Politicians should tone down the vitriol, focus on development
What you need to know:
Political circuses are bad. They are like drugs, diverting attention from the real pressing issues of the day.
It is grossly immoral to expect that the citizenry will perpetually live in a state of political dope.
None of these hawkish MPs and court jesters has demonstrated any willingness or soundness of thought to solve the challenges bedevilling the country.
The year has begun on a charged path, at least politically. In its typical no-holds-barred fashion, the Kenyan political realm has exploded again, with cacophonic, even vitriolic shrieks of the 2022 elections.
Mr David Murathe, the erstwhile Jubilee Party vice chairman fired the first salvo. To him, Mt Kenya voters are not bound by any covenants in relation to who succeeds Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, who is now serving his last term.
CAPRICIOUS
Expectedly, Mr Murathe lit a political fire. It trigged a series of spectacular shouting matches, a natural relish of politicians. Regrettably, Kenya’s political scene appears to be perpetually on tenterhooks.
Trouble is that if history can teach us anything, it is that politics in Kenya is capricious. Folks, it is too early. Look at this: Just before 1978, the Mt Kenya mafia was pretty certain to disenfranchise one Mr Daniel Arap Moi. The rest is history. At the advent of multi-party, the opposition was buoyant to clinch power; it collapsed like a house of cards giving Kanu a smooth sail.
In 2002, the legend of “Kibaki Tosha” almost at the eleventh hour reconfigured the politics of Narc and Kenya. And who would have predicted the UhuRuto juggernaut?
Thus, 2022 is lights years ahead in politics. The configurations will be completely different. We cannot wish away a fusion of hitherto non-existent outfits to euphorically romp to town with a winning card.
Instead of wasting time to disorient the country, politicians should endeavour to solve our myriad problems. Indeed, we need to recoup the lost time we expended politicking in 2017. And that can only succeed when sobriety takes centre stage. Sadly, they cannot. That we are eternally on political heat is a manifest of the paucity of solid ideological anchorage in our body politic. Unsurprisingly so. Instead, what drives us is the narrow lust for power grab and pillaging of the republic. That is why, in all estimation, the Kenya’s political soul and consciousness is perverted.
Discourses on 2022 succession and referendum reaffirm our assessment of the political elite: Unimaginative. Unambitious. Mediocre.
HAWKISH MPs
That is why even with the largest number of representatives in the history of the country, haemorrhage of public resources continues unabated. They won’t raise a finger. Investigative reports are traded for few pieces of silver in restrooms and oftentimes, the ethnic card is wielded.
This is quite dispiriting. Political circuses are bad. They are like drugs, diverting attention from the real pressing issues of the day. It is grossly immoral to expect that the citizenry will perpetually live in a state of political dope.
None of these hawkish MPs and court jesters has demonstrated any willingness or soundness of thought to solve the challenges bedevilling the country. They only have a penchant of calling press conferences and attend funerals where they utter expletives. We cannot make headway, as a country if all we do is to call the media instead of tackling the real elephant in the room.
A political class whose orientation is at variance with the masses, hubris its very embodiment and myopia its construct can hardly deliver prosperity to the citizens. Indeed, this lack of civic consciousness on the part of the people’s representative is a disturbing misdemeanour.
LOOTING
The people’s representatives have betrayed the social contract. Some have sat pretty while others have taken part in or supervised the illicit enterprise of looting.
Our politicians do not arouse hope. Yet, what our republic needs at the apex of political thought are creative minds. Kenya, and indeed, any society, requires a leadership with distilled intellect, wide and rich perspective and fidelity to the citizens’ aspirations. Never before has political virtue and maturity been important.
Unfortunately, it is clear that the current configuration of minds is inept and indefensible for a republic that needs to fly. Meantime, can the politicians give us a break and get down to work?
Mr Wamanji is a Public Relations and Communication adviser [email protected] @manjis
