- By Joseph Warungu
- Letter from the Africa series, Nairobi
On November 9, two men stood before Kenyans to deliver long-awaited speeches, just a few hours and a few kilometers away.
Both were live on TV.
Both men are avowed pan-Africanists and both were after the hearts of a nation weighed down by heavy economic burdens.
But that’s where the similarities ended.
One man, President William Ruto, wore a formal blue suit.
The other man, South African opposition leader Julius Malema, was dressed in a black safari suit, with his usual red beret perched on his head.
While the President’s State of the Nation address delivered amid pomp and ceremony in parliament was met with somber and weary looks, every other line of Mr Malema’s explosive speech was met with wild cheers from his audience at the opening of the Pan-African Institute in a Kenyan University.
Since that day, the two men and their speeches have been the center of many comparisons and many lively debates in Kenya. Mr Malema’s speech was broadcast by several Kenyan digital channels and excerpts of it were widely shared on WhatsApp.
Mr Malema’s decision to attack President Ruto over a range of issues, including his failure to deliver on his campaign promises, has struck a chord with many Kenyans.
The South African firefighter also slammed Mr Ruto for not challenging King Charles on colonialism during his recent visit to Kenya.
Media analyst Elvis Ndekwe says to understand why Kenyans embraced a leader who violated a common African etiquette that dictates a guest should not speak ill of his host, you have to go back to the events of March this year.
“This was the day angry citizens from four African countries took to the streets in simultaneous protests to fight the high cost of living. Protests in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Tunisia were led by opposition leaders including Julius Malema.”
Mr Ndekwe adds that Kenya is already experiencing periodic protests led by opposition leader Raila Odinga protesting what he felt were a stolen 2022 election.
“Many Kenyans, especially the younger generation, identified with Julius Malema fighting a cause similar to theirs. They saw it as a show of solidarity against oppressive or insensitive regimes.”
Professor PLO Lumumba, president of the new Pan-African Institute that invited Mr Malema to Kenya, echoes Mr Ndekwe’s argument.
“Malema represents a younger generation of Africans who are now beginning to articulate pan-African issues in a way that appeals to the critical masses,” he told the BBC.
“Remember, this is a very young continent,” he said, adding that Africa needs a younger generation of leaders.
Although Mr Ruto, 58, campaigned last year as a next-generation candidate against 78-year-old opposition leader Raila Odinga, at 42 Mr Malema is better placed to articulate the concerns of this large group of young voters.
But even before the protests in four countries in March, Mr Malema was a well-known figure with a large following in Kenya, largely because of his strong contributions to the South African parliament, where the Economic Freedom Fighters are known for wearing red overalls. giving fiery speeches and occasionally interrupting the proceedings.
Collections of his comments in parliament are popular and are making the rounds in Kenya. In the comments section of one such video last year, one person wrote: “Still can’t get enough of Reverend Malema…… love you ambassador of pure truth… LOVE FROM KENYA.”
So when Mr Malema landed in Kenya, he found an audience waiting.
Mr Ndekwe says Mr Malema poses a challenge not only to President Ruto but also to his rivals.
“For some Kenyans, Malema symbolizes the opposition leader they don’t have and many draw comparisons with Raila Odinga. Malema is young, energetic, bold and fearless. He speaks his mind even though it might annoy others. Young people don’t they see these qualities in Raila.”
“When the president’s State of the Nation address was just repeating the same promises the government had made in the past, no one questioned it,” agrees a senior editor in Kenya who did not want to be named.
“Malema has provided an alternative voice, criticizing the government. It’s a welcome break from the usual debate.”
Predictably, the Kenyan government reacted angrily to Mr Malema’s comments, with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua advising him: “We would like to appeal to visitors to respect the leaders of their host countries. We travel abroad and do not We insult the leaders of these countries. We do not interfere in their politics.
“This man who came here is a know-it-all. By the afternoon he seemed to know more about Kenya than we did. I visited his country in December and they got power rations for seven hours; yet we don’t talk about it because we respect them.”
The government is not alone in its reaction. Many ordinary Kenyans found his comments distasteful, saying a foreigner should not be teaching them how to manage their affairs. Others were offended by his decision to deliver his critical speech on the same day as the President’s State of the Nation address.
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Given the many feathers he has ruffled in a short visit, why did the organizers of the new Pan-African Institute invite Mr. Malema to Kenya?
“The choice was determined by some fundamental things,” said Professor Lumumba, a well-known and deeply passionate Pan-Africanist.
“One is that Malema has spoken and continues to speak boldly on issues concerning the African continent, including unhindered trade in Africa, free movement of people within Africa and Africans taking charge of their affairs.
“Malema in South Africa also represents a generation that says, ‘Even when you say we killed apartheid, apartheid is still alive and well’. And that to me resonates with us. Many of us chew our words because we’re afraid the consequences”.
So why does Professor Lumumba think so many Kenyans have embraced Mr Malema?
“There is a silent, critical majority of Kenyans who feel frustrated by what is going on and what is happening in Kenya’s political arena because Kenyans in the public arena are generally hypocrites. They don’t say what they mean. It’s a feeling that Malema as visitor came and said what we want to say, but we don’t want to say.”
And what did Malema himself do about his visit? He told Professor Lumumba: “I am very happy to have a group of Kenyans, and by extension Africans, who are beginning to embrace the African agenda and make it their own and are beginning to recognize that ultimate decolonization, ultimate freedom is economic freedom. .”
Although many Kenyans embrace Mr Malema, in his native South Africa he is a controversial figure who has faced accusations of inciting racial tensions.
He has been repeatedly accused of hate speech and opinion polls show his EFF is in a distant third place nationally, with the support of around 13% of voters.
With the man in the red beret gone from Kenya, the president in the blue suits has the difficult task of winning back those who are looking for solutions to their economic and political problems from without rather than from within.
Joseph Warungu is a media and communication trainer based in Nairobi