One is bound to sympathise with Dr.Alfred Mutua, the Kenya Government Spokesman. Kenya politics is getting murky and he is being drawn in the middle of antagonistic political forces. This is the best time for him to walk away, albeit in the proverbial coiled tail. Yes, he will not quit at the prime of his career as a government spokesman, but he is way past the peak and is on a free fall, very fast. It will not get any better for him and he would better count his losses and walk with the bird at hand rather than wait for the two in the bush.
He must be under pressure by his masters, whoever they are, to hold ground and not twitch. However, this is not the time to play hero and heroine and with the “use and dump” politics of Kenya, it is no good for him. The events of the past week leave him very exposed career-wise. Just hours after denouncing Oscar foundation as an NGO that funds and organizes Mungiki activities, Kamau King’ara the owner of the NGO and an official Paul Oulo are murdered along state house road. Alfred Mutua may have nothing to do with the murders but the murders are easily linked to his statements.
Raila Odinga, the ODM leader, in his characteristic “spoiling-for-a-fight” opportunistic attitude sees Mutua as another “political kill” and goes for Mutua’s jugular.
Mutua may last, but will he have peace as this grand collision confusion intensifies.
Alfred has a bird in hand that he can walk away with while it lasts. Maybe courtesy of his free time, networks, connections and resources as a government spokesman, he has actualised his childhood dreams in his Golden Dreams movie production company. He has revolutionised Kenya’s budding movie industry as a rewarding career through his popular action and comedy TV series which includes Cobra Squad, Beba Beba and Munene Nyagah’s Prime Time Show. Many folks do not have the golden opportunity to live their golden childhood dreams; Alfred Mutua has and is respected on that front unlike his government spokesman career.
Alfred Mutua’s resignation at this time may be interpreted as a sign of weakness or guilt which may not necessary be the case. Thus, Alfred may choose to stay on to save face and brave the daily embarrassment of his position. But he should remember he is wounded and would better walk away and live to fight another day.
Will he listen?
He must be under pressure by his masters, whoever they are, to hold ground and not twitch. However, this is not the time to play hero and heroine and with the “use and dump” politics of Kenya, it is no good for him. The events of the past week leave him very exposed career-wise. Just hours after denouncing Oscar foundation as an NGO that funds and organizes Mungiki activities, Kamau King’ara the owner of the NGO and an official Paul Oulo are murdered along state house road. Alfred Mutua may have nothing to do with the murders but the murders are easily linked to his statements.
Raila Odinga, the ODM leader, in his characteristic “spoiling-for-a-fight” opportunistic attitude sees Mutua as another “political kill” and goes for Mutua’s jugular.
Mutua may last, but will he have peace as this grand collision confusion intensifies.
Alfred has a bird in hand that he can walk away with while it lasts. Maybe courtesy of his free time, networks, connections and resources as a government spokesman, he has actualised his childhood dreams in his Golden Dreams movie production company. He has revolutionised Kenya’s budding movie industry as a rewarding career through his popular action and comedy TV series which includes Cobra Squad, Beba Beba and Munene Nyagah’s Prime Time Show. Many folks do not have the golden opportunity to live their golden childhood dreams; Alfred Mutua has and is respected on that front unlike his government spokesman career.
Alfred Mutua’s resignation at this time may be interpreted as a sign of weakness or guilt which may not necessary be the case. Thus, Alfred may choose to stay on to save face and brave the daily embarrassment of his position. But he should remember he is wounded and would better walk away and live to fight another day.
Will he listen?
Dr. Alfred Mutua is fit for the job of Government Spokesman.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not every day that I get to stumble upon an article that reeks of nothing but malice. But these particular ones are, to say the least, works of biased thinkers, and could at best be described as lacking in any objective analysis.
Both writers, in their freedom of expression, which the law of this land and the Kenyan government upholds chose to do a mudslinging at the character of the Government Spokesman of Kenya, Dr. Alfred Mutua, a man who earned his title of doctorate vide hard work and academic excellence.
I believe the role of the Government Spokesman in any country is collecting information about what is happening inside the Administration and around the country, and getting that information to the media and the public in a timely and accurate fashion. I also believe Dr. Mutua has lived to that expectation and obligation.
The argument by one blog writer that the job should have been given to a lawyer, a political scientist, or someone with a background on international relations is foolhardy. Naturally this position has to be filled by an individual from news media background.
Any intelligent person will know that the job is purely Journalistic. The current holder of the office, Dr. Alfred Mutua is therefore in my conviction best suited for the job he does. The description of Dr. Mutua as an “idiot,” is pure personal and the writers on both blogs are waging a personal war when from the word go, they portray themselves as championing a public interest course.
The writers, I may be wrong, but I fear I am right, exhibited a high degree of idiocy on their part. And they admit even in their blogs that Dr. Mutua is “much more learned than the rest of Kenyans whose names begin with mere Mr. Miss, or Mrs.” The inference that Dr. Mutua should “shut up” is therefore in my observation, mediocre.
How could anyone contemplate a situation where a person whose job description is to speak, to shut up! as these advocates of doom would like us to believe? The position being held by Dr. Mutua requires a person who is intelligent in the ways and understands the politics of the country and the world, these qualifications, Dr. Mutua meets and even beyond.
From the expressions by both bloggers, I see a duo whose understanding of the works of media is shallow, and I also see a pack of persons with skewed thought, with aim and intention of spoiling the good name of Dr. Mutua and the government he serves.
I see persons who are intent on pampering their selfish egos. Of course as a patriotic Kenyan I believe that Dr. Mutua is working in the best interest of this nation and that he is working for me. That’s why I am bothered as a Kenyan when I read such egocentric, malicious correspondences from persons I would naturally think are knowledgeable.
Dr. Mutua’s role requires him –as an obligation- to make sure that Kenyan people are getting an accurate account of what is going on in the country. That means the spokesman must essentially not be misleading to the citizenry. One forum through which he executes this mandate is the weekly press briefings usually held at Kenyatta International Conference Centre, where his office is located. In these briefings he usually responds to questions from reporters. The responses emerging therefrom are disseminated to the public vide various news outlets. I will repeat it here that Dr. Mutua has exceeded on this role; I faithfully believe he executes his mandate in a professional manner. But of course I also believe that in life you can’t please everyone. Even Jesus Christ himself couldn’t.
I hold nothing against the Spokesman, in fact Freekenya made me have even more faith in him. But one thing that's making me weigh freekenya's apologist opinions is that Ukweli kenya Blog seems to be Alfred Mutua's PR blog based on what's posted there.
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