Support for anti-establishment aspirants grows

NAIROBI: Donald Trump, a property and showbiz mogul, has much to the bewilderment and incredulity of the Republican Party establishment taken a commanding lead of the presidential nomination race. Trump won a majority of the states holding nominating contests on Super Tuesday, accelerating his march to the Republican nomination. Republican donors, strategists and campaign operatives interviewed by American media admitted they had misjudged the mood of voters who have thrown their support behind Trump.

When he first declared his candidacy, it was assumed he was doing it for enhanced media coverage. A lot of people have now woken up to the realisation that Donald Trump could really be the Republican presidential nominee. Yet even now, there are some who refuse to believe that the man stands a decent chance of clinching the nomination and continue to provide reasons why he could not possibly win the nomination. What Trump has been able to tap into is a wide base of disenfranchised voters who feel shortchanged by the system. The status quo or establishment failed to realise the vastness of this group or the depth of their fury. Many feel alienated and far removed from the leadership of the party which they felt did not represent their interests. Among the strongest reasons for people supporting Trump is that “he tells it like it is” and is not beholden to special interests groups since he is financing his own campaign.

While I profess no strong preferences on the American Republican Party race, I would say that on a very much smaller scale, something similar to the upheaval that the Republican Party is experiencing occurred at the Law Society of Kenya elections last week. The elections were a barometer of how much sway the so-called establishment in the legal fraternity held. Surprisingly little was the verdict as thousands of advocates who voted to change the status quo and elect into office the liberal and pro-change OkoaLSK group that had been championing for reforms. There are some who had painted a very Trump-like picture of the change champions in the society in the hopes that voters would be turned off.

The wind of change is indeed blowing as further afield Football Kenya Federation (FKF) elections were swept by newbies. Perhaps these events are a harbinger of things to come. Come tomorrow, will we see events that conventional wisdom dismisses as very unlikely taking place and confounding the pundits? Will the yearning of the youth to better their lot be greater than the folly which sees them spurn one opportunity after another? As happens in the immediate aftermath of these events, it is easy to believe that there are two irreconcilable sides, but often, and one earnestly hopes in this case, it turns out that amicable solutions can be found once the old guns are out of office and the new bloods realise that inclusivity, consultation and above all consensus are indispensable.

It is not lost on those of us who took office that our victories were not unanimous. Significant numbers of members voted for candidates other than those who would eventually be declared winners. Those who did not vote for the poll winners are also bona fide members of the society. Their voices matter and will continue to do so. We are also aware that we are not darlings of the establishment in the legal fraternity in Kenya. In the end, however, the election winners will not be judged based on their ballot box margins but on what they achieved and how they transformed the society to better serve its members and the country. If necessary, they will be obliged to carve friends out of stone. I can speak authoritatively for myself and the OkoaLSK team and say we are ready to roll up our sleeves unite the society and forge ahead in reclaiming the lost glory of the LSK.