Voters to blame for Kenya’s MPs' misbehaviour

NAIROBI: Scandalous, bare-knuckled, dramatic, manner-less are some of the few words one would quickly pick on to describe the uncouth character traits manifested by a section of the Kenyan legislators in the recent past.

So disdaining were some of the behaviours that Kenyan voters could be heard hurling abuses, cursing the moon and wondering aloud where the rain started beating us, and this is where I have a problem with the Kenyan voter.

The last person who should complain about the ill mannered 'eating' and sex scandals we have recently been treated to is the very employer of the perpetrators- the voter. I have two reasons why I think so.

First, the voter has become so gullible that he/she has refused to vote with his/her conscience in every voting cycle. Instead, we have voted in individuals into elective office based on the parties they belong to and our allegiance to such party leadership.

It is a sad fact that the Kenyan voter has chosen to vote purely based on 'what the party wants' and that alone, without looking at the other basic tenets of leadership as required of us in the Constitution of Kenya 2010 Chapter Six on leadership and integrity.

Such is the avarice that the public fails to scrutinise even key character traits of individuals, neither do they bother on the development records or credentials of individuals contesting various positions.

Anybody who plays sycophancy and sings to the tunes of party leadership is voted into office even in the absence of agenda and even if he/she does not sing consistently with the rest of the choir.

Second, there are many individuals who are voted into office purely because of the amount of cash they are able to dish out at the election period or any other time.

For the Kenyan voter, the end justifies the means and the money dished out is always sweet and it does not matter the source, whether public coffers are being robbed or whether from the generosity of the individual effort.

Believe me; this behaviour of the voter has made it almost impossible for those elected on this premise to remain true to the promise of corruption free leadership as the motivation is huge to plunder resources for the next election round which is a bad thing for good governance.

Such individuals resort to stealing in order to 'buy' votes in the next round. Very pathetic.

Corruption is illegal and should be punished harshly wherever and whenever it is seen, that the people are poor and survive on handouts from politicians and that whoever seeks to lead the people must be above reproach like Caesar's wife, the voter must begin to walk the country towards Vision 2030's issue-based and result oriented politics.

Leaders must begin to be voted based on their development records.

Leaders who spend public resources within the law and practice frugality with funds from the public coffers need to be rewarded. Money dished out by the politicians must be accepted, eaten but votes should never be dispensed on the premise of 'who dished out more than the other'.

Increasingly, the MPs who are alleged to rape, steal and disgrace the National Assembly or any other elective office will be voted out in a swoop and the august House will reclaim its honorable status again.

Until then, we the voters must speak publicly against such acts but also act right when the ball is in our court by making independent and informed choices about.