Goonism: It's all economics

Goonism has become a common word in our conversations.[File-Standard]

Goonism has become a common word in our conversations. It becomes more common during protests and polls. That leaves no doubt that goonism is not a random event like a road accident. Goonism is also not new.

Remember KANU youth wingers? What was their objective? Who funded them?

It seems history has no manners!

Why goonism? I will leave it to you to find out who is behind the goons and the funder. But goonism is a simple but effective strategy. To suppress protests, outsource a counterforce; it should be cheap and amorphous.

Get some of the protesters and turn them against fellow protesters. That creates a new dynamism; they get a new enemy and shift their focus away from government or whoever is the target of the protests.

It becomes more interesting. The protesters could now compete to become goons, more so if they are paid.

This dilutes the protest further.  Payment gives the funders control over the goons.

Payment can be graduated to correspond with risks taken. With time, goonism could become a source of prestige for the powerless.

The effectiveness of goonism is based on anonymity, hence balaclavas and masks. That increases their boldness. Anonymity also applies to accountability. Curiously, balaclavas (mbocoris) are popular in cold places like the White Highlands.

Masks became popular during Covid-19. We did not envisage their sinister use.  Goonism also suggests a lack of tact: if you can’t reason, fight. Goonism is nothing but outsourcing violence.

The goons are also easy to get; the high unemployment rate means there is a reservoir of young men willing to do anything to get money. A serious economist could suggest the opportunity of hiring goons is zero; they would be doing nothing!

After complaints from many corners, the government has promised to deal with goons. Many Kenyans are waiting. Curiously, if I slap someone, I will be arrested, why not a gun-toting goon?

Goonism mimics firefighting. Start a small fire to help you fight the bigger fire. 

Goonism, despite its effectiveness, is not a very clever diversion from the root cause of protests or voters' apathy towards the establishment.

The real issues are unemployment and hopelessness occasioned by slow economic growth. 

 Do you recall when getting a job after high school was never an issue? There was a time graduates sat to analyse job offers. Today? Goonism is about economic slowdown punctured by politics.  

By diverting our attention from real issues like joblessness, they become worse. That increases the chance that the goons will one day join hands with everyone else and confront the sponsors.

The alternative to goons is naked power. That could annoy a critical mass of voters with unintended consequences.