For the umpteenth time, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki are involved in one of the power games they have been playing since they united to kick the long ruling KANU out of power in 2002. Last Sunday, Odinga purported to have suspended two ministers mentioned in corruption, but within hours, Kibaki released a statement reversing the decision with the rider that his coalition partner does not have powers to act like he did. This set-off another round of hostilities between allies of the two men in the coalition government cobbled in 2008 to resolve post-election bloodshed that came after disputed presidential elections in which Odinga claims his victory was stolen by Kibaki. Not surprisingly, the accord the two signed to form the government is once again the bone of contention, courtesy of Odinga's new claim that it gives him power to suspend ministers. The accord says the Prime Minister is tasked with coordinating and supervising the functions of government. Odinga has claimed that in this role, he has powers to suspend ministers, as a disciplinary measure, without necessarily consulting the President. However, this is a hard sell because the accord does not mention such a thing.
Moreover, the accord is based on consultation and goodwill, two ingredients that have been largely lacking in the Kenyan coalition arrangement. Odinga's side of the coalition has often claimed in the past that Kibaki ignores them in making important decisions. But Odinga himself can be accused of the same given his penchant for shooting his mouth and making announcements that he is not authorised to do or that require consultation. Granted, the ageing Kibaki is an irritatingly slow and difficult character to work with given his cowardly disposition and hear-no-evil, see-no-evil, speak-no-evil approach on nearly all matters. This means that since 2002, when he came to power, the country has been moving like a vehicle without a driver. The equally irritating Odinga has made matters worse by his gung-ho style. The different personalities of the two men have resulted in clashes and sadly, hampered the implementation of important government programmes. As the latest dispute is raging, the main government agenda that unfortunately caused it - the fight against corruption - has taken a back-seat. While Odinga appears to be fighting corruption using the wrong method in this instance, Kibaki seems to be coddling graft-masters by following the law. It looks like a Catch 22 situation for Kenya that the two men can resolve by sitting down and striking a deal given that not too long ago they shared a forum and jointly issued a stern warning to corrupt government officials including ministers. They have resolved such differences through face-to-face meetings before and they should do it again. For the sake of Kenya, they should work together until the next election in 2012 to avoid another round of bloodshed now or in the future.
