Political Dynasties in African Politics (Prof. Ali A. Mazrui, Kampala)
The Bush family in the US has become a political dynasty. It has so
far produced two presidents: George Herbert Bush and George William
Bush. It is possible that there will be a third President Bush:
President Jeb Bush, currently the Governor of Florida.
The Kennedy family has also been a US political dynasty. One brother
(John) became president; another (Robert) became Senator and then
Attorney General, and the third (Edward) has been a Senator and would
probably have become president but for the Chappaquiddick tragedy.
The Odinga family of Kenya is becoming dynastic. Jaramogi Oginga
Odinga rose as high as Kenya's Vice-Presidency. But his dream of
becoming President of Kenya remained elusive, partly because of
contrived impediments put in his way by rival political forces.
Politicisation of Raila Odinga is turning the Odinga family into a
political dynasty.
The Kenyattas have also been evolving into a political dynasty. In
2002, Uhuru Kenyatta attempted to become President of Kenya like his
father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Uhuru is young enough to ascend to the
pinnacle of power in the future. Asia has experienced female succession
to male martyrdom. A male leader is assassinated and a female relative
emerges as a political force to take his place.
In Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed as Prime Minister.
Ultimately, his daughter, Benazir Bhutto, became Prime Minister of
Pakistan twice before her own assassination. In Bangladeshi history,
Sheikh Mujib Rahman and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq were killed.
Rahman's daughter and Zia's widow rose to exercise ultimate political
leadership. In Indonesia, Megawati Sukarnoputri eventually succeeded
her father, the late Sukarno, as Indonesia's Head of State.
Africa is revealing a pattern of male succession to male heroism
rather than female succession to male martyrdom. In the DRC,
assassinated President Laurent Kabila was succeeded by his son, Joseph
Kabila. In the Republic of Togo, the long presidency of Gnassingbe
Eyadema was succeeded by the presidency of Abass Bonfoh. Both the DRC
and Togo have been cases of interfamilial succession by military means.
The rise of Odinga and Uhuru to national prominence in Kenya have been
through democratisation rather than through military intervention.
Two assassinations in Kenya in the 1960s had significant
consequences for Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. One was the assassination of
Pio Gama Pinto, a Kenyan born Asian whose prime passions were serving
socialism and helping Oginga. When Pinto was killed in 1965, Oginga
lost a gifted political organiser. But Pinto did not produce a heroic
successor after his martyrdom.
The second assassination which shook Oginga's career, was the murder
of Tom Mboya in 1969. Mboya was Oginga's ethnic compatriot and
political rival. His death unleashed political turmoil among the Luo
and resulted in Oginga's detention and banning of his political party.
But the Mboya assassination did not lead to a Mboya political successor
either, whereas Oginga's natural death did result in one high profile
political Odinga.
Oginga's obstacle towards the presidency was persistently ethnic.
There was a concerted drive to prevent a Luo from becoming president.
Kennedy's obstacle towards the presidency was religious. The US never
had a Roman Catholic president. Kennedy needed to convince the American
voters that he was more American than Catholic.
Both Oginga Odinga and Raila Odinga have tried their utmost to
convince the Kenyan electorate that when the chips were down, the
Odingas were Kenyans first and Luo second. But, have Kenyans regarded
the Odingas in the reverse order- as Luo first and Kenyans second? When
Oginga Odinga said uhuru had not yet been achieved, and offered to lead
Kenyans to social justice, it was fellow Luo who followed him
regardless of income or social class.
As far as the Kenya electorate was concerned, the messenger was more
politically relevant than the message. The message was a call for
greater social justice, but the messenger was judged by his ethnicity.
Copyright © 2008 The Monitor.