It is still 19 months to go until the August 2022 elections but already the mudslinging has reached fever pitch.
It began with Jubilee's apparent need to dethrone Deputy President William Ruto as the heir apparent to President Uhuru Kenyatta. Ruto was accused of being over-ambitious, disrespectful to the President, and involved in questionable transactions.
Ruto himself stayed silent for a long time but his acolytes hit back on his behalf. The 'dynasties' – the Mois, Kenyattas and Odingas – did not want to surrender power to any newcomer, to the 'hustlers', including the man who once sold chickens at the roadside.
Now Ruto, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka are all taking continuous potshots at each other. This is very dangerous. Aggressive political rhetoric can easily lead to outbreaks of violence – we saw it in 2007 in Kenya, and we saw it this month in Washington DC.
Surely someone can call a truce. Let the politicians agree to suspend the mutual abuse until six months before the election. If we continue like this, the country can tear apart.
Quote of the day: "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."
Edgar Allan Poe
The American short story writer was born on January 19, 1809
