As we get ready for another General Election, we are exposed to the acres of newsprint on nothing but the magic or the dreaded date of August 8. I sometimes watch TV, often against my better judgment only to hear yet another nonsensical political attacks. I ask; after what Kenya has been through, why are we fixated on politics based on such division and hatred? We seem bent on self-sabotage, allowing the ridiculous rhetoric to become fodder for western media who thrive on portraying Africa around the narrative of famine, corruption and conflict.
Speaking as an entrepreneur, we have all witnessed the near paralysis of business during this election period with investors opting to stay away until the outcome is clear. Many local residents, who would otherwise be here, have left, and those that are here are hanging on tightly to their wallets not wanting to buy anything but the bare necessities.
Almost on a daily basis, there is some issue or another that causes confrontation and raises the emotional temperature with the singular aim of scoring off over the other side. "Our people" from either party then say things that may offer comfort to "their people" but does little to encourage unity or address the real issues that we face.
With fierce and sometimes blind loyalty to each side and the fear of wanting to stay within our comfort zones, no one dares break ranks, no matter how ridiculous anyone believes the party leader is. Instead, the very fear of an attack on the bubble, which the political parties exist in, only causes positions to harden and the language to get more extreme.
Each and every issue no matter how important it is to every Kenyan, such as terrorism or cholera is politicised without any possible information or solution that every Kenyan not only needs but has a right to.
Whilst we all appreciate there are lots of things that aren't going right in the country, to politicise each and every issue simply makes the country deeply dysfunctional and offers comfort to only the hard core supporters of each party, who are often aligned purely along tribal lines.
This is what we are offered instead of a sort of Marshall Plan for developing the country. The messaging from the political parties doesn't provide anything substantial in terms of content.
Most of it revolves around what the political leaders won't do as opposed to offering substantial solutions for creating jobs, reducing corruption, increasing security and improving the health system.
And even when we do hear a somewhat intelligent solution in a particular area delivered in a positive and meaningful way, it is given to us in a way that suggests the party or the leader is the only one that has the benefit to provide any political solutions at all.
The messaging coming out from the politicians is divisive in its very nature and sadly we, the ordinary Kenyans get sucked into its divisiveness. Yet somehow the more negative partisan messaging that goes out the more we get caught in the dysfunctional way of communicating.
We start repeating and reinforcing the messages creating a vicious cycle. We pass on rumours even when we don't have the actual facts and we participate in conversations on how terrible the outcome of the election will be depending on which part of the political divide we sit.
We retweet messages that perpetuate fear and panic yet seldom verify the origin of the message. Can we just take a deep breath and realise that no one benefits and absolutely no progress is made to develop the country further by us being collaborators with those determined to cause doubt on the election outcome?
No politician will dare reach out to a politician from the other side to commend them on what might be a sensible approach towards a particular issue (because each party does have good ideas).
Why don't we give credit where it's due even if we may not necessarily ascribe to a particular political coalition? Maturity dictates that we acknowledge contributions that offer solutions even if we didn't think of them ourselves.
The quality of politics that is based on hatred of the other side is not only dysfunctional but dangerous. It does not have to be this way and it really shouldn't be. We have been through too much as a nation already. We have suffered enough at the hands of divisive politics. As the most recent polls show, whoever wins the presidency, won't win Kenya. Almost half of the country won't have voted for him. What the incoming president must do is embrace a more integrated vision such as the ones our forefathers had all those years ago.
The job of the incoming president must be to invite all politicians to the table to discuss a national vision for Kenya within the democracy of parties. The national vision must be based on a positive and uplifting conversation. The objective must be about making the compromises necessary to uplift the lives of Kenyans rather than projecting them inward purely for the sake of blind loyalty.
The incoming president must be prepared to let his greatest fans down if need be. It simply cannot be about jobs for the boys. National leadership must be about something bigger than one's own ego, one's own people, or the survival of one's political party, with the sole purpose of winning the next election.
If we don't start looking at a national vision, we will once again fall into the tribal cocoons we have seen too many times in the past and are sadly witnessing today with consequences not worth even considering.
Mrs Kariuki is the founder of Gina Din Group and UNFPA Goodwill ambassador
