End Kieleweke vs Tangatanga rivalry

A frog inhabited a deep pond, far from public view, while another lived in a gully containing little water, and traversed by a country road. The frog that lived in the pond warned his friend to change his residence and entreated him to come and live with him, saying that he would enjoy greater safety and more abundant food.

The other refused, saying he felt it so very hard to leave a place to which he had become accustomed. A few days afterwards a heavy wagon passed through the gully and crushed him to death under its wheels.

For the past couple of months, the country has been presented with an amusing spectacle of the camps that have emerged in Jubilee, nicknamed Tangatanga and Kieleweke.

Before the 2017 elections, dozens of parties moved into Jubilee leading to a convincing victory at the national and county level. Jubilee Party is the deep pond in the story above while the two groupings are the frog that was crushed by the wagon.

The Tangatanga vs Kieleweke spectacle was amusing at first, but it has degenerated into serious political rivalry, with the two factions keen on destroying each other. The rivalry is not only a threat to the agenda of the Jubilee Party and President Uhuru Kenyatta, but to the unity of the country in general.

What people from both camps fail to realise is that this disintegration of Jubilee has made others grab popcorn and watch in amusement. Jubilee Party opponents are happy to see the implosion.

For them, this is an opportunity to cheer either of the sides on and ensure that there is no unity in the ruling party.

While democracy allows for divergent views, let’s be honest, the people in the two camps are there for their own selfish political reasons. The camps have nothing to do with the transformation of this nation; rather everything to do with their own political survival after President Uhuru Kenyatta retires.

So polarised has the situation become that in politics, government and business, one must first state which camp they belong to before they do anything. If you are seen with the DP, you support Tangatanga. If you are spotted with someone else, you belong to the other camp and are an enemy.

Government tenders and political appointments are now heavily based on which camp one belongs to. This totally goes against the vision of the Jubilee Party, which promised Kenyans inclusivity, unity and, most important of all, economic progression.

This rivalry has seen the emergence of other parties as most do not feel at home in Jubilee and this is bound to get worse. If this does not change, Jubilee will be weakened and other parties, especially those in the opposition, will gain strength from the divisions within JP.

This is the time for the two camps to be united and Jubilee to stand as one party. It’s time for politicians and those in government to stop fighting the DP. It is also time for politicians to stop attacking the President. Give both the respect that they deserve.

Whether you belong to Kieleweke or Tangatanga, Jubilee members and supporters (and Kenyans in general) do not care. They want to see the Jubilee manifesto implemented with the economic empowerment and unity promised becoming a reality.

I am a proud card-carrying member of Jubilee. I support the President and I support the Deputy President, and I support the plan of the President leading for 10 years and his deputy for 10 thereafter.

I am not in either camp but I am Team Kenya. I believe that we can transform our nation in this generation, and I believe that the President is on the right track. Let’s focus less on which camp who belongs to and all become Team Kenya, focused on the positive transformation of our nation.