Kenya can get good leaders if we embrace political newcomers

Agents at a polling station in Kayole, Embakasi Central, Nairobi. [File, Standard]

George Bernard Shaw, an Irish Nobel Prize winner and socialist, believed, “Progress is impossible without change and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” Anchoring on Shaw’s proposition, I ask, is a country that is crying for a change of guard in politics elect someone they call a moral cop, and if they do, is there hope of them making things better?

Today’s debate is more momentous than Ezekiel Mutua. I am picking on him as a microcosm of a person that the majority of Kenyans consider a ‘moral cop’ to represent hundreds of others who are considered model leaders.

Those who know Dr Ezekiel can testify of obsession with matters of values and principles. His posture is that of a paragon of integrity, and he preaches it every time he gets a chance. He is among renowned leaders who stir controversy with their stand on popular social discourses.

Where am I coming from? On Monday this week, as I was driving to work, I hit a pothole, and my kidneys almost popped out. I pulled over and felt betrayed because not long ago, a contractor mounted machinery at the same spot and diverted traffic for three months to overhaul that portion of the road.

Today, the broken white centre lines are not yet marked, but the road already has yawning potholes—the fruits of graft.

Of course, the government engineer, usually approves shoddy work. Every year, in public service, budget is allocated to all the ‘milk cows’—such roads, white elephants, ghost workers, and the list is endless.

If we expect a different country, we must either change our leaders or expect the leaders to change. Unfortunately, expecting our political leaders to change is like waiting for Godot. To change the leaders, we must be ready to experiment with new ones, and to do so; we need a different mindset.

We are evidently jinxed into the paradox of change—we desire good leadership but are not ready to embrace newcomers into politics. That is why I picked on Dr Mutua. Early this week, he implied on his socials that he would be on the ballot come 2027—he didn’t say which position he is interested in.

Whether we like it or not, being the current Chief Executive Officer at the Music Copyright Society of Kenya, he is a person of interest. So, when he posted on his social media, “Tukutane kwa debe 2027! (Let’s meet on the ballot come 2027!)”, he ruffled feathers.

The way Kenyans reacted presents a perfect site for a social experiment on how citizens react whenever a newcomer shows up in elective politics. Those who love him for his solid moral stands, like the city preacher Reverend Lucy Natasha, responded, “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan” (Proverbs 29:2). That was expected. Mutua is a preaching elder—or so, I guess.

Those who hate him resurrected all sorts of monikers: ‘Deputy Jesus’ is the most befuddling of all—it’s sarcastic and a commendation. But he has a whale shark-thick skin against such affronts and humiliation—isn’t that what we are looking for in a leader?

If Dr Mutua is an illustrious leader in his capacity, in which order does he operate? Sometime back, Trevor Noah, the world-renowned South African political commentator, referred to Mutua as a “Kenyan politician.” So, when Mutua suggested that he was getting into politics, I was interested.

Mutua will not be the first of such calibre to try his hand at elective leadership. Others have done so, including Ekuru Aukot, James Ole Kiyiapi, and Mukhisa Kituyi to mention but a few.

Therefore, the way Kenyans react to newcomers in politics shows a country that badly needs change but is not ready to change. There is hope of birthing the expected calibre of leaders if only we are ready to embrace and experiment with newcomers in politics.

Dr Ndonye is a senior lecturer at Kabarak University’s Department of Mass Communication