Displacement is a defense mechanism where an individual shifts their emotions or actions from the original source of stress to a safer, substitute target. In this context, a person might ignore their own problems and instead focus on helping others, thereby displacing their anxiety or stress onto activities that feel more manageable or rewarding.
It seems President William Ruto’s feelings might be displaced because just days after he promised President Joe Biden at Washington to deploy soldiers to Haiti, despite the rejection by the supreme court on ruling on January 26, 2024 the president hinted and insisted he will continue with his decision during his washington visit, he then reitarated with finality that he will keep his word in an interview with the Voice Of Africa Swahili on May 24th 2024.
“We believe that the responsibility in Haiti belongs to all countries, and all people, who believe in self-determination, who believe in democracy, who believe in the rule of law and who believe in peace,” Ruto said.
It seems this trend of saving other countries under turmoil will be a recurring till we run out of soldiers, since despite not issuing a public statement kenya has agreed to deploy its soldiers to deal with dangerous Houithi Yemen rebels. this might be so because besides Kenya being a Non Nato country, it has been chosen by both the European Union and United States to be amongst the countries to aid the country in it’s predicament.
Despite the fact that president might have two valid reasons for doing this, one due to his lucrative deal he made with United States,outgoing president Joe Biden which include him being part of the MNNA (Major Non Nato Ally), and this might be a strategic plan to get on Americas good side and we might benefit from since acquiring MNNA status we might enjoy various economic and military benefits. While it does not entail any security commitments, it allows Kenya access to military technologies that are typically difficult to acquire. If this is the case then this move might be a lucrative and probably a smart one for the long term but the downsides for this move might be the Americans might not keep their end of the bargain in this Quid Pro Quo especially since President Biden is literally on his last stretch as the president and top it all of on his last term, so who is to say the US will Quo to our Quid if they elect another president especially a republican like Donald Trump, will this commitment still be lucrative? which comes to a second reason that our president is a kind and helpful person and is living up to his religious believes.
Despite the presidents antics seeming heroic and even selfless, it is no secret that Kenya faces a lot of insecurity issues and they seem to be increasing ever since the President and his government were ‘controversially’ sworn into office to lead our dying country. Some of the notable insecurity issues include; the bandit attacks mostly in the semi arid lands of Kenya e.g Turkana, Baringo, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Samburu and Laikipia, which has not only proved to be a problem but also claimed a significant number of lives, alshabaab attacks, femicide cases and organized gang attacks in Nakuru and various Nairobi estates. This amongst other problems plaguing the country e.g food insecurity, high prices of living, homelessness, increased imposed taxes and an ongoing power struggle within the president’s backyard are just some of the reasons why the presidents plan cann’t be validated in any possible way. Now the main question still remains can the presidents “noble” decision be validated or is it just a desperate attempt to run away from his home that is burning to the ground?
