The Standard Thursday, September 26, 2013: Home & Away Magazine page 11:

Last updated on 26 Sep 2013 00:00

In a new report, the Land Development and Governance Institute, however, says the Lands ministry cannot afford to isolate the National Land Commission, reports MKALA MWAGHESHA

Well done Kenyans for keeping peace

The tallying of Presidential polls concluded last night and as expected, the winning camp burst into celebrations. This is natural. Coordinators of the groups celebrating around the country should however keep vigilant so as not to accord criminal elements an opportunity to infiltrate them for criminal activities.

When I drove round Nairobi's CBD at about 7am, all was calm and peaceful. Pockets of celebrating Jubilee supporters were however doing some victory road walk around town. But they maintained peace. Some foreign journalists were lucky to be at hand to capture the early development. One expects that celebrations around town will get 'louder' later today. But we urge those celebrating to observe decorum so as to keep the City space open for business. City authorities and security agencies will however need to keep good watch to avert any excesses.

Yesterday was a remarkable day. The patience and determination with which Kenyans waited to vote, in some instances for over ten hours, was humbling. I saw young men in front of me come down with fatigue, sit on bare ground, but wake up to soldier on. None gave up. 411 messages of two Kenyans who collapsed and passed on while on queues in Murang'a and Karen were most depressing. There was also the sad and tragic incidence of the security officers who were attacked at Kwale at the eve of the voting day. But beyond these, a few other isolated incidents and reports of names missing on registers and EVID machines failing, voting went on peacefully and smoothly countrywide. Well done Kenyans. This must remain the spirit of perfecting our democracy. At this rate, our country would soon pull itself through to the league of middle income nations.

Counting of votes is on going. A mood of anxiety looms as everyone awaits results. Let us accept the reality of competitive politics.....that there must emerge winners and losers. Whoever wins owes Kenyans mature and inclusive leadership and must embrace and work with all the losers. He must mind the key issues that afflict this nation.....national cohesion, security, poverty, disparities in wealth distribution, high levels of unemployment, infrastructure provision and quality education among others. We in return owe them support. Importantly, we must begin to accept the reality that the institution of presidency and that of governors are only offices around which to rally and coordinate the various national and county organs. Our future as a nation therefore revolves around strengthening and supporting institutions and processes which deliver goods and services to Kenyans. We must continuously debunk the myth of depending on our leaders as individuals and promote institutions and organs guided by our values and aspirations as a people.

See for instance how a stronger and more reliable judiciary and electoral commission have relaxed us as we voted. See how the process put in place to register and resolve poll petitions seemingly makes us all relax even as we await results. See how the fact that the president will only be sworn in on a specific date and venue, known to Kenyans, makes us all relax that no surprises can be pulled while there are outstanding poll issues. Strong, independent institutions and organs will be our way to perfect distribution of resources and service delivery and grow our democracy. The men and women we elect are compasses for national and county directions.

I know this is a time of apprehension for Kenya’s investors. Those with hopes of investing in Kenya are on their chess boards too. One question lingers. Will Kenya’s March general elections be peaceful? I realized that this matter particularly bothers our regional neighbours. The 2007 post election violence impacted adversely on their supply systems…..Uganda, Southern Sudan, DRC, Rwanda and Burundi who obtain fuel and other consumer goods through Kenya’s rail and road network. I recall a Ugandan I met in Kigali in January 2008 starting off, ‘‘You Kenyans made me stay in my village against my wish for over a week. There wasn’t any fuel for my travel to Kampala after you caused chaos. I almost got late for this meeting’’. A Burundi national who heard him then chipped in saying, “Even I didn’t have cooking gas as I left home. There were no supplies”. Locally, the skirmishes in major towns like Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru and Nairobi directly undermined major business investments too. So neighbouring States, local and international investors have reason to be anxious!