that we do not demand of their resignation in light of the grievous charges preferred against them.

You must be seething with anger that we conscripted individuals who were part and parcel of the undemocratic, illiberal and repressive political regimes to usher in the new political dispensation. I now must admit that this was but a mere historical accident. In our excitement we threw caution in the wind and completely forgot that like obligate anaerobes these individuals would never appreciate the fresh political air blowing across the country.

We completely forgot that as scions of the old political order they can only thrive in mischief. Indeed, they have employed all the dirty tricks in their odious book to cover each other`s muck. For that is what they know best-staying deep down under the rabbit`s fur. They have deliberately refrained from any kind of direct ideological challenge to the status quo. They prefer politics of appeasement and aggrandizement to the principles of democracy as enshrined in our constitution.

Take for instance those who have been quick at flaunting the term “sovereignty” as a smokescreen to avoiding justice. They have displayed vigor in seeking for a deferral and possibly a referral at a later date but they have largely been unwilling in demanding that the same suspects resign from their public offices in line with the requirement of our new constitution. The huge pot holes in their reasoning cannot be gainsaid. It is amazing at how they can conveniently forget that under the new constitution, a precedent has already been set. We have seen honorable Moses Wetang`ula, Henry Kosgei and William Ruto resign from their portfolios under circumstances less grievous. Any exception to this constitutional requirement is not only a case of double standards but an act of impunity as well.

I can see you shedding tears of despondency because our motherland is being treated to the verbal wallop of some sycophantic leaders. That the verbal hemorrhage of our leaders is too stupendous is an indication of the extent they are willing to go in propping up impunity. Indeed, some leaders have been heard saying that should one of the suspects be ineligible to contest the presidency come 2012 owing to The Hague trials then the presidential election must be postponed. This is balderdash.

To them, it matters less if the said suspect is found guilty as charged. They want to make us believe that the country will not move forward for the period such a person would be incarceration. Does it mean that such a person is more important than the sum total of all Kenyans? My fellow patriotic Kenyans, I take it that you are sincere, honest and brave enough to render a verdict according to your convictions, beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt.

To our departed patriots, let me assuage your feelings. We owe you the duty of safeguarding the well being of this great Nation. I assure you that the seeds of patriotism that you sow in us have germinated and we shall faithfully water them to fruition. Like Emma Goldman, we dare say that “We are but the atoms in the incessant human struggle towards the light that shines in the darkness—the Ideal of economic, political and spiritual liberation of mankind!” We shall surely have a victory for truth and justice over those standing in the way of our new constitutional order.