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Let us pat ourselves on the back for once. The just concluded August 9 general election has come and gone without the kind of violence and polarisation witnessed in previous elections. But this is not courtesy of our greedy politicians who would not miss an opportunity to spill blood if it will assure them victory at the ballot.

It is the Kenyan people who are maturing. I can even call the transformation divine intervention. This is particularly the case with the proletariat, who are prone to be misused as cannon fodder. Thank goodness they seem to have declared “never again”. They have jobs to do, families to raise and lives to live.

Still, let us not fool ourselves. We are not really that special. We are simply joining the club of other civilised nations in Africa who have already achieved some level of political nirvana where their elections are transparent and violence free.

We have joined the league of contemporaries like Zambia, Ghana, Namibia, Tanzania, Malawi, Morocco and Botswana among others who respect themselves. Elections do not have to be a matter of life and death, something that has been the bane of many African countries. Gradually, we are learning to deal with issues and removing handouts and tribalism from the political equation.

Again, kudos to the people, not politicians. Kenyans have learned the hard way after being perennially deceived during every electoral cycle since independence. Politically, Kenyans know very well that the more things change, the more they remain the same. If you look at the difference of votes between the winning party and the first runners up you realise that basically the status quo remains – different forest, same monkeys.

Ultimately, as I have said before, this is about the Kenyan nation. Those who win should avoid any sense of entitlement or bravado. Indeed, the winners have the responsibility of ensuring that they close ranks across the political divide. It is not really a favour they will be doing their fellow citizens. It behooves them to ensure that we remain a cohesive society regardless on one’s political affiliation.

Luckily, these are not the days of single party rule where unilateralism ruled. There are several constitutional checks and balances in the hierarchy of power, and misuse of the latter would need brute force or gross injustice. Kenyans should have no fear that any government can run roughshod over their rights. Well, unless they become acquiescent to such machinations.

While I am not advocating for a handshake kind of arrangement, I believe President-elect William Ruto will be magnanimous in victory and reach out to rare talent on the other side that can help move this country forward. National development should be divorced from political expediency and similar shenanigans. Also, as the president-elect promised, there is no room for vengeance or profiling based on one’s political choices.

Ultimately, we must infuse serious values in the country’s political affairs. It cannot be the pursuit of power for its own sake or for self-aggrandisement. Elected leaders must be servants who deserve the often unqualified privileges we pay for them through our sweat, and even blood at times.

Secondly, we must divorce our politics and government away from the winner-takes-it-all mode to a decent form of power sharing. Again, this is not a favour. It is an obligation that they owe to progeny. By the time this generation is over, we must have broken the psychological bondage of ethnicity and even nepotism in the Kenya’s body politic.

Kenyans are evolving. Having refused to kill their kith and kin for politicians to ascend to power, they are now moving to demanding value and accountability for their taxes. In another election, politicians will be very careful and honest about the promises they make to the electorate. Let the countdown continue…

— The writer comments on international affairs