Political sycophancy harming our democratic gains

By Ken Opalo

For us to have a genuinely open and functional democratic system, we need to have a mature political class. And what do I mean by political maturity? I mean the ability of the political class to deal with one another respectfully, openly and in an equal manner.

When junior politicians feel the need to prostrate themselves before their fellow leaders and unashamedly declare themselves to be sycophants, it is a sign of an immature political system. It is a reminder that we are still in the bad old days when senior politicians only valued their associates for their undying loyalty instead of their expertise and potential solutions to the problems that ail our country.

And this problem is not limited to any particular political constellation. It is rampant throughout our body politic. In Jubilee, there seems to be a strong demand for a know-nothing-think-nothing approach to intra-alliance matters. Corruption is as rampant as ever, rendering the goal of professional public administration ever more elusive. In CORD too, those that have dared to voice different opinions have been labeled as moles out to destroy the coalition from within.

There is a difference between allowing independent thought within political parties and tolerating dissenters who are out to ruin the parties from within. Unfortunately, the political leadership in Kenya continues to conflate the two. What they demand is blind loyalty from their colleagues.

Now ask yourself, what does a politician who demands nothing but sycophancy from a well-off individual with a doctorate degree think of Wanjiku? If our leaders cannot respect and treat each other with decorum, what do they really think of wananchi?

For us to reap the benefits of the institutional changes that we ushered in with the promulgation of the Second Republic, we need a total rebirth within the political class.

Some leaders keep running around claiming that for us to have a truly transformative political system, all we need are cleaner elections. What they really mean is that we can only have a cleaner political system if they win elections.

But looking at the way they run their internal affairs, I dare say that this is an empty promise. The truth of the matter is that across the political divide there is a singular bankruptcy of democratic values. The same people  we expect to treat all Kenyans equally do not treat their very own political allies equally. Yet democracy demands political equality for all, regardless of class or stature.

We hold elections every five years. Ideally, elections are supposed to produce freethinking individuals that can hold each other accountable. The general idea is that voters from Aldai to Yatta, through their representatives, would bring in different ideas to the table regarding how we should address the country’s problems.  When instead we end up with shameless sycophants who care little about their representation duties we set up ourselves for failure. It is an indictment of the political class — and especially the very few at the apex of political leadership — that this is how they have chosen to model their relations with another.

Of course there is a more beneficial alternative to the current arrangement. Instead of centering their dealings on secrecy and absurd public displays of loyalty, politicians could choose openness and performance as the basis of expressing one’s commitment to their publicly stated cause.

Our parties could also develop clear rules to regulate internal democracy and stipulate intra-party relations in a manner that respects seniority and independence of thought and opinion. And above all, they could genuinely move towards creating an environment in which all Kenyans, regardless of ethnicity, can feel free to join whichever political alliance they want.

But the above alternative requires sacrifice and commitment to the public good, something that is sorely lacking among our current crop of leaders. These are people who would rather fight to be the ones stealing from the public than prosecute and jail those who do so. They have no shame in telling us that they gauge loyalty not by performance but through sycophancy and one’s ethnicity. These people risk driving us all off the cliff.

As a country, we must start thinking of ways of freeing our elected officials from those who demand from them blind loyalty and sycophancy. We must develop a culture that values constructive dissent and divergence of opinion in the public sphere. Our democracy will only endure if elected officials can freely express their opinions and articulate the demands of their constituents.