Why Change of Regime In Kenya Awakens Butterflies In Several Quarters

Many have said that change is as good as rest. Others have insisted that the only constant thing in life is change. In physics, inertia is a well-known tendency to resist motion while at rest and to resist rest while in motion. Inertia has never stopped change.

So that we are all on the same page, let's conclude with one saying. "The only person that loves change, is a wet baby in diapers stung by its urine or poop."

We are at a transition point in Kenya following the elections of August 9th. It has been a long period of two months to conclude the vetting and swearing-in to office of the Cabinet Secretaries. The government is still some distance away from filling up the Principal Secretaries and Cabinet Administrative Secretaries positions. We will have authority and parastatal boards and diplomatic appointments closely following. 

All these changes have far-reaching ramifications. It is a time when the trappings of various offices shift to new people. Many people won't benefit from soft landings and hence the big reason why change is not welcome to many people who are wrong-footed in the motions of the shifting gears.

Kenya has some of the best perks in the world for senior executives and the legislature. They are life-changing and beneficiaries are empowered to lead admirable lifestyles. Therefore change has consequences.

There are two levels of change. First is the change that replaces officeholders with new people.

Second, is the change in leadership style brought about by the head of state.

The change of personnel carries its own set of challenges. Institutional memory challenges abound as people leave with a lot of untransferred knowledge. The newcomers have butterflies in their tummies because they are expected to demonstrate change in such a short time and clear consequences may consign them back to life before appointment to office.

The change in working style by the head of state has generated debate. As a teetotaller and an early riser, anyone working closely with him feels duty-bound to be as early if not as sober as the boss. This poses and places great challenges on those who have freely partaken in the inebriating spirits.

It is now a case of no longer being high on spirits but being in high spirits at work. I agree with the president. We cannot afford to walk when the world is racing past us. Everyone must hasten their pace of working to deliver on the promises that brought them to office.

The change also affects those exiting the stage. Some regular scribes have opined that personal responsibility for commissions and omissions while in office will soon haunt some people. We shall wait to see if this will be the case. But because of such talk, gigantic butterflies must be doing their dance in the tummies of some of the exiting executives.

Finally, we have beneficiaries of the previous regime who for one reason or the other were hitherto untouchable. When they were not making the news, the news looked for them. Their phones have stopped ringing as they often did in the recent past. Some are now seen in pubs as early as 11:00 a.m. as they while away days marked by empty diaries. Others are too scared to venture into business lest everyone thinks that they looted from us. These changes are never good for anyone.

You are not yourself when you really wish to be yourself. You are downplaying your reality and holding all the cards close to your chest until such time that the lifestyle audit team focuses elsewhere.

Many have gone upcountry to lead simple lives without secretaries and people around them.

We have those who thrive in the chaos brought about by change. Some are making a killing from the blind spots that uncontrolled change brings. Anything that was undocumented could now be in private hands. Such people have their fingers crossed hoping that they will escape the auditor's scrutiny. Their tummies hold pupated insects that will perhaps break out of their cocoons, should they be caught up with.

Everyone experiencing change right now must take it one step at a time.