Some political hopefuls will be compromised from the moment they're elected

After a long absence from my favourite coffee joints due to the hustling that characterises the life of many young men in the city, I finally got some time to have a tête-à-tête with a few of my friends.

I am not a politician but most of my friends are running for different elective positions, and I found myself seated with a group of young, energetic and vibrant politicians.

Maybe I should say businessmen and women executives with political ambitions, who have invested heavily in their political campaign for some time now, and boast of a ground that is singing their tunes.

NEW, YOUNG INDEPENDENTS

It was a refreshing kind of conversation, because for a good, long spell the topical and issue-based discussions submerged the tribal undertones and political party affiliations.

I started entertaining the idea that majority of these ambitious young men and women would vie as independent candidates. My mind even wandered to the Cherangany MP, Hon. Wesley Korir, who defied all odds and won in a very cosmopolitan constituency without the backing of a political party or political heavyweight.

I was thinking of how vibrant and anchored on the Kenyan consciousness Parliamentary proceedings would be. Just the thought of even 30 independent MPs, who would not have the baggage of partisan political parties and coalition demands, almost got me applauding them for daring to go against the norm.

Well, I was wrong. Despite all their groundwork and the projects they have initiated, it became apparent that these young men and women still believe that jostling and angling for strategic positions within the circles of political heavyweights in their backyards is the surest way to get to the August House.

The whole discussion turned out to be a spectacle of how they would clinch Parliamentary seats in their respective constituencies because they were close to the powers that be in the political parties that are popular in their backyards.

ELECTORAL TIGRITUDE

Smartphones were unleashed, photos did the rounds and all and sundry were boasting of how close they were to President Uhuru Kenyatta, Raila Odinga, Deputy President William Ruto, Kalonzo Musyoka, Senator Moses Wetang'ula, Senator Gideon Moi, Musalia Mudavadi and so on.

From issues, the discussion took a totally different trajectory as it became a contest of how relevant or irrelevant it was to be close to political heavyweights.

A common thread that underlined all the arguments advanced was that all these young men and women had done more than enough on the ground, yet they are still not confident to go the whole way to the ballot without some sort of unnecessary association and endorsement from traditional political powerhouses.

Wole Soyinka responded to the Negritude movement that gloated about the beauty of Africa and returning to Africanness by saying that “a tiger does not boast of its tigritude, it pounces.”

This is the time for these young men and women to pounce, because they have what it takes to make it to Parliament and represent their people without the baggage that comes with getting party tickets through the back door.

Winning courtesy of perceived influence from a powerful kingpin or political party ties the winner to the beck and call of that kingpin, possibly resulting in a situation where we have many representatives but very few voices of reason.

CONCENTRATED POWER

A few politicians have been singled out as being vocal sycophants, in support of certain political powerhouses because they owe their seats to those kingpins.   

Communication and media studies students will tell you that if the media is concentrated in the hands of a few owners, be they individual or conglomerates, the public is likely to be informed by many outlets, which is great, but these outlets are likely to speak from a very narrow range of opinions, given the concentration of ownership.

The same concentration is replicated in our politics to some degree of detrimental effect, because politics determines how we live in society and how our resources are distributed.

Therefore, it is an abdication of our civic duty as citizens if we allow a few individuals to concentrate the power to determine these things.

Emerging political leadership must be alive to this, and must start the journey of enthroning onto leadership positions a few political leaders who serve the electorate, rather than many political leaders who echo the voices of a few kingpins.

Such a shift from our politics of patronage may not instantly unshackle the emerging generation of politicians from the clout of a few political kingpins, but is certainly worth a try.

Hesbon H. Owila is a lecturer in Communication at Daystar University.