Kenya is set for the August 2022 General Election.
However, the country is at the brink of a political catastrophe unless some powerful cartels referred to ‘deep state’ or ‘system’ abandon their attempts to scuttle our hard-earned democracy.
These individuals must respect the tenets of our democracy and allow elections to play their role and purspose. Their schemes to derail the will of the people does not augur well with the masses, especially given our post-election violence experience.
But as politicians go back to their constituencies and counties to prepare for the 2022 showdown, I wish to address the top presidential aspirants. The next general election offers them another chance to form the next government.
Kenya’s fifth president must be readily prepared with solutions to the many problems the country faces. He (so far they are all men) must be a man with the antidote to the problems that bedevil this country. A country that imports what it has and exports what it lacks; a country whose banks give loans to the rich but refuse to lend to those who need them; a country where people borrow to buy things they don’t need; a country where the rich grow richer and the poor become poorer; a rich country of poor people.
To get there, nonetheless, there are a few things the incoming president must do for the sake of the stability of the country.
One is to bury corruption and cartels in Kenya.
In reality, it is impractical for a man of integrity to scale all the hurdles placed on his way to ascend to the presidency. This is largely because our elections are very expensive and the funds used to bankroll the campaigns are by no means clean. Cartels fund these campaigns.
My advice to presidential aspirants is that they accept the cash because they need it.
But immediately you are sworn in to office, hold these cartels to account. Start by pursuing corrupt government officials who live beyond their means and have the EACC investigate each of them. We should discourage being normal in an abnormal society. Anyone found with skeletons in their cupboards should not be spared.
As president, there are practical steps the aspirants can take to eradicate poverty and lift the poor from the bottom of the pyramid. Launch the war against corruption and impunity in government so that people live within their means and reduce on unnecessary travel.
Educate people about the importance of family planning and it correlation with the economy.
Kenyans needs a president who will not treat his tribe differently from the others. A president whose top priority will be to ensure the people, all people, and their property are secure. A man or hopefully a woman who will protect the right to life, freedom of speech and other freedoms that are guaranteed by the Constitution.
The incoming president must assure us that anyone who steals from public coffers shall find no place on earth to hide. He must reassure Kenyans that every looter will be pursued to wherever they might hide.
Kenya needs a president who is all-encompassing; a man who is ready to choose between letting the poor live happily and facing the wrath of the oppressed.
Finally, I want to remind IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati that this is the golden chance to redeem himself. During the presentation of their documents for clearance, Chebukati should invite the media to help scrutinise academic credentials of all the aspirants before clearing them.
That way, the IEBC will restore confidence among the electorate by clearing any doubts that might have been raised by critics such as Miguna Miguna against some hopefuls.
Any candidate who doesn’t meet the academic threshold provided for by the law, regardless of his status, must not be cleared.
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than a great leader be ‘discovered’ through an election”
The writer sells bananas in the streets of Kisii town
