Makau must temper his criticism with reason

Posted  Saturday, July 20  2013 at  17:10

Socrates, the celebrated founder of thought, said that “Excellency is being able to do good to one’s friends and doing bad to one’s enemies while taking care not to come to any harm yourself”.

No one exemplifies this better than Sunday Nation columnist Makau Mutua, the US-based law professor, who has without prompting appointed himself Jubilee government’s harshest critic and number one sycophant of former premier Raila Odinga. He hardly conceals his unhealthy obsession with the president and his deputy.
It is absurd that Makau’s biased criticism is from someone who publicly announced he would never recognise the president as a matter of his “freedom of thought and conscience”.

In a recent column titled “What do Kenyans owe former premier Raila?” Makau tries to argue that the tribulations bedevilling Raila must be a scheme by Jubilee top brass (read Uhuru and Ruto) to cut Raila to size.

Makau further expresses “alarm at the lack of public outcry” at what he sees as a deliberate attempt by the government to intimidate and unfairly treat the former PM, whom he reckons Kenyans owe so much.

No right thinking Kenyan would deny that Raila has been instrumental in securing the democratic gains we currently enjoy. However, Makau should realise that Kenyans have more pressing needs such as the rising cost of living.

This should not, however, be construed to mean that we are happy with the ill-treatment the former premier has received from overzealous Jubilee bureaucrats.

While I don’t hold any brief for the president and his deputy, any criticism of the two must be objective, constructive and not personalised.

Mukuna Gachie, Naivasha.