We can be civil in addressing issues that affect this country by listening to each other. We can see in those who hold alternative view what their point is and what value their perspective is rather than strongly hold on the views we hold.

Civic responsibility is not so much about our political persuasions as it is about societal good and working in the interest of the citizenry.

Civic leadership calls for a dispensation that listens more to the plight of the poor regardless of how they choose to express their dissent with the powers that be on how the establishment is running the country. We can be civil and run away from the allure of political power and drive to emasculate political parties and decimation of alternative and dissenting views.

 In fact, we can be civil and allow political parties to thrive so much so that as institutions they drive collegial agenda in the interest of the public and not parochial political and individualistic interest. Kenyans are struggling and we know that our political leaders, regardless of their positions on issues today, have either previously supported what they seem to oppose today or opposed what they are supporting today.  If all these leaders shared their ideas on addressing the runaway high cost of living without the politicking or attacking alternative views, we would probably have a robust base for addressing the plight of the majority poor.

For instance, is not such a bad idea to have a government-to-government oil deal, especially if it will ease the pressure on the dollar and have a positive domino on our economy. But if such a process is shrouded in opaqueness, we can be a lot more civil in illuminating the process rather than gloat over an election victory that is still contestable.

Today, the most important thing is not who won the elections but issues that affect Kenyans. Soon, schools will be closed and parents are right now struggling to find money to clear term one fees. And in a few weeks’ time they will be struggling to pull resources together for term two.

The bills mama mbogas have to pay are not dependent on the truth of who won or lost the 2022 elections. That is why the government, in consultation with all the key players and political class in whatever format, must address these issues. Indeed, the runaway high cost of living is the one area where leadership needs to be civil and proactive.  However, that does not wish away the electoral justice issues and the need for a thorough interrogation of what happened in 2022. Well, opening the server might be the catchphrase and I am sure Azimio is well within their rights to call for that.

In fact, this is the time to ask the establishment to make serious their promise to have a commission of inquiry to interrogate and make recommendations that will sanitise our electoral system once and for all.

 As a country, there is no better time to take the opportunity to address perennial electoral problems once and for all. It does not have to wait until close to the next election and it doesn’t have to be done with people in mind. And while at it, we may want to remind a few loose canons in the establishment that it is not just about who won, but a future electoral dispensation that will give Kenyans outright winners who will not have to remind Kenyans that they won. Winners who will hit the ground affect the elections and respond to the civic call of making the lives of the people who elected them better.   

 —Hansen Owilla is a PhD candidate in political communication