Kenyans arent sheep to be herded

Geza Ulole · 2013-02-09T15:29:30+00:00

Ethnic arithmetic? Fiddlesticks! Kenyans aren't sheep to be herded IN SUMMARY There is absolutely nothing to suggest that Kenyans are electoral sheep to be herded to the polling booth by their clan chiefs who fabricate unnatural alliances and marriages of inconvenience for political gain. I believe even in areas where certain ethnic groups are dominant, the people will not vote as one. A competitive election anywhere in the world is a very anxious place. In the older, supposedly more democratic dispensations, the weeks before polling day are filled with feverish canvassing, whipping up the desire to come out and vote. Thereafter, everyone waits with bated breath for the verdict of the people when the hurly burly is done. On other occasions, when the outcome is predictable and the pundits have said where the smart money is, elections can be sleepy time, with low turnouts and yawns in the booths. In Kenya, it is all anxiety and bated breath, for it would be nigh impossible to find a solitary Kenyan feeling bored with the whole rigmarole of alliances between mortal enemies, party-hopping gymnastics of the high and mighty and campaign promises that impress only by their disconnect with the reality on the ground. So Kenyans, and with them all their well wishers in the region and farther away, will be all eyes and ears, all heartbeats and pulses, all hints and guesses, all the way to the Fourth of March. You will not land a research grant to find out the reasons for this. After the fiasco that followed the 2007 election, whose fallout has not even now dissipated, there is cause for many people to fear the worst as they go into the home stretch of campaigns that have been characterised by unbelievable acts of doublespeak, betrayal and bed-hopping. One is necessarily left with the thought that some people will do anything to get, or retain power and that one should be afraid of them. Very afraid. The fiasco after the last election, which led to unprecedented levels of civil butchery, left over one thousand Kenyans dead, and that is a lot of life lost. So you would have expected this experience to serve as a memento mori, a reminder of death, to sober up the more excitable spirits in the political fray. Sadly, some have proved themselves incapable of sobriety, and they have continued to beat the war drums with incredible lack of worry. The hideous ogre of politicised ethnicity has raised its head once again, and grown men and women with grey hair are still clinging to the dangerous notion of tribal solidarity and the inevitability of the victory of the boy or girl "from home." Expect trouble if he or she loses. The ethnic devilry, which in part informed 2007/2008, stalks the land today and could still spring a few demons on Kenya. In light of this, I find it to be utterly unacceptable that individuals cloaked in some spurious academic robes should try to make matters worse than they already are by suggesting that the election was won and lost back in December of last year when the tribal alliances were concluded. In utter horror, have I watched some "experts" peddling cheap arithmetical postulations based on the number of registered voters from the respective ethnic groups: Because candidate A comes from group A and their number is two point five million and his running mate comes from group B and their numerical strength stands at one million point five, therefore the combined strength for their presidential ticket is four million votes. Fiddlesticks. And dangerous drivel into the bargain. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that Kenyans are electoral sheep to be herded to the polling booth by their clan chiefs who fabricate unnatural alliances and marriages of inconvenience for political gain. I believe even in areas where certain ethnic groups are dominant, the people will not vote as one. Furthermore, Kenyans may have tired of these dissembling politicians "from home" and may be looking to elect people who make sense, whatever their ethnic affiliation. To tell them that they have to vote according to their tribes - obnoxious word - is to insult their intelligence, and it does not augur well for a future of progress and prosperity. Here's hoping they will reject the pseudo experts and their spurious prognostics. Jenerali Ulimwengu is chairman of the board of the Raia Mwema newspaper and an advocate of the High Court in Dar es Salaam. E-mail: ulimwengu@jenerali.com MY TAKE Technically the writer meant literally Kenyans are sheep cause their voting trend is all known ever since and well in advance before the March 4 election :israel:

Thread starter Geza Ulole
Start date Feb 9, 2013

Geza Ulole

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Kenyans arent sheep to be herded

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Kenyans arent sheep to be herded