What may, nonetheless, be of great interest to Kenya’s President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta in as far as Lincoln is concerned is how he went about incorporating his fiercest competitors for the presidency in his administration shortly after beating them. When he ran for the Republican Party ticket in 1860, there were three men who were vociferously opposed to Lincoln’s bid. The three were gunning for the same ticket and considered Lincoln a greenhorn who should not have come anywhere near the party’s ticket.
The three men were, William Henry Seward, Salmon Chase and Edward Bates. Seward had a stellar reputation as a governor. Chase had served as a senator while Bates was an immensely respected attorney. Despite their glowing reputations and the vociferousness with which they had been opposed to Lincoln’s nomination, when he was nominated and eventually elected president, Lincoln went ahead and appointed them to his Cabinet. Chase was appointed as Treasury Secretary while Seward was given the prestigious position of Secretary of State. Bates, on the other hand was appointed the Attorney General.
Suffice to mention that the current President of America Barack Obama, during his first term, took a cue from Lincoln and appointed his arch rival for the Democratic Party’s ticket Hillary Clinton to the Cabinet as the Secretary of State. In Kenya we recently went through a major general election. Prior to the polls, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy candidate Raila Odinga and Jubilee Coalition’s Uhuru Kenyatta emerged as the front-runners for the presidency.
But when the results were announced, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission declared Uhuru Kenyatta the winner of the March 4 polls. Raila swiftly moved to the Supreme Court to contest Uhuru’s victory. His petition was, however, thrown out and Uhuru’s election was upheld. Attention now shifts to Uhuru as he and his deputy William Ruto assume the reins of power. They are due to be sworn into office on Tuesday, the 9th of April. It is rumoured that shortly after taking charge, the two will unveil their Cabinet and other officials to help them run the government.
My unsolicited advice to the president-elect and his deputy is that it will be prudent and even desirable to include some of their rivals in the government. Some of the people who competed for the presidency with Uhuru such as Raila Odinga, Musalia Mudavadi, Kalonzo Musyoka and Martha Karua are competent figures who still have much to contribute to the well-being of our country. I am alive to the fact that hardliners in Uhuru’s camp will certainly oppose the inclusion of people like Raila in government. But this is where Uhuru must stand up and give direction as the country’s leader. It will be a tragedy of monumental proportions for Uhuru to let a few elements keen on securing their own parochial interests hold him to ransom.
The interests of Kenya must be top on Uhuru’s agenda and anyone who wants to reverse that is an adversary that should not move anywhere near the seat of power. In his speech shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling, which upheld his election as president, Uhuru said he should be considered the President of all Kenyans and not just a section of the populace. He promised to work tirelessly to unite the country and deliver on the promises his team made to Kenyans during the campaigns. These are good aspirations. Realising them is, nonetheless, a different ball game altogether. It will take real teamwork to bring these aspirations to fruition. And this is where Uhuru and Ruto should give serious thought to the idea of bringing in their competitors.
For starters, such a move will give them considerable goodwill from all Kenyans. It will also depict them as selfless leaders to whom the interests of the country takes precedence. Someone like Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has vast experience in foreign affairs. With his sharp intellect and charisma, Kalonzo would make a remarkable cabinet secretary for foreign affairs. With a background in engineering, Raila may just be the person Kenya needs to serve as the cabinet secretary for infrastructure. Over to you Mr President-elect and Mr Deputy President.
This article was published in the Star Newspaper on April 6,2013
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