Kenya, for instance, is acclaimed for the prowess of its athletes. The sterling performance of our athletes on the international stage inspires awe and trepidation in equal measure. America is famed for its mind-boggling technological advancements, a terribly frightening arsenal of weapons and a plethora of many other things.
It is, nonetheless, not just the good things that people remember about a country. There are also unsavoury things that nearly all countries are known for. One of the things that is increasingly becoming part of Kenya's identity is an astounding and infuriating failure by the Kenyan leadership to learn from its past mistakes. We have this strange knack of doing the same thing repeatedly yet expect to get a different result, a phenomenon that Einstein described as insanity.
Nothing authenticates this fact more than the ICC case that has seen four prominent Kenyans indicted. When debate started for the Kenyan cases to be taken up by the ICC some of the suspects thought it a pipe dream that could never come to fruition. They dismissed the ICC process as a non-starter that would take forever before considering the Kenyan case. They spared no opportunity to besmirch and lambast the ICC prosecutor and even the entire court. With a delusional sense of self importance and urged on by their narrow-minded minions they could hardly come to terms with the thought of being hauled before any court, least of all the ICC, to answer for their alleged misdeeds.
But as fate would have it the world's attention is now riveted on Kenya as some of her prominent sons take their place in the proverbial hall of ignominy. The chest thumping and ostentatious attitude of some of the suspects prior to the confirmation of the charges against them and even during the confirmation hearings may be one of the reasons why their cases are proceeding to full trial. Judges, notwithstanding their lofty status in society, are not immune to human prejudices. Each time they feel pushed in a corner, they certainly push back with disastrous ramifications.
For anyone appearing before a court of law, deference is not an option but a must if you want all to be be well with you. Suspended Industrialisation minister Henry Kosgey and postmaster general Hussein Ali were clearly alive to this truism. Prior to the confirmation hearings and even after the hearings the two gentlemen displayed humility. They shunned cheap publicity and restrained themselves from appearing snobbish and invincible. Their deference to the court and the judges was not in question. Their co-accused put up a show of might including holding a political rally to boot on their return home after the confirmation hearings. Kosgey and Ali quietly came back home and retreated to their abodes. Is it a surprise that charges against the two were dropped? One would surely expect our leaders to learn from this and jettison their penchant for unnecessary publicity.
Hardly a week after confirmation of charges against the four, a substantial number of our leaders, including some of the suspects and no less than the Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, are crisscrossing the country under the guise of holding prayers and preaching peace. These meetings have nothing to do with prayers but everything to do with politics of revenge. Speakers at these meetings are leaving nothing to chance in hurling invective after invective at their real and imaginary adversaries including the ICC. What they forget is that their indignant and arrogant utterances will surely find their way to the ICC judges who are poised to take over the Kenyan cases from the Pre-Trial Chamber.
Our leaders had better learn the worth of taking a low profile. Appearing haughty and discourteous only serves to enrage judges— something which will not be to the suspect’s liking.
This article was published in the Star Newspaper on February 1,2012
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