Why a Raila win is a must for political transition
By PD columnist, April 13, 2022English- American writer Thomas Paine is famously known for his two writings—The age of reason and Common sense. In 1776 he wrote Common sense to implore Americans to make a very important decision—either fight for independence or remain under British rule.
Equally today, in Kenya, we are faced with this quagmire of either creating an inclusive and cohesive nation or as political analyst Mutah National Assembly of Kenya. i Ngunyi called it, allow the tyranny of numbers to dictate leadership structure. A Raila win, therefore, will create the “Mandela moment” that will break the barrier of political ethnic balkanisation. Just like the way Mandela was released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990 and embraced his nemesis Frederick De Clerk and fostered unity between the Afrikaans, coloured and Blacks in South Africa, a Raila win will heal the wounds of political bigotry, betrayal and leadership entitlement to only two communities.
In Common Sense, Paine begins by making a distinction between government and society. He says society is everything constructive and good that people join together to accomplish while government is an institution whose sole purpose is to protect its people from own vices. Even though he doesn’t trust government which has its origins in the evil of man, he believes its necessary evil at best. He goes on to say government’s purpose is to protect life, liberty and property, and that it should be judged solely on the basis of the extent to which it accomplishes the goal. While in Kenya with the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution and the bill of rights anchored in its Chapter Four, what is remaining now is a dawn of a new political structure devoid of ethnic chauvinism.
While president Uhuru Kenyatta would have simply taken the easy option of supporting his deputy, to ensure the Jubilee government stays in power for at least another decade, he decided to do otherwise. While a true leader looks at the country’s future stability and prosperity for posterity, a politician is usually myopic and put immediate personal interests first. Uhuru has decided to throw his political caution to the wind and chart Kenya into a new political dispensation by boldly declaring other communities should be given a chance to rule as opposed to the two communities that have held power since independence. This brave move is what Nicolo Machiavelli would have called political brinkmanship laced in self-destruction. For this action would bring Uhuru backlash and betrayal from his political backyard, but just like Mikhail Gorbachev who brought us Perestroika and Glasnost, the actions are necessary to bring us political sobriety.
Therefore, the August election will be a watershed in political transition from a tension-filled political atmosphere of cutthroat quest for leadership to policy-based politics that embraces the spirit of nationalism. Not that Raila represents any particular community of interest, but rather representing “the other communities that have not had power”. But then someone would want to ask; does it really matter who takes over power? Should Kenyans be obsessed with which community produces the president? The answer to these questions is all a matter of representative democracy which since the Greek philosopher Plato wrote the Republic and asserts that justice is the cornerstone of any democracy and if certain sections of any society feel alienated from the formation of government, they will either breakaway and form their own or will agitate for inclusivity.
It has always been the desire of all to have seamless and trouble-free elections, and this can only be achieved if the citizens make that courageous move like what Uhuru did to elect a leader who will bring a paradigm shift, creating a new political system that is value and issue based that shuns ethnocentrism.
Richard Dawkins in 1976 published a book called The selfish gene where he argues that genes are the basic unit of evolution, not individual organisms or even species. Due to their naturally selfish behaviour, genes merely use organisms as mechanisms to ensure own survival. Likewise, politicians are these selfish gene who will use demagogue and promise heaven to win votes. A Raila win will remove this zero-sum game tactics that resort to all manners to win voters. Simply put the pressure to coerce, intimidate and blackmail the voters will no longer be a factor.
A Raila win will create a non-zero-sum game in which various parties can team up against a third party to create a win-win situation. What I mean here is that a Raila win should not be seen as a loss to the opposing camp, rather a good fight that allows the democratic process to triumph thereby ensuring the political stability of all, a benefit to all and sundry.
— The writer works in Hong Kong—matayomix@gmail.com