It began on Monday, the voter listing. It grants people a chance to elect their leaders, sober or not, and for that matter, I won’t bother myself to enlist as a voter. And I have very valid reasons to do so. Here they are:
Travelling costs
Being in the city, it shall necessitate that I travel all the way to the village, incurring a whopping 2000 shillings in the process. Considering my joblessness, that amount would take me a long way, if I invest wisely. Who knows? I could even become a millionaire in the process. What are the chances of me becoming one if I vote someone in? Zero!!
None of my close relatives is vying
If even if they were, I would still have to assess the possibility of their win. But at the moment, non is interested in any political seat, which means I will either be building another family's dynasty or promoting the same one that’s clueless about the treacherous roads to my village.
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The laziness of the middle class
A certain ambassador to Kenya once said that the Kenya middle class is the most apathetic kind of people he’s ever met. I couldn’t agree more. Instead of taking their bums out and voting, they sit and resort to online activism. They are assumed to be the elites, who can rescue Kenya from the jaws of corruption and bad governance. Instead, they propagate it, through hired social media big wigs.
King pin politics
There’s a rush to nominate a king-pin in every community, an alleged spokesperson. In as much as it fosters unity among the people, most of these regional kingpins enslave their communities, by guiding them to the gallows, where they are devoured by the evil monster in the name of corruption. In most cases, the people blindly follow these kingpins and even execute the six-piece voting system.
Political brokers and cartels
There are cartels and barons, whose questionable wealth needs protection from ‘the others’. They wouldn’t risk their untouchable status for anything. In as much as the citizen vote, they’ll do all they can to influence the tide to their side. And these, mind you, are very dangerous people who can bring the country down to its knees as they have done before.
Allegations of rigging
I wouldn’t mind voting a leader and he loses, even terribly, but with the honour of democracy. The hurriedly changed election laws point a concern on the fairness of the elections. In that case, what would my one vote be? Just a drop in the ocean.
Lastly, I did apply for the position of a registration clerk with IEBC and they didn’t take me, despite my qualifications. Matter of fact, I was overly qualified, two diplomas and a degree! For that reason alone I don’t want to be anywhere near the IEBC logo. Let me watch it on TV.
