One was a global diplomat and economist; the other was among the most powerful civil servants of the Uhuru Kenyatta years. On Jeff Koinange Live, former UNCTAD Secretary-General Dr Mukhisa Kituyi and former Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho reflected on how the state should work, and where they believe it is failing.
The conversation started light, with golf handicaps and Kibicho's fond memories of Kituyi's days as a firebrand trade minister and radio debater. Then Jeff turned to a serious matter: the president's security had been breached five times, most recently by a man who put his arm around him.
Kibicho, who served in the security sector for seven years, called it unprecedented and reckless. The people who protect the president are highly trained, he said, many of them in Israel, and selection must be based on training and commitment "and not because of any other considerations." Asked whether it would have happened on his watch, his answer was a simple no.
Kituyi broadened the critique to foreign policy. What he described as Kenya's backing for the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan made no sense, he argued, and had hurt the tea trade, as Sudan was one of Kenya's biggest export markets. He also said Kenya was "out to lunch" on attacks on African migrants in South Africa, while countries like Nigeria and Ghana acted to protect their citizens. On the Ebola outbreak, he questioned why Kenya was agreeing to host US monitoring of Americans coming out of the DRC.
His recurring theme was that none of this would happen if leaders listened to professional diplomats and civil servants. Kenya is in a sad situation, he said, but not hopeless. The country has dug itself out of difficult times before, he added, but those who are going down should first stop digging.
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