The lesson is to get things right with our polls

Most of my friends had left DC in droves; a city of 400,000 residents and 60,000 civil servants was expected to host an estimated 5 million visitors and few wanted to be around for that. Others stayed indoors, glued to their television sets for the big event.

I had it in mind to stay indoors too owing to a terrible cold I picked up mid this week, but friends and colleagues were determined to get me there by all means necessary; the political types I have interacted with on the Hill were eager to ensure I witnessed the inauguration.

The one thing I was sure I would not be doing was joining the Kenyan ministers and MPs in town for an African bash; I have a low opinion of the Kenyan political elite at this time, and generally consider it wasteful in many of its actions and policy decisions. 

I am the contemplative type, and so it was natural my day would be spent assessing the importance of the event, its implications for America’s domestic and foreign policies, as well as Kenya and Africa’s place in an Obama White House.

I feel very uneasy, yet also excited to be associated with Kenya and Africa at this moment in time, thinking the road ahead for us will be taxing and demanding on one hand but also praying for God to rule over our land and continent to make it different. I believe in limited government, traditional family values, the rule of law, low taxes, property rights and a strong national defence; this places me right of centre on most policy concerns compared with Obama who is to the left. 

I expect him to challenge existing assumptions about America, characterise such challenges in essentially deep American values and to explore sound alternatives to existing problems in this country.

Importantly, I expect him to provide new leadership on America’s understanding of the triad informing its national security and foreign policy concerns in Africa and other parts of the world: defence, diplomacy and development.

I am concerned that liberal outfits and agenda in and out of America would benefit under his administration, though I hope the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage and ordered liberty will not take a beating from him in Africa or anywhere else.

It is safe to assume he will give greater priority to American interests, though I hope Nairobi’s saddening politics could change somewhat during his tenure, particularly our feeble attempts at legal and land reforms as well as ethnic relations. 

I arrived here four months after the disputed 2007 General Elections in Kenya, during which I had contested for the Cherangany parliamentary seat.

Arriving in an election year was historic for me, despite the fact that I had been schooling here when George Bush was campaigning for his second term.

Going forward, I hope Kenyan and African youth can pick lessons from Obama’s campaigns and victory: the crucial place of ideas and a campaign platform, organising, messaging, fund-raising and the courage to stand up for what they believe is right for their country and generations to come.

Strategic chance

As a young Kenyan politician, I am convinced we have a historic and strategic chance not to get things wrong the next time we go to the ballot box; I really hope our next election can be the time when policy ideas and values get to determine who we elect for the local council, National Assembly and the highest office in the land.

Hopefully, we could also witness the emergence of genuinely post-ethnic candidates at all electoral levels for whom love for peope and country shall not be merely another public relations gimmick.