Don’t slap us please, here is Wanjiku’s manifesto
By Editorial.Team, July 12, 2022Now that all the parties have presented their manifestos in the home stretch of the impending election, what do the people really want from their proponents?
As they continue to digest the contents of the manifestos, Kenyans have been dumbstruck by the ugly spat in the Executive over revelations that Deputy President William Ruto almost slapped President Uhuru Kenyatta. Amid the political tempest in the succession race, voters are reeling from the knockout punch of the high cost of living, with little room to contemplate the pros and cons of the manifestos and the damning disclosure of the slap that never was.
True, the four presidential candidates’ manifestos contain Kenyans’ aspirations and capture the myriad challenges continuing to haunt citizens since independence, but they also pose one burning question:
How many manifestos have been produced since 1963 and have their promises been fulfilled to the expectations of citizens? Sadly, the answer is NO! There is little tangible reason for wananchi to be joyously excited at their elaborate details.
Skepticism persists amid a disquieting conflagration in the top leadership, dampening their spirit and faith in the political class with a perpetual catalogue of manifestos. Never again do Kenyans wish to witness such a spectacle driven by an insatiable lust for power.
Citizens don’t want the highest state symbol in a solemnly bequeathed public office soiled by demeaning innuendos and pompous performances bred by a crafty sense of bravado and political entitlement.
Yet some downplay their continued role in perpetuating poverty, disease and ignorance barriers the founders of our nation identified at independence. They wield the power anchoring the yoke of political subjugation, economic marginalization and social deprivation boldly highlighted in their manifestos.
Kenyans are today wary of deceitful politicians, lofty promises with hyped chances of attainment, and adrenaline-induced political rhetoric at public rallies. They are more concerned about the painful reality of prevailing circumstances sharply magnified by bad governance and the chattering political elite.
The people’s only recourse now is the 2010 Constitution, invariably defined as ‘Wanjiku’s Katiba’. To wananchi, the Constitution is the sum total of all the manifestos combined and their appeal to those in the succession race is one – give the people (Wanjiku) their due.
Last week’s Infotrak opinion poll outlined Wanjiku’s manifesto, listing the top five items on the national agenda ahead of the election, dominated by the high cost of living. No laughing matter for any aspirant to score political mileage out of.
A manifesto not prescribing how to drastically cut the astronomical cost of living chaining millions of citizens to abject poverty and hunger is meaningless. Wanjiku’s manifesto is simple in its articulation and demands. Kenya is among African countries currently experiencing a critical food and nutrition security situation compounded by multiple other stresses and shocks: Massive public debt, inequality, degrading natural resources, drought, the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and conflicts – including regional strife and the war in Ukraine – that demand urgent and serious attention.
Wanjiku’s manifesto backed by the clergy and civil society appeals to top leadership and competing electoral adversaries to tone down warlike talk raising tension in the country.
Instead, they must solemnly address the burning issues of the high cost of living, hunger, unemployment, increased insecurity, crime and rampant corruption at the national and county level. These challenges that Wanjiku’s manifesto highlights pose a grave threat to peace, growth, security, national cohesion, and sustainable development.
— The writer comments on political and social justice affairs -albertoleny@gmail.com