Nepotism in leadership globally, aside from just Kenya -
Many Kenyans are "bitter" about the fact that Jomo Kenyatta was Prime Minister of Kenya from 1st June 1963 to 12th December 1964, and President of Kenya from 12th December 1964 to 22nd August 1978, and that leadership in Kenya has been nepotistically retained in Kenya's Kenyatta family, given that Jomo Kenyatta's son, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, has been President of Kenya since 9th April 2013.
The "bitterness" by many Kenyans with nepotism in leadership in Kenya is justified and misplaced in equal measure, because nepotism in leadership is global phenomenon, and not unique to Kenya.
Nepotism indeed in matters of governance is not exactly right, but neither is it exactly a crime either. It is one of those "grey areas" in life.
It is really up to society to draw clear lines on nepotism and state definitively where it is permissible and where it is not. That way we can move on globally, when it comes to nepotism at least.
Below are some examples of nepotism in leadership globally which many Kenyans will find interesting, because a good number of the examples below include Caucasian countries and Asian countries, interesting in light of the fact that many Kenyans still hold Caucasians and Asians in high regard and high esteem i.e. Caucasians and Asians are the standard in Kenya.
There infact still prevail annoying and irritating expressions in Kiswahili in Kenya such as "Huyu ni kama Mzungu" i.e. "He or she is just like a Caucasian" and/or "Huyu ni kama Muhindi" i.e. "He or she is just like an Asian."
Some examples globally below of the Kenyan type nepotism in leadership:
1. Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier was President of Haiti from 1957 to 1971, and his son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, was President of Haiti from 1971 to 1986;
2. Francisco Macias Nguema was President of Equatorial Guinea from 1968 to 1979, and his nephew, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has been President of Equatorial Guinea for 41 years now i.e. since 1979;
3. Bingu wa Mutharika was President of Malawi from 2004 to 2012, and his brother, Peter Mutharika, was President of Malawi from 2014 to this past June i.e. June 2020;
4. William Pitt "the elder," was Prime Minister of Britain from 1766 to 1768, and his son, William Pitt "the younger," was Prime Minister of Britain from 1783 to 1801 and again from 1804 to 1806. William Pitt "the younger" is the youngest British Prime Minister in history so far i.e. he became Prime Minister of Britain in 1783 at the age of 24;
5. Corazon Aquino was President of The Philippines from 1986 to 1992 and her son Benigno Aquino III was President of The Philippines from 2010 to 2016;
6. Hafez al-Assad was President of Syria from 1971 to 2000, and his son, Bashar al-Assad, Dr. Bashar al-Assad, a Dentist by training, has been President of Syria for 20 years now i.e. since the year 2000, meaning that for 49 years running now non-stop, the people of Syria have known only one family as tenants of the Executive Mansion in Damascus, the Syrian Capital.
Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Dr. Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier of Haiti, mentioned in No. 1 above, was also a Dentist, like Dr. Bashar al-Assad, and his nickname "Papa Doc" was part derived from him being a Dentist i.e. "Papa Doc" i.e. "a prominent man in society who is a Doctor/Dentist."
7. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was President of America from 20th January 1961 to 22nd November 1963.
One of his younger brothers, Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy, was Attorney-General of America from 21st January 1961 to 3rd September 1964, and Senator of the State of New York from 3rd January 1965 to 6th June 1968, and another of his younger brothers, Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy, was Senator of the State of Massachusetts for 46 years nonstop from 7th November 1962 to 25th August 2009.
From 1961 to 1963 in America therefore, one Kennedy brother was President of America, and another Attorney-General of America, and from 1962 to 1963, one Kennedy brother was President of America, another was Attorney-General of America, and another was Senator of the State of Massachusetts.
There is an expression we use here in Kenya i.e. "Our turn to eat has come." The turn of the Kennedy family to "eat" in America, primarily, was 1961 to 2009.
And they are still wealthy and still "eating" e.g. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy's daughter, Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, Amb. Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, was America's ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017.
And about "eating" still, Joe Biden's "turn to eat," is about to commence. Kamala Harris will also help Joe "eating" i.e. she wont sleep "hungry." The "turn to eat" for Donald John Trump and Michael Richard "Mike" Pence is drawing to a close;
8. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and his daughter, Benazir Bhutto was Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996;
9. Kim Il-sung was Supreme Leader of North Korea for 46 years from 1948 to 1994. His son Kim Jong-il was Supreme Leader of North Korea for 17 years from 1994 to 2011, and his grandson Kim Jong-un (Kim Jong-il's son), has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011, meaning that for 72 years running now nonstop, the people of North Korea have known only one family as tenants of the Executive Mansion in Pyongyang, the North Korean Capital.
Now if in Kenya, as mentioned above, there is an expression "Our turn to eat has come," then the Kim family in North Korea, must be the kitchen itself, where the "eating" is "brewed."
10. Nestor Carlos Kirchner Jr. was President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. His wife Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was President of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, and has been Vice President of Argentina since 2019.
It could indeed be true that Kenya's current President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta will continue as Prime Minister of Kenya, courtesy of the ongoing Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) in Kenya, after his two terms as Kenyan President expire in 2022, given how Cristina above "bounced back" as Vice President of Argentina in 2019.
The Kirchner family in Argentina are indeed still "eating."
Rest in Peace Diego Maradona, Viva Argentina i.e. Long Live Argentina;
11. Fidel Castro was Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba from 1976 to 2008 i.e. Fidel was the Chief Executive of Cuba for 49 years running nonstop, and his brother Raul Castro was President of Cuba from 2008 to 2018.
"Power to the People."
Soon after Fidel took over power in Cuba in 1959 he stated in Spanish "Y queremos dejar claro que somos marxista-leninistas" i.e. "And we want to make it clear that we are Marxist-Leninists."
It appears they were more of Monarchists than they were Marxist-Leninists;
12. Lee Kuan Yew was Prime Minister of Singapore for 31 years from 1959 to 1990, and his son, Brig. Gen. Lee Hsien Loong, has been Prime Minister of Singapore for just under 16 years now i.e. since 2004;
13. Sir Seretse Khama was President of Botswana from 1966 to 1980, and his son, Lt. Gen. Ian Khama, was President of Botswana from 2008 to 2018;
14. Georgios Papandreou was Prime Minister of Greece from 1944 to 1945, in 1963, and from 1964 to 1965. His son Andreas Papandreou was Prime Minister of Greece from 1981 to 1989 and again from 1993 to 1996, and his grandson George Papandreou (Andreas Papandreou's son), was Prime Minister of Greece from 2009 to 2011;
15. Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964, his daughter Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 to 1984, and his grandson Rajiv Gandhi (Indira Gandhi's son), was Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989;
16. Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979, and again from 1980 to 1984, and his son Justin Trudeau has been Prime Minister of Canada since 2015;
17. Gen. Park Chung-hee was President of South Korea from 1963 to 1979, and his daughter Park Geun-hye was President of South Korea from 2013 to 2017;
18. John Adams was President of America from 1797 to 1801, and his son John Quincy Adams was President of America from 1825 to 1829;
19. Gnassingbe Eyadema was President of Togo for 38 years from 1967 to 2005 and his son Faure Gnassingbe has been President of Togo since 2005 i.e. for 15 years now, meaning that for 53 years running now nonstop, the people of Togo have known only one family as tenants of the Executive Mansion in Lome, the capital of Togo.
20. George Herbert Walker Bush (George H.W. Bush), was President of America from 1989 to 1993, and his son George Walker Bush (George W. Bush), was President of America from 2001 to 2009.
Another son of George H.W. Bush i.e. John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, was Governor of the State of Florida from 1999 to 2007.
The Bush family of America have indeed not been left behind in the "eating." Their "turn to eat" is still ongoing.
We have just witnessed an interesting 2020 US presidential election, and 20 years ago in the year 2000, was another close and interesting US presidential election between then US Vice President Al Gore and then Governor of the State of Texas George W. Bush.
The electoral college vote of the State of Florida is what decided the year 2000 US presidential election. It was that close in the year 2000. Had Vice President Al Gore won the electoral college vote in the State of Florida, he would have become America's 43rd President, and had Gov. George W. Bush won the electoral college vote in the State of Florida, he would have become America's 43rd President. Gov. George W. Bush eventually won in the State of Florida and the rest is history.
But who was Governor of the State of Florida at the time? It was Gov. John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, younger brother of Gov. George W. Bush.
Yes Gov. John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, helped his brother get elected America's 43rd President by rigging the vote and by rigging the voting machines in the State of Florida, enabling double voting, even triple voting, for Gov. George W. Bush. Details of this, some of them, are contained in the epic year 2004 Michael Moore documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."
But even long before the the likes of "Fahrenheit 9/11" i.e. at the material time i.e. the year 2000, it was an open secret that Gov. John Ellis "Jeb" Bush had helped rig the year 2000 US presidential election for his brother Gov. George W. Bush.
Robert Gabriel Mugabe stole the year 2008 presidential election in Zimbabwe from his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai, and when questioned about this in America by renowned journalist Christiane Amanpour, an irritated and exasperated Mugabe fired back i.e. "How about President Bush, why don't you ask him about how he stole the year 2000 election?"
A certain outgoing US President must be wishing he had brothers and sisters who were Governors of multiple US States, right?
21. Finally, El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba was President of Gabon for 42 years from 1967 to 2009, and his son Ali Bongo Ondimba has been President of Gabon for 11 years now i.e. since 2009, meaning that for 53 years running now nonstop, the people of Gabon have known only one family as tenants of the Executive Mansion in Libreville, the capital of Gabon;
So President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta of Kenya is in good company i.e. he has many cousins and relatives in leadership, past and present, in many different corners of the world.
It's called "the system."
You must be logged in to post a comment.