Every election year in Kenya is always marked by numerous political undertones, political clamour and glamour, horse trading between party bosses, mass exodus from or to parties and the most pathetic of all is that the majority voter, the youth, opt for their bellies instead of brains to select and elect the candidates!
In no time, Kenyans will forget their problems, the appalling levels of poverty, the poor road network, the grand graft, the lack of integrity in some of the presidential candidates, the tainted pasts of some of the candidates, the 2007/08 post election chaos and as tradition trade their hopes and dreams for a ride on an ethnic kingpin to take them to the never never land!
Some of the 2012 presidential candidates have looted enormously from the public, others have been responsible for the reprehensible bloodshed that was witnessed in the country in 2007/08, others are guided by greed and not vision for Kenya while others only want to prove a point to their political egos and their foes!
But it will only take a few cash notes, a few bottles of beer and resonant deception to blind Kenyans from all these and for the umpteenth time, the country will either end up with a villain, a warlord, a rebel without a cause, a non reformer, a looter or worse!
In any normal setting and indeed as it should be, Kenyans should strive to look for a candidate who can, not only steer the country towards a just, humane and economically stable society but who can also take the country there.
The candidate must be aware of Kenya’s core problems and should have specific plans of actions in solving the problems that have plagued the country since independence like poverty, education, corruption, land, historical injustices among others.
The candidate should also be an individual who can tolerate dissent and be able to form alliances to unite the whole country.
In previous years, the country has had the unfortunate leadership of callous presidents who do not put the public interest first and thus it should be key to ensure that whoever is elected does not put vested interests before public interest!
Although it has never been a point of interest for many voters in Kenya before, any leader seeking the presidency should be able to inspire unity, trust and optimism among the people by being of high moral standards beyond reproach!
And in the rarest of quality in Kenya, the leader must be the keeper of the country’s wealth and not the reaper! This calls for making of right decisions for the common good regardless of whether they are popular than not!
But do the current candidates aspiring to be president in 2012, among them Raphael Tuju, George Saitoti, Kalonzo Musyoka ,William Ruto, Cyrus Jirongo, Mutava Musyimi, Peter Kenneth, Eugene Wamalwa, Raila Odinga, Martha Karua, Kingwa Kamenchu and Jaffer Hassan possess these qualities?
Will Kenyans look beyond tribe and finally elect a leader and not a politician? Will Kenyans overcome the petty bar politics and elect a reformer? Will Kenyans move from electing leaders with myopic visions to leaders who have a Canaan dream for the nation? Will the youth finally say a solid “NO!” to the 50 bob, free cheap t-shirts, wrist bands and caps and elect a leader who will create employment for them? It is a tough call for the voters but prosperity comes at a price and with sacrifice!
To this end, all that most of the candidates have done is hop from party to party, engage in microphone backchats, call each other names, form alliances for selfish gains and loot enough cash to fund their campaigns!
Unfortunately, that has been Kenya’s version of a leader’s manifesto: No goals, no objectives, no aspirations and no aim! Kenyans have never been concerned with that! Our understanding of a manifesto is Tribe, Dynasty, Party and Mob-oratory!
