By Dorcas S
So the man who supposedly demystified the presidency and made it “approachable and accessible” is now being feted for eschewing “familiarity” and restricting his availability – euphemism for “avoiding” Raila.
The “Dabber-in-Chief” who was MIA during today’s Presidential Debate is, ostensibly “using absence to increase ‘respect’ and ‘honor’ ” – this according to “48 Laws of Power #16”.
(For the record, UMK, “respect” and “honor” in the same sentence is a dissertation for another day)
You have to love the president’s chutzpah. The man and his handlers have convinced themselves that by creating ‘scarcity’, i.e. making him “scare”, they are increasing his “value” in the waning days of the 2017 General Elections.
Talk about hubris and an inflated sense of self.
Talk about a confused and rudderless executive.
Let me flip Jubilee’s narrative of “scarcity creates value” on its head:
That President Kenyatta’s incompetence AND familiarity with graft and gross malfeasance of the past four years combined to make him an easy target for the moderator, Raila Odinga and by extension, Kenyans who tuned in to hear the incumbent defend his record.
Mr. Kenyatta opted to skip the debate rather than risk answering specific questions about his stewardship of the country; not from sycophants or toadies whose default will always be “but Raira wiru nefa be plesident”, but from Kenyans who are eager to know why they should re-elect the man (and his slippery DP) given their performance of the last four years.
In classic Trumpian fashion, Mr. Kenyatta opted to appeal to his base who see him as the “blue-eyed prince of Gatundushire” who can do no wrong and is beyond reproach.
In a desperate bid to increase his “value” by being “scarce” and “above the fray”, Mr. Kenyatta revealed himself as a vain man seeking “perfection” – even though most Kenyans know that not only does he love eating meat during the many free lunches he is accustomed to receiving, Uhuru’s hands are far from clean!
Along the way, the president avoided today’s debate and unwittingly gave space, clarity and amplification to the one voice that has always spoken to the aspirations of a majority of Kenyans – that of Raila Odinga.
To paraphrase Mao Tse Tung:
Uhuru Kenyatta’s absence from the debate reflected a man with an inflated sense of self; a belly that needs constant replenishment and a sharp tongue that emits a very weak sound.
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