For Kenya, 2017 was a year lost in bad politics

On reflection, I consider 2017 a lost year for Kenyans. Right from the start of the electioneering season in January, the IEBC raised the political temperatures by tabulating a yearlong calendar of election-related events and deadlines. The drums of war started much earlier from around September 2016, both sitting and aspiring politicians had embarked on their preparations for the elections. Everything else was set aside and the economy came to standstill. Politics in Kenya is a dangerous game. The likelihood of people fighting because their preferred candidate has lost is very high.

Like the premier league games, the costs and resultants benefits for the protagonists in political campaigns are prohibitive in Kenya. Therefore, elections are not only a dangerous game like bullfighting but it is also big business just like the premier league soccer games in Europe where interested lobbyist and vested interests raise the stakes. The contenders often are willing to inject huge sums of money in the hope that victory for their candidate shall lead to good returns. This is why elections in Kenya are not about issues but about the outcome (businesswise) and the possible financial gains for the winners.

If you have ever watched a boxing match or those gory looking wrestling matches, you can easily see the comparison. Our political contenders show levels of hubristic self-ego to portray macho behaviour to intimidate their rivals and impress upon their supporters how strong or powerful they are. This tense atmosphere creates ethnic prejudice and sometimes even leads to religious bigotry. Parties have become cult like dogmatic movements where the party leader is the high priest and his immediate lieutenants are the disciples who control the imaginations of their followers.

Deceit

The cult leaders elsewhere are known for hoodwinking their followers to even commit suicide. Remember the Branch Davidians cult of David Koresh in Waco Texas in the US in the 1990 where more than 80 people died in a suicide fight against the police? Our politics is also taking that route. The Kenyan voter unfortunately never takes a step away from his preferred ethnically configured political party to make an independent decision. For most Kenyan voters it does not matter whether the leader they adore sometimes to the point of worshipping is wrong or not.

This characteristic of Kenyan politics is not unique to the 2017 election. The trend has always been there since independence in 1963. What is unique this time round is the extended period which has brought the whole nation almost to the brink. While politicians were busy in their Amphitheatre daring each other with unlimited dosages of insults and slander, and while the blind voters were busy cheering them, the economy was taking a nose dive. When the presidential election of August 8 was nullified, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was shaken by the ruling of the Supreme Court on September 1, shedding over Sh50 billion on the judgment day alone.

Economic loss

Subsequently, hundreds of billions of shillings were lost at the Nairobi bourse. The exchequer started to feel the pinch caused by the drop in revenue collections. Many large scale manufacturing companies developed jittery feet while some relocated to other African countries.The election season is now over.

Going forward we need dialogue on how to manage our elections in future. In as much as I believe IEBC has the capacity to organize elections efficiently, I suggest we conclude everything about the elections in two months. There is no need of having a calendar for a whole year to prepare for elections. This causes anxiety and fear amongst the voters and investors who prefer to work in serene environments.

In his Jamhuri day speech, President Uhuru pleaded for return to normalcy. The Presidents big 4 legacy objectives; affordable housing, access to affordable universal health care, good environment for manufacturing and food security can be achieved if we stop politicking too much and start rebuilding our country.

The manufacturing sector in particular needs careful planning considering the high costs of input like electricity tariffs, cost of wages and infrastructure. The Government needs to eradicate red tape and fight corruption at all costs. In fact, fighting corruption should have been the president’s 5 pillar.

Mr Guleid is a governance consultant