What Kenyans want and questions Ruto must answer

It is important to contextually understand what is meant when we say “Kenyans” in an opinion piece like this. Our Constitution defines a Kenyan citizen as simply anyone whose father or mother was a Kenyan citizen on the day they were born. That’s not who we are talking about here; rather, you are a Kenyan in this context if you’re a legal Kenyan citizen but, more importantly, you’re not one plagued with the following sometimes incurable maladies: tribalism, negative ethnicity and backwardness.

If you’re not afflicted with any of these maladies, then chances are you are among us Kenyans—who, it must be said, constitute more than a substantial majority of the country and want the following three basic things:

First, we want a healthy economy, which begs the question, what is a healthy economy? A healthy economy is where GDP growth rate is 2%, while unemployment and inflation are in balance, with unemployment not rising above 4.5% and inflation not rising above 2%. GDP is the nation's entire economic output for the past year and GDP growth rate is the difference in growth from the previous quarter.

As economics writer Kimberly Mateo puts it, a healthy GDP growth rate is like a body temperature of 98.6 degrees. If your temperature is lower than the ideal, you know you're sick. If it's too low, you're near death. A higher temperature can also mean you're sick. If it's over 100 degrees, you have a fever. If it's above 104 degrees for any period, you're deathly ill. Every indicator in our economy, and people’s own suffering in the country tells us our economic temperature is too low, we are near dead.

Something needs to be done and must be done now to save us from death.

Second, we want a united country where inclusivity in our political dispensation and culture is inseparable from who we are as a nation. We know we have those who would drag us backwards and keep us in a permanent state of conflicts, division and hatred but these are the real wanjingas we must defeat.

To their credit, President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga have shown us they are committed to delivering on this need courtesy of the handshake and now BBI, which we must all see to it is tweaked and implemented in the spirit it was created.

Third, along with a healthy economy, we must demand and bring an end to corruption not just by arresting and soon letting go the culprits, but arresting, convicting and sending to jail those who engage in the vice and, more importantly, recovering the loot.

Now, questions for Deputy President William Samoei Ruto, and let’s start with where we have left off with our wants as Kenyans; do you, sir, agree that, other than the patently broke ones, all politicians seeking or holding public office must be subject to a full-blown audit of their lifestyles to account how they have accumulated their wealth, with those who are unable to being sacked or barred from holding any public office?

Have you amassed your wealth by lawful, provable means? Put another way, would you agree the manner you have accumulated your wealth is not consistent with anyone doing so in other than by questionable ways?

If the acquisition of this wealth is not other than by provable, clean legal means; would you agree that anyone acquiring wealth in other than provable, clean legal means should be barred from seeking any public office, let alone the presidency?

Assuming for the sake of argument that everyone in Kenyan politics is corrupt; would you agree there are some who are so corrupt they must be barred from holding public office, and certainly not the presidency where they can ill-gain even more at the continued expense of Wanjiku?

Here’s a bonus question: do you think it’s right or fair for the presidency to be hogged by sons from two tribes in Kenya only, notwithstanding mothers from the rest of the country’s 40+ tribes have sired boys and girls quite capable of being president?

Legal analyst and political commentator