2017 Elections: It is time to exercise leadership and sacrifice
Justus Nyang’aya
By the time you read this, it is likely that, barring a run off or Supreme Court scenario, the electoral
process will be over and the duly elected President
sworn into office. Therefore, I will not concern myself so much with the electoral processes, which I
believe have improved a lot, teething problems notwithstanding. Instead, I will point my pen at the next
five years and beyond because I believe, irrespective of who is President, the task ahead is gigantic and
will require extraordinary leadership and sacrifice on the part of the President and his team and support
of all Kenyans, without exception.
This is an interesting time to be alive in Kenya. We got a progressive constitution and devolution seems
to be working. But we need to grow from just having a good constitution to having a culture of
constitutionalism. One of the disappointing events of the past seven years is that we have a progressive
constitution, yes, but we have seen cases where it is trampled upon whenever convenient. And when
that happens, citizens and relevant institutions can only look on helplessly. For example, we have had
hundreds of extrajudicial killings, illegal evictions, denial of social and economic rights and deliberate
and sustained efforts to muzzle the media and civil society since 2010 when the new constitution was
promulgated.
Devolution has done wonders in some counties and even where the changes have not been very visible,
there is money reaching the ground supporting local projects, paying local suppliers and contributing to
local economic growth. Compare this with the years gone by when local communities had to rely on
state benevolence to benefit from development projects. The President could decide on a whim to pass
over certain regions or withdraw support for ongoing projects if he was angered by a leader from the
concerned region or if voters from a region failed to vote for him at a General Election. Those were
heady and painful years that should be documented and told to future generations, lest they think it
was always this way.
Clearly, there are good things happening in Kenya and they should inspire all of us to strive for better.
But there are also many things that are deeply wrong both with the state and our society. Some are
deeply embedded in our national DNA and will require exceedingly strong leadership to turn around. I
will mention a few in this article. Others are weaknesses and gaps that only require administrative
action to sort out.
As a leader in human rights who has spent many years working for justice, fairness, equity and the rule
of law, I am deeply concerned about the growing culture of impunity in our nation. It is the single
biggest threat to our civilization and entrenchment of a democratic and human rights culture. It is seen
in extrajudicial killings involving members of the security services and the runaway corruption and waste
at all levels of government, many of which largely goes unpunished. It is seen in the lawless, abusive and
reckless matatu culture. It is that on-your-face sneering “uta-do?”
The President has the instruments of power, the leverage and the influence to lead and win the war
against impunity. Even the simple action of leading by example, having a Cabinet packed with people
who don’t support impunity and letting go civil servants who promote impunity, can significantly reduce
corruption and human rights violations at all levels.
The second area that I want the President to focus on is building a nation called Kenya. We are
desperate for a nation, in the real sense of the word. Beyond the passport, the identity card, the flag and
the emblem, what else makes us Kenyan?
Mr. President, if you are reading this, I want to tell you that there are the “silent millions” who feel
completely disengaged from this nation and its affairs. They are here because there is nowhere else they
can go but they would rather be somewhere else. It is easy to dismiss this segment of our population as
unpatriotic, difficult lot which sees no good in your government. You will be interested in knowing this is
not of their making. It is a function of how the government has been run since independence in 1963. It
is a function of leaving some regions behind as others progress. It is about isolating some and favoring
others. Some have given up on ever feeling Kenyan. These feelings have awakened the beast of tribalism
in virtually all of us. Those who feel sidelined tend to hate on those they believe are favored. The latter,
for their part, tend to look down upon and mock those others. It is a silent war that mostly rears its ugly
head when something big such as a presidential election is at stake. But the damage it causes in
between elections can never be quantified.
There is little doubt that a nation that pulls together, that taps into the skills and strengths of its diverse
population, enjoys better social and economic growth and is less likely to engage in the painful political
competition that we witness every five years including this year’s presidential elections.
I believe our country has potential and I know it will rise to greatness, but only if we fix the above
concerns. Roads, electricity, hospitals, schools are all good. But it is a proud, motivated and happy
citizenry that make a great nation.
Nyang’aya is Executive Director LEAD Africa.
justus@leadafrica.co.ke