Do political philosophies mean something really?

Is it a game of bad manners or is it simply politics Kenyan style? The season of madness, when anybody in the name of a politician with a microphone mounted a platform and made one wild claim after another is coming to an end. Or is it?

If the elections of 2017 were any guide, then the hope of campaigns coming to an end may be premature, for five years ago the declaration of the results of the General Election served only as a transition from one campaign to the next.

With it were the pledges across the board. Politicians competed in announcing their pledges, and campaign goodies for each region, for each interest group, and for anybody who cared to listen. In the process, they announced what their campaign philosophy was. What was not clear is whether they believed in the philosophy themselves.

For some, it was a new economic model driven by a desire to see one form of change or another. For another group, it was a self-same change that would witness the disbursement of resources to the neediest to enable them to attend to their basic needs.

For once, one dared believe that, should the promises come true, it would mark the end of families that lined up at road intersections seeking alms from drivers. It would enable those at the bottom of the economic ladder to come by some resources to enable them to access the National Hospital Insurance Fund and get health services.

The promises were many. Still etched in our collective memory was the redemption to come to weed lovers, a sense of respect and dignity to be conferred on this class of people for the long left at the periphery of religion and culture.

The pronouncements were not limited to politicians only. Intellectuals converted their seats of political pontification to announce their preferences even if still covered under the veneer of intellectual neutrality. But you only needed to be keen enough to tell their leanings.

Then elections happened and the scramble to line up behind the direction of the wind began. First on the queue were the politicians. But again, the scramble to get behind the strongest blowing wind has not been confined to politicians alone. Intellectuals have jumped ship just as fast.

Do Kenyans believe in anything? Do the pronunciations of a Kenyan really matter? A former potential number two in the government lineup loudly proclaimed where her loyalty now shifted to merely days after the results were announced. It was clear she was announcing her availability for deployment should the opportunity arise.

In this murky world of Kenyan politics, one would have hoped that a difference would come from the men and women of faith, people gifted with the clear holy writ spelling right from wrong. Fortunately, in this election, there was a choice to go with just such a candidate. However, he too quickly announced his alignment with the direction of the wind.

The new project in Kenya should be to raise individuals with solid foundations whose words would count for something.

It is a betrayal of one’s followers to lead them on when in fact one had no commitment to the cause themselves. But since this is not a preserve of politicians, as is currently being demonstrated, but a global national culture has given the conduct of intellectuals, of the men of faith and all, it should be the next project of Kenya.

But first, we must ask ourselves whether it is even necessary. Is it worth believing in a cause? Do supposed political philosophies mean something really? And if not then why pretend that they do? Even more critical is to question what it means to be a professional in Kenya? 

Professionalism assumes certain beliefs and positions that one commits to. It is part of the process of developing a democratic culture. It is a conversation that Kenya should have and if only a legal framework would lead to developing such a belief system beyond mere economic interest, then so be it.

—The writer is the dean, School of Communication, Daystar University

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