As Kenya draws closer to the polls one can easily see tribal stereotypes and prejudices being drawn out ready for battle - an unnecessary battle. The tribal stereotypes and prejudices that are splurged year in year out by almost every Kenyan without a 2nd thought suddenly evolve from being harmless nothings to becoming weapons of mass destruction in the final stretch. This is even worse so when people take to social media to spread their sharp-ended opinions: Kisii's are like this, Kamba's are like that, Maasai's do this, Taita's don't do this, Kikuyu's behave this way, Luo's behave that way, Wazungu's are like this and Waindi's are like that ... Tribe X (verb) (adjective) (noun) ... All these nonsensical generalizations are all particularly negatively toned, undeniably with a hard-set stance and for the most part totally unsubstantiated.
Cut the crap! Why are Kenyan's doing this - drawing worded spears, machetes, knives, swords, stones against each other, ready to fight? Stop it, it's not worth bludgeoning each other for! You won't improve your conditions by slaughtering your neighbour - who gives you salt and sugar when you run out, or lends you money when you are in desperate need, or takes the next round of mututho knowing that you are clean and dry in the pocket. Your children even play together!
Vote for whoever you feel is the one who will represent your ideas. Don't impress your opinion in a such a heavy handed manner that you draw out your teeth and those of your neighbour too, just because of the difference in who you'll vote for. It's not worth it.
The truth is, come the Kenya General Election results 2013, some political leader will win the others will have lost, but THEY will still maintain their high and mighty position among the political elite. They have worked all these years gathering popularity and they are not going to lose it all in a matter of hours. They will still remain among the political elite and you, exactly where you were.
The facts are:
All said and done, vote wisely, accept the results of the election - whether or not there was rigging on whichever side, and lets get back to work to build Kenya. There is still hope for this country, despite all the negative, despicable and demoralizing things that happen, IFF we all work well together in peace and harmony as one people, one tribe - the resilient Kenyan people.
Cut the crap! Why are Kenyan's doing this - drawing worded spears, machetes, knives, swords, stones against each other, ready to fight? Stop it, it's not worth bludgeoning each other for! You won't improve your conditions by slaughtering your neighbour - who gives you salt and sugar when you run out, or lends you money when you are in desperate need, or takes the next round of mututho knowing that you are clean and dry in the pocket. Your children even play together!
Vote for whoever you feel is the one who will represent your ideas. Don't impress your opinion in a such a heavy handed manner that you draw out your teeth and those of your neighbour too, just because of the difference in who you'll vote for. It's not worth it.
The truth is, come the Kenya General Election results 2013, some political leader will win the others will have lost, but THEY will still maintain their high and mighty position among the political elite. They have worked all these years gathering popularity and they are not going to lose it all in a matter of hours. They will still remain among the political elite and you, exactly where you were.
The facts are:
- The same guys will almost certainly run for presidency the next time, unless their health gives way. It is almost a sure thing that Raila Odinga, Uhuru Kenyatta, Peter Kenneth, Martha Karua, Musalia Mudavadi, James Ole Kiyapi, Paul Muite and Mohammed Abduba Dida will ALL run for presidency come the next election.
- It does not matter which candidate is elected: The progress that they will make over the next 1 term or even 2 if they make it will NOT BE SO REMARKABLE that it will drastically impact the future of Kenya and catapult it into the hall of fame. Look at the immensely popular Barack Obama: He may have had amazing ideas, lots of hope and a vision for change, but the US has not changed much for the better that has made him a stand out "best president that the US has ever had." The same holds for Kenya.
- Kenya's democracy can only evolve over time. It won't happen overnight. Progress is exactly that: A progressive thing - a development over time. It is a given fact that a better leader would promote better ideals for the country, but after watching the presidential debates you can clearly see that the vast majority of them are made of the same fabric. Their rule over the country for the next 4.5 years will be largely similar - little or no deviations from the norm.
- The people of Kenya, irrespective of tribe, colour, language, background, allegiance, religion, position or whatever other categorization or classification one can think of, are the future of Kenya. The next "King of the Jungle" head honcho, commander in chief, etc can only do so much for the common good. It is unlikely that the individual good they do will trickle down and affect this generation or the next. It will only come in time as the leaders slowly and gradually change - hopefully for the better.
- For now it is you the little person and your little community around you that can drastically improve the conditions around you - if only you had that drive and motivation for progress - to work for the betterment of your environs. Channel all that excess energy that you are using to market your favourite choice of presidential candidate into something more useful that your local community can benefit from more tangibly.
- As many have said, the amounts of money that are being pumped into pimping up individual electoral campaigns is nauseating. There is no free lunch, they say, so you can count on heavy economic deficits soon after the elections and obviously a rise in the politicians salaries soon after they take office. It's kind of straightforward reasoning. Anyone who says to look at the US elections and the billions they pumped into it looking for justification for Kenyan politicians to do the same is absolutely off their nut. The US presidential election is in another country that has a totally different set of political, economic and social circumstances so there is no comparison.
All said and done, vote wisely, accept the results of the election - whether or not there was rigging on whichever side, and lets get back to work to build Kenya. There is still hope for this country, despite all the negative, despicable and demoralizing things that happen, IFF we all work well together in peace and harmony as one people, one tribe - the resilient Kenyan people.
