In his maiden visit to Kenya as United States President in July 2015, Barack Obama reminded Kenyans that politics based solely on tribe and ethnicity is doomed and can tear a country apart. He described such politics as a failure of imagination.
He further praised Kenyans for choosing to be defined, not by the hatred of the past following the 2007/08 post-election violence that left scores dead and thousands of others uprooted from their homes, but charting a new destiny by enacting one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, the 2010 Constitution.
As the clock ticks towards the October 17 repeat presidential election ordered by the Supreme Court after it nullified the election of President Kenyatta, the words of Obama stand as a reminder of the dangerous path we can take if we embrace politics of playing tribes against each other. Sadly, some overzealous political actors are back to their old ways of spewing ethnic hatred whenever they take the microphone.
Such political players are doing much disservice to their preferred presidential candidates in their mistaken belief that they are winning them votes. For the two presidential candidates - Jubilee Party’s Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA’s Raila Odinga - the kind of political legacy they will leave will remain a key discussion point for historians as the fingerprint which they will either be praised or vilified.
It is worth noting that the repeat presidential election is the final duel between the Kenyatta and Odinga families. For the two presidential candidates to secure their legacy, they must rein in on their overzealous supporters who are spewing hate whenever they take the microphone.
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For Kenyatta, he deserves a pat on the back for one; accepting the Supreme Court’s verdict; two, calling on Kenyans including those opposed to him to maintain peace and harmony, and further reminding all of us that it is our immediate neighbour who will come to our rescue in time of danger. Further, Kenyatta has asserted that he will abide by the verdict of the voter. Thirdly, by opening State House gates for delegations from across the country, the president is cementing national unity and reconciliation.
For Raila, the time to show his statesmanship is now and the marker is his readiness to accept the voter’s verdict. The NASA presidential candidate is famous for his pro-democracy efforts which resulted in modification of the Kenyan Constitution. For him to be in the right side of history, and for all his achievements to remain embedded in the minds of the generations to come, he must emphatically pledge his willingness to accept the will of the people, whatever the outcome.
As Kenyans we must at all time be guided by the symbolic national flag colours. Never again should Kenyans lose their lives due to political differences. Finally, we must take cue from Obama who advised us to build the country on three crucial pillars: strong and transparent democratic governance, universal economic development, and a strong sense of national identity that rejects conflict for a future of peace and reconciliation. We must continue building our great nation in common bond and united and not let anyone divide us along ethnic, religious or political lines.
- The writer is the Farmers Party leader.
Farmersparty@yahoo.com
