By Vanquished Vanquisher

Shakespeare’s Play, the tragedy of Macbeth is one of the darkest and most intriguing inventions of the literary Bard. It’s tragic in characterization and gloomy in plot development. The themes in the play and the current Kenyan situation have an eerie resemblance especially the convergence of character between Macbeth and Uhuru Kenyatta.

Uhuru and Macbeth are military Generals. Whereas Macbeth was a loyal General of King Duncan, Uhuru was subservient general of president Kibaki. Professor Peter Kagwanja, in his paper, Power to Uhuru, informs us Uhuru was (is) the General of Mungiki.

And Uhuru has since shown his military propensities. He dons combat fatigues at filmiest opportunity. He has betrayed his immense favour for the military and unmeasured contempt and disgust for our police service. General Macbeth. General Uhuru.

The Thane of Cawdor versus the Prime Minister

Macbeth and Uhuru are valiant soldiers who led successful raids to crush their adversaries. Macbeth,the Thane of Glamis, rise came after heavily defeating the allied forces of Norway and Ireland. He was praised for his bravery and fighting prowess, and was rewarded with the honour of Thane of Cawdor.

It’s said Uhuru marshaled his Kikuyu tribe into their defence in their day of slaughter during the post-election bloodletting. In just a day, the infamy of the revenge attack was so severe, that even his master, Kibaki, was startled and decided to deploy the military. Uhuru was betokened the honour of the Deputy Prime minister for his efforts. Both gentlemen were soldiers, with blood dripping on their hands.

Initially, Mabeth had no interest in taking power, but was convinced by the prophecy of the 3 witches that he would become King. He met these sisters of the dark, accompanied by his soul mate Banquo. And they told him, he will be the king.

 

Uhuru’s biggest persuasion to take a stab at the presidency came for the dark forces. The dark forces had initially directed him to support Mudavadi. But they reneged in a dramatic U-turn and forced him to go for the seat. He was accompanied by his soul mate, One Samoei Ruto. Are the dark forces the three witches?

Mama Ngina and Lady Macbeth

Mama Ngina, a hitherto reclusive matriarch, came out unflinchingly, and in very certain terms, invoking pity, piety and victim tag among the laity and tribesmen, to vouch for his son. Hear Mama Ngina speak:

Years gone,
They (wazungus) whisked away my hapless husband,
Now they have again returned with vengeance,
Baying for my innocent son

Hear that, she is a master of oratory rhetoric. This was in a public rally as she held her son’s forehead in dramatized veneration. This ballooned Uhuru’s trajectory upwards. She was visibly behind Uhuru’s prominence. Is mama Ngina the Lady Macbeth?

The latter was the key player who chartered Macbeth’s rise. And like Mama Ngina, she was a master of nuanced rhetoric, determined to the core to have her husband usurp power. Hear Lady Macbeth speak, swearing to slay for her husband to get power.

“Come, you spirits, and unsex me,Fill me from the head to the toe,
of direst cruelty! make thick my blood; Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk, replace it with poison
Come, thick night,That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor make heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry ‘Hold, hold!”

As visible, both Macbeth and Uhuru had women of forte to chart their curves.

The elimination of Banquo and William Ruto

In order to ensure his hold of power was not endangered; Macbeth’s initial step was to eliminate deputy, Banquo. Ruto’s allies have alleged several times, Uhuru’s men behind are behind Ruto’s case at the International Criminal Court.One Iringo, Nancy Gitau, Kimemia,had their names mentioned, by Karim Khan himself in course of the court proceedings, but they are indispensable Uhuru’s icons. Are they his proxy?

Uhuru’s case at ICC collapsed as witnesses kept evaporating like morning dew from the face of the earth. Bensouda has asserted the level of witness intimidation in that case is unprecedented in the court history. However, the same as not been seen in the Ruto’s case.

While Uhuru’s case was unable to marshal even 5 witnesses, in deputy’s case, we had a whooping over two dozen prosecution witnesses testifying. The state cooperated fully with the court unlike the other case. Even witnesses who had recanted their testimony were forced to the dock and interrogated as hostile witnesses. Like Macbeth, Is it not in the best interest of Uhuru that his deputy is incapacitated?

Macbeth degenerated into a dictator. He became a paranoid leader who ruled by iron fist. The blood of slain Banquo and his other killings always troubled him. Everything in Scotland was blowing up. He covered his paranoia by trampling upon the people.

How better Uhuru performed? Is Kenya lamenting-

“O, miserable nation
When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again?
Bleed, bleed, poor country
For great tyranny lay as thy foundation”

Like Macbeth, the ICC prosecutor stated Uhuru is crimes against humanity suspect. Innocent blood was shed at his behest. A charge he has not been cleared, for he employed state machinery to engineer the collapse of his case.

Just like Macbeth concealed evidence of Banquo’s murder, Uhuru has concealed the evidence in post-election mayhem. Is this troubling him? He never ends a speech without cursing ICC? Like phantoms which troubled Macbeth, are ghosts of post-election victim’s buzzling Uhuru’s soul?

The era of incompetency

In Uhuru’s tenure, mediocrity has swiveled in. Any iota of competency and diligence in his administration is unwelcome aberration to the grand Corruption and grand ineptitude that has ingrained the system.

Grenades are blowing up everywhere like pop corns on roast; Al shabab and ilk goons are gunning down unsuspecting Kenyans at pleasure; thugs are stripping women on the streets at day light in the heat of evil machismo; police are being felled like flies by bandits; and military has turned into a nursery of looters and petty thieves as witnessed during the west gate fiasco.

Yet Uhuru can and will do nothing. Are Uhuru and Macbeth birds of feather flocking in terms of ineptitude?

Loyal hounds 

Macbeth’s most trusted men were the murderers he sent on diabolic errands.Uhuru seems to only trust characters who have participated in mischief. Like his director of Digital at State House is a retired twitter warlord, who before 2013 elections was a notorious digital assassin.

His major “assassination” assignment was to hack the ICC website and reveal the prosecution witnesses, an act which projected his profile significantly. It culminated into the poor witnesses vanishing, and totally trampling upon the path of justice. Maina Kiai once informed us the said director was involved in the orgy of threatening the witness families. And he has shown his mettle.

When Matsanga, a Ugandan Vagabond whose brain is ostensibly undergoing mass wasting, is humiliating Priscilla Nyokabi, it is the director of digital adding the fuel, apparently ignoring Nyokabi’s lamentation that she was being hurt by the accusation. They tried labeling Raila, Omar Hassan, as Uhuru fixers, and when they could not, they preferred a soft target to humiliate. Priscilla Nyokabi.

What is difference between these assailants who strip honourable lady like Nyokabi her honour and standing, albeit online, jeopardizing her political career, and lowlifes who strip women their skirts in Githurai buses?Any difference? Come, the Security Laws (Amendment) Bill, and tame these two parcels of strippers. Is the director of Digital the three murderers in the tragedy of Macbeth?

Propaganda Machines

Macbeth and Uhuru have able communicators. Macbeth has his indefatigable wife, Lady Macbeth, who is an adept manipulator of facts and master conjurer of false narratives. When her husband was growing mad, being visited by the demons of the dead Banquo, she would convince everybody it was a mere treatable malady.

In resembling fashion, Uhuru has marshaled able communication outfit called PSCU (President’s Shambolic Communication Unit), heavily efficient in the wiles of propaganda. They have been realising press highlights, mostly targeted at the opposition chiefs, who have called for its disbandment.

But then the way this outfit couches their words, makes its statement resemble ones issued by militia ragtag. The list of so called senior directors who sign the releases is a times higher than the message itself. Has Manoah Isipisu disengaged himself from this outfit?

Why has he never appended his signature in any of their press releases? For it would be better to have a statement from one lion which roars; than from a multitude of senior something-something nondescript whimpering.

The bloody ending?

Lastly, the people of Scotland were tired of Dictator Macbeth and his wife. They decided to kick them out in a tragic ending. Macbeth and his wife lost their lives. Uhuru is an amateur dictator. But his dictatorial tendencies are growing by the day. A new bundle of security laws is being imposed to entrench his grip.

Uhuru has decided to go gungy-ho in curtailing basic liberties and bamboozling the media. He has tight grasp of the cheer leader parliament turned zombie by the tyranny doctrine. His ego has been enlarged by his fanatical tribesmen ready to put their lives on line for him. And that way, in his tenure, the nation is in comatose.

Like Macbeth, is 2017 Uhuru’s Waterloo? Will his ouster be unceremonious like Macbeth? Is Uhuru the reincarnation of Macbeth?