Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} The crisis off the Somali coast where a Russian ship carrying arms destined for Kenya has been hijacked by pirates, has raised an interesting precedent. It has been reported in the media that Vice president Kalonzo Musyoka is currently the acting commander in chief and was in fact the one who ordered the Kenyan navy and military into action over the hijacked ship crisis.
The reason given for this is that the president is currently out of the country.
Now, now, one of the reasons why this development is so fascinating is that there was a time former Vice President Prof Josephat Karanja (now deceased) got into serious political problems with claims that he had called himself acting president when president Moi had traveled on a foreign trip. A terse statement from State house made it clear that the president remained commander in chief even when he was overseas. Indeed even in advanced democracies like the United States, the Vice President can only act as president when the president is seriously incapacitated and unable to govern. It happened some years back when a US president had to undergo a medical operation.
This is what makes the issue of Kalonzo Musyoka acting as commander in chief so fascinating.
Still, in my view Kalonzo is much more capable of handling the delicate crisis that is still unfolding over the Somali waters as both Russian and US war ships close in on the hijacked ship which is carrying tanks, arms and so much ammunition that shooting at it would cause a huge explosion and the destruction of cargo valued at over Kshs 2.4 billion. What complicates matters further and probably explains the interest of the Americans are the reports that the pirates were working with a Somali organization known as Al Shabaab which has been linked to Al Qaeda.
Regular readers will know that I am no Kalonzo fan, but I am trying to illustrate a point here.
The reason why Kalonzo is obviously a more qualified decision-maker than his boss in a crisis of this magnitude (at least in my view) illustrates an important point that Kenyan voters should take careful note of. And that is the fact that it is becoming increasingly clear that the country would be much better off with a new crop of younger more vibrant leaders who understand the new increasingly complex world much better than the old prejudiced crop who have desperately been hanging on to power for decades on end and having nothing new to offer to Kenyans.
P.S. It is rather fascinating that the government and the Department of defence seem to be reading from different scripts. DOD insists that the arms in the hijacked ship were NOT meant for the Kenya army while government spokesman Alfred Mutua says they are. So who is telling the truth?
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