WAIKENDA: Focus on policies, not raising political temperatures

Some birds saw a man sowing flaxseed but they thought nothing of it. The swallow, however, understood what this meant.

She called an assembly of the birds and explained; "This is something dangerous; let's go and pull it up. If it is allowed to grow, people will make it into nets and we will not able to escape the traps that they devise."

The birds mocked the swallow's words and scorned her advice. The swallow went to the people and began to make her nest only under the roofs of their houses. Meanwhile, the other birds refused to heed the swallow's warnings, so now they are constantly being trapped in nets and snares.

If the past few weeks, there have been multiple statements and pronouncements made by politicians against each other meant to raise the political temperature. Even the NCIC has warned that many politicians are involved in incitement and are actually causing tension.

In fact, this election has been dubbed as one between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto. This framing has ended up shifting focus to individuals instead of the policies being put forward by the leading candidates.

If you look back, in 2013, TNA and URP came together, initially through the Tuko Pamoja rallies as a way to unite the Kikuyu and Kalenjin communities. At previous elections, the two communities had always been fighting because of incitement by their leaders.

We all remember vividly as leaders campaigning for the 2007 election when sporadic violence started to break out across the country. Days before the election, we were already witnessing violence in some parts of the country, especially in Rift Valley and Nairobi.

At the end of it, we had lost more than 1,500 Kenyans and over 500,000 were displaced from their homes. All this was because we did not honestly ask Kenyan leaders to focus on policies and quit rhetoric that would incite the public.

Leaders must focus on selling their policies, and not attacking each other as we have witnessed in rallies recently.

When leaders start going at each other, we find their followers doing the same and the result is an endless politicking cycle that distracts us from more important issues.

We must start calling out leaders who are pushing for divisions if we are to ensure that the country remains firmly focused on dealing with divisions.

Election violence, whether before or after, puts the country on a very awkward path politically, socially and economically.

We lose billions of shillings during such acts of violence and therefore we must guard the peaceful and conducive environment we have worked hard to build in the country.

No one is above the law – not the police, not the politicians, not one single Kenyan. And those that get involved in violent acts or incitement to violence must be dealt with in line with the law.

There is nothing wrong with belonging to a certain political side as this is a right guaranteed by the 2010 Constitution. What is wrong is for us to carry the notion that we are superior to others who have taken a different political path, whether we control political or economic power.

This country needs me and you. All of us are important to its development and we all have a role to play. Let us keep the peace and ensure that we create a good environment for all of us to prosper.

There is a Swahili saying that says 'when two elephants fight, it's the grass that gets hurt'. Kenyans have everything to lose in this uncontrolled show of might among our leaders.

At the end of it all, this political rhetoric will sow the seed of discord that will end up trapping Kenyans in anarchy, especially when we near the election and politics becomes heated. Kenyans have lost a lot before because of simmering anger that arises from this kind of political talk.

Political and communications consultant. @MachelWaikenda