To look at the nature of Kenya’s politics is to be stunned.
There are no rules anymore on how to play politics. Anyone who feels advantaged enough can snatch the ball and run away with it. Before you know it, the ball has gone through the goalposts to the goalkeeper's chagrin. In our case, the goalkeeper can be complacent and pretend to know nothing by making long-winded artificial protests to pacify the spectators.
This scenario unfolds after political referees have long left their positions in the field, leaving a million and one pretenders and self-seekers to run the show with devastating results socially, economic and political.
The chief driving factors of this state of imbroglio are unfounded suspicion, misplaced mistrust and deep-rooted ethnicity. Those who hold the seat of power have this perpetual fear of the unknown, resulting in a false itch within the body politic that sends them to employ all manner of shenanigans to stay in power or at least influence the status quo.
We retreat into our tribal cocoons whenever we feel, albeit falsely, that our existence is threatened by the actions of others. Innocent implementation of the law could easily degenerate into deadly shadow-boxing.
Take the recent unwarranted attack on Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago by his Nakuru counterpart Lee Kinyanjui and some Kikuyus in Nakuru.
The bile was unbelievable. Kinyanjui was quoted telling Mandago, “Chunga watu wetu na tutachunga wenu (take care of our people and we will take care of your people). In other words, the good governor was actually telling Mandago that it won’t be business as usual if he continues to clear Kikuyu hawkers from Eldoret streets.
The old fissures could be reappearing, God forbid. When will we stop being so narrow-minded?
Mandago’s administration was not the sole player in the recent exercise to rid the town of hawkers who have made their quest for daily bread everybody’s headache. To me, this is not a tale—I experience it always when running errands in Eldoret town. Sometimes, it is almost impossible to move from point A to B thanks to thousands of rude hawkers. It beats logic for someone in their right senses to display their wares in front of other people’s premises without a care in the world.
And then when order is restored, someone cries foul and whips up tribal emotions.
Kinyanjui and his henchmen's tone and the accusations they hurled at Mandago for doing his job, spoke volumes about how some elected leaders feel more superior to others.
Kikuyu leaders in Nakuru still have a bone or two to pick with Mandago after he warned some communities in Uasin Gishu against voting for his worthy rival business magnet Bundotich Zedekiah Kiprop, alias Buzeki.
This flies in the face of our national values embedded in our Constitution.
Secondly, since Rift Valley will play an integral part in Jubilee succession politics in 2022, the Kikuyu in this region live in perpetual fear of the unknown. This is compounded by the loud voices from some politicians from this community who have been waxing lyrical about why they will not vote for the Deputy President in 2022 as agreed in an MoU by President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto.
I uphold democratic tenets and respect every Kenyan’s right to vote for whoever s/he likes. No one should begrudge anyone for voting for their favourite candidate.
Ruto will not be the only candidate fighting for his political life five years from now. The probability that he could detour from the Mt Kenya political base is becoming clearer with each passing day.
This should not cause sleepless nights to our Kikuyu sisters and brothers that this could spell doom or revive the deadly political rivalry between the two communities.
Kikuyu and Kalenjin leaders should be cultivating lasting relationships between their communities.
This nonsensical talk about the Kikuyu being isolated and profiled is dampening the dawn of the New Year. And so soon after a bitter presidential election that is yet to show signs of dissipation, what with a looming swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga.
These two communities must not take the country back to the bloody scenarios of 2007-08 when they turned Rift Valley into a killing field.
History is replete with what usually happens when the Kikuyu vote differently from their Kalenjin brothers. We don’t want a repeat. The tectonic plates should not be pushed back lest they snap. We are better off together than apart.