Gathunuku

It couldn’t have been more starkly different. Amos Kimunya was on his way to delivering 6-7% growth as was clearly evident in the confident noises he was making at this forum. And he proved he could walk the walk albeit right into this snare. But the Member from Kipipiri isn’t one of them. He is immensely qualified in his profession, has had an illustrious career in the accounting/finance industry and is a one-time head of the influential Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya.

He is, at 46, an atypical political leader. One who will, as Finance Minister, dare suggest the taxation of the grotesque (no other way of describing it really esp. the fact that most of it is tax free) MPs pay, self awarded in a moment of unadulterated hubris, so as to raise much needed revenue to cushion wananchi from spiralling living costs. He “gets it”.

But this was never about that.

That transaction that saw the Grand exchange hands was quite evidently mishandled. Whatever the value of the one glaring reminder of an era of ridiculously lucrative air export schemes, the ex-minister was caught in a complex web. Struggling to fill a gaping hole in his budget (his best yet, friends and foe agreed) mostly brought on by an ill timed mix of astronomical oil prices and slowed economic growth in the aftermath of the December elections, there was indeed a rush to raise money fast. When fuel retailers have to recalibrate their pumps to accommodate a new pricing paradigm, urgent action has to be taken to contain the inflation fuelled instability that is surely nigh.

There cannot be any doubt that he rightly expected a fight on his MP tax proposals and thus was not expecting extra revenue from that source for at least several months, had already sold off a significant part of the an actually well run and profitable government owned company and was running out of options. He had to sell the Grand fast. So when tales finally emerge that cast doubt on the integrity of the whole transaction, the messenger as opposed to the sender was unfortunately met with a parliament in desperate need to assert itself. The man who had the nerve to question their decadent ways was actually fallible himself! Not an opportunity to be missed.

After losing a confidence motion and MPs refusing to do business in the matters of debating and approving various parts of the budget, the fall guy had to fall.

Damnation or absolution simply cannot be passed yet but alas the brutal ways of democracy have to prevail.