Martha Karua 2012 Presidential Bid Wobbles

A while back I thought that Martha Karua should revise her 2012 presidential strategies. I now think she should take time and reflect on whether her strategies are working. She should also give Kenyans a break and stop "payukaring" every other day. The truth is that Martha Karua political star is dimming.

A year ago, Martha Karua was charged with the responsibility of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs.

Kenyans expect her docket to take political responsibility and accountability for:

• Lack of confidence in the Kenya judicial system - Kenyans are screaming for post election violence perpetrators to be taken to the Hague because they cannot trust the Kenyan Judiciary. Police justify extra-judicial execution of the Mungiki adherents since once arrested the judiciary is slow or dismiss their cases. Victims of Mungiki cannot trust the judiciary to come to their aid. Many Kenyans shiver at the mention of a dispute resolution through the Kenyan courts which still sways to the side of the deep pocketed.
  
• Lack of a new constitutional dispensation - Martha has been laid back on this front and not devoting as much energy to a new constitution as she has to her presidential bid. The deadline for a new constitution has now been pushed to June 2010 with no glimmer of hope that this will ever be achieved. She is supposed to be the project manager of this critical Kenyan project and should have worked day and night to bring consensus on the divisive constitutional issues, no attempt has been made towards this objective.
  
• Lack of national cohesion - Kenyans are still as tribal as they were one year ago if not worse. That is the reason IDPs cannot be accepted back to their farms. Martha has failed to mobilize Raila and Kibaki to the course of national cohesion.

In her one year in office, what has Martha Karua achieved as the Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional affairs. It seems she has neglected her duties to concentrate on campaigning for 2012.

From her campaigns, she has not fronted any new leadership style or fresh ideas. She has even resulted to tribal endorsements no different from Moi, Kibaki and Raila.

It is a high time she shunned those weekend campaign rallies. If she only managed the project of a new constitution effectively, she will be guaranateed of more votes than sweating it out at weekend campaign rallies and funerals.

Right now, she has made herself very vulnerable and a jokers vote of no confidence in parliament on her will easily pass. While fighting Kimunya, Ruto and Kiraitu on grounds of corruption and political responsibility is noble, she has forgotten that within a year she has also constructed a house of glass using the bricks of non-performance and has gradually lost the moral ground to throw stones at her neighbours' glass houses.

Martha Karua should retreat and stop sprinting to 2012. She should take time to build a stronger foundation and differentiate her politics, otherwise, on 2012, she is loosing it.