RUTO`S TREE PLANTING EDICT SIGNALS HIS CLIMB-DOWN IN THE FACE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS.

Going by the highly unexpected good tidings that emanated from none other than Hon. on the verge of a complete political metamorphosis. You see, this increasingly belligerent legislator has over time demonstrated that he has no ready-made solutions to offer despite his harsh criticisms of the various cabinet policies that he himself participates in crafting only to disown them even before the ink in which they were written dries up. That he has finally completely reversed himself on the issue of environmental conservation and even gone ahead to issue an edict to the effect that all land owners in Kenya must have at least ten percent of their land planted with trees for purposes of conserving the environment is no doubt a climb-down in the face of political correctness. Even though Ruto`s edict is logically inconsistent with his usual proclamations, I have no doubt in my mind that it has nonetheless left many conscientious Kenyans with a deep sigh of relief. I dare say that it is only a matter of time before he also sees through the same lenses, the wisdom in not attempting to engender yet another constitutional gridlock in this country. It is surely comforting to know that even though we haggle and sometimes even quarrel over certain political issues but at least we can pride ourselves of being able to rise to the occasion and think (however long it takes) on the same wavelength when it comes to issues that gel us as a nation. It is against this backdrop that Kenyans from all walks of life fervently hope to see a similar change of heart in William Ruto`s stance regarding the constitutional making process. We hope that William Ruto will sooner than later realize that parliament has had its say on the draft constitution and that it is only good manners that he, without further ado, lets Kenyans have the final say vide the prospective referendum. Neither should he make the costly mistake of allowing those hypocritical legislators surrounding him to cloud his political sense. I say so because I have a feeling that Hon. William Ruto knows too well that there is no symbiotic relationship between him and each of those legislators attempting to debilitate the constitution making process. Many of them are politically inept and are thus desperately jostling to burry themselves deep in his political fur as a means of avoiding the wrath of their constituents come 2012. Still, more others are conjoining themselves with him for the sole reason that they are deeply disappointed with the fact that the draft constitution has barred them from touting their presidential ambitions as a conduit pipe to retaining their parliamentary seats. They imagine that Ruto has enough political clout to kowtow parliament to amend the noxious clauses failure to which he will rally the public to reject the draft constitution at the referendum stage. The more crafty ones think that Ruto`s political epitaph has already been written and that all they need to do to win the massive support from his political turf is to be seen publicly with him and to permanently adorn foolish grins on their faces and to vigorously nod their heads in agreement with anything he says. Such conniving legislators must be told in no uncertain terms to hold their horses or risk their political careers festering faster than they can imagine. It is fallacious for them to imagine that Kenyans will allow them the opportunity to fire up their ethnic bases to vote “no” against a draft constitution that we have painstakingly sought for years without end. In so doing they will only prove to all and sundry that they are not progressive firebrands as they have all along wanted us to believe. Quite frankly, it bothers many Kenyans that what is happening now is just an excuse on the part of a section of the legislators to advance arguments that totally ignore the constitution making process and that they are also hell bent on interpreting things in a rather parochial way in the hope that they will succeed in sowing the seeds of confusion among Kenyans. Take for instance the land issue that has allegedly become contentious; how come that last year parliament adopted the land policy as it appears in the current draft constitution without the flaring of emotions? It is therefore purely hypocritical for a section of these legislators to belatedly backpedal on the same issue. Kenyans are not a benighted lot and they will therefore not be confounded by such unintelligible doubletalk. Neither should such legislators attempt to adorn the church’s cloak or peddle ethnic sludge in the hope that such antics will provide them with the political discourse aimed at denying Kenyans a new constitution. TOME FRANCIS, BUMULA. http://twitter.com/tomefrancis