Besides betraying the Government’s regrettable intolerance, the hasty expulsion of Dr Jerome Corsi from the country may have unwittingly played into his plot and delivered what he precisely schemed to achieve.
Personally, having met and spoken with Senator Barack Obama during his last visit to Kenya, I am a great admirer of his; and as an individual with ideological leanings towards the Democratic Party, I avidly support his quest for the White House. I regard him as truly meriting the most powerful political office in the world through his charisma and intellect. Compared to the Republican candidate John McCain, I consider Obama to be the person most able to provide genuine catalytic change of eight years of George Bush’s conservative right wing administration.
Naturally, therefore, I would love to despise Obama haters especially when, like in the case of Corsi, they seem guided by a pathological, personal and petty dislike for him for reasons that suggest underlying negative racial tones. I however feel actions like the forced exit of the controversial writer have more potential for harm than good for the Democrat’s ambitions. Obama’s supporters must be vigilant against well-intentioned deeds that could play into the hands of his vicious opponents determined to paint him in ugly colours.
In deporting Corsi, the Government, in my opinion, not only over-reacted but behaved illegally and unconstitutionally. It seems to have been guided by the Obamania that has gripped the nation. And from the unfolding controversy, this over-zealousness may have been counter-productive. It may have given Obama haters the kind of ammo they desperately need to clip his soaring wings.
A more sober and diligent approach to the US maverick author would have raised some useful cause-and-effect scenarios that would have perhaps dictated different tactics in handling him. Why, for instance, did Corsi choose the country as the launch-pad for his controversial book? What mileage did he hope to get by traveling so many miles and incurring significant costs just to release The Obama Nation? Was it a mere idiosyncrasy or a carefully thought out plan that set to achieve specific targets?
There are good indicators that the latter guided his motives. As home to the father of Obama, Corsi must have rightfully assumed that this country is manically pro-Democrat.
Considering the scandalous and libelous content of his book, he must have anticipated a hostile reception from his passionate supporters. In any case, from his planned sinister visits to the Senator’s distant kin, he had made it abundantly clear that he was man on a discrediting mission.
He must be ecstatic at the turn of events. His plot seems to have yielded more than he probably expected. It is unlikely he envisaged the Government actively joining the disgusted ranks for his agenda.
Tie Obama to his woes in Kenya
The generated publicity and controversy must have been like manna from heaven for him. He wanted a headline; we gave him headlines! Whatever is remaining for him and his assumed supporters is to somehow tie Obama to his woes in Kenya.
That would not be far-fetched. The gist of Corsi book is after all to punch huge holes in Obama’s personal credibility. Besides alleging the Senator’s childhood links to radical Islam, the author has laboured to string the presidential candidate to ties with the Odinga family and specifically, to Prime Minister Raila. His work paints the portrait of a radical communist intolerant to divergent opinion and who would not hesitate embracing unconstitutional and even criminal pursuits to power.
Unfit to lead
Corsi claims Obama funded Raila and ODM campaigns in last year elections and suggests the Democrat may have, by proxy, played a hand in the post-election chaos. That would mean the leading White House wannabe is of violent disposition and therefore unfit to command the instruments of a super power. He further portrays him as a hypocritical and selfish socialist who suffers no qualms abandoning blood relatives in squalor while he indulges in the opulence of the nouveau riche. The planned visit to Obama half-brother in Huruma was intended to do just that. In fact my considered opinion is that The Obama Nation is an abomination! In the view of many a reasonable man or woman, it is a repugnant and heretic fiction chiefly designed to besmirch the subject’s name unfairly.
Hospitality
Whatever the case, however, this country has no right to breach Corsi’s fundamental right to dignified treatment. The Government’s claim that he abused local hospitality by undertaking "business" activities while on a tourist visa is disingenuous. It is common knowledge that many visitors dabble in all manner of trade and business while in the country without prosecution. Furthermore, if that were his crime, wouldn’t we have just stopped him from launching the book without subjecting him to the serious criminal treatment: did he really warrant the persona non grata reserved for the likes of the Artur Brothers? Did his actions really pose any security threat to the country? How many Kenyans, anyway, would have bothered reading his book? And assuming they did, is the content sufficiently persuading to erode their love for Obama? What if the latter happened? Just how many active US voters are in the country? Are they in sufficient numbers to alter the outcome of the US Presidential race? And having kicked him out of the country, does that mean the book is not accessible globally and even on the internet?
Kenya is a signatory to several international charters and accords on basic human rights.
Criminal behaviour
These proclaim how countries, their sovereignty status notwithstanding, should treat visitors. Others extend to the common courtesies for treating foreigners including pesky types like Corsi who may be inclined to irritating the host.
The underlying rationale is that human beings are potentially troublesome and prone to offending general decorum, but we can and should remain hospitable unless the behaviour is criminal.
As a nation, we must question the legitimacy of this particular deportation with the same lens we would apply to a citizen whose freedom of expression and association has been curtailed for having unpopular views. Since when did our Constitution, instead of supporting freedom and tolerance, suspend human rights and provide that we deport those with whose ideas we disagree? I note with dismay the silence that many diplomats, human rights organisations and politicians have maintained on this particular case. (You try and deport any American citizen next year after the US Election and you will see the pandemonium it will create!
As a country nursing to recover the vital tourism industry ravaged by the ugly events at the beginning of the year, we need as many visitors to the country as we can. A good number of tourists from the US are, for instance, card-carrying Republicans who might rightly take offence at our Government’s manifest intolerance to one of their own. We can ill afford alacrity of, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jargon, ‘withholding favour’ to any spending foreigner who confesses hate for those we love even when this has no remote bearing on our bigger national interests.
Tolerance
In handling Corsi, the Government squandered a good opportunity to demonstrate its tolerance and magnanimity even to the offensive. Had it allowed him to launch his book, it would have been a massive PR coup on his plot. By calling his bluff and allowing him unfettered space to unveil his vitriolic stuff, it is likely the book would have registered a brief presence and petered off into deserved insignificance while Obama fan base continued its massive growth. I fear what has just happened may do just the opposite.
—Njoki S Ndungu (ndungunjoki@yahoo.com) is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a former Nominated MP
By Njoki Ndung’u
East African Standard
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
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