Homecomings: Celebrations or campaigns?

Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya introduces his children during his homecoming ceremony at Mabole Primary School in Butere on August 24, 2024. [Benjamin Sakwa/ Standard]

Homecoming or elaborate political feast events are now a common feature in Kenya's politics and discourse.

They are commonplace in the country’s political space where well-connected leaders organise to celebrate achievements like Government appointments or even winning an election.

In most cases, they are synonymous with huge budgets and mass attendance of not only the electorate but also senior Government officials.

The most recent homecomings held are for Cabinet Secretaries John Mbadi (National Treasury) and his Cooperatives counterpart, Wycliffe Oparanya, just weeks after they were sworn into office.

Both events have seen President William Ruto attend, which also comes with tightened security.

The events are characterised by songs and dances, and church services followed by long speeches, usually in praise of the appointing authority.

It is also an opportunity to discuss the politics of the day, depending on the side they are allied to.

But the events have been praised and criticised in equal measure.

Roots Party Leader, George Wajackoya says some of the leaders have cases to answer but when appointed to public offices, people hardly hear about investigations again and some end up making reckless statements.

“We have these homecomings and I would ban those events, you call civil servants to donate money for you and go there to laugh sycophantly. Kenya is rotting to the core. You just go to eat meat and then you are given bus fare. Those are the kind of leaders we want and when Gen Z is fighting these people, you suppress them and that is why I refuse to go to those people’s homecoming parties,” Wajackoya said in an interview with KTN.

Political Analyst, Zack Kinuthia said that much as they have political usefulness, they have no relevance in the life of the common man because they are conduits of politicians’ influence.

This, he said, means that politicians would want to establish themselves as important and can only do that through such lofty ceremonies.

“In the lives of the people who come to celebrate this homecoming, which home are they coming to? What is the value of these homecoming ceremonies? What is the value to the voter? What is the value to the village that they call home?  Anyway, what we have seen from history is that these ceremonies end up as political campaigns,” said Kinuthia.

He also said the events end up as political platforms for further campaigning and as a way of entrenching political reward schemes.

According to Kinuthia, another critical question to be raised is the aspect of financing.

“If they are financed by the State, and many times, you know, they are; then that is a waste of resources. If these ceremonies are conducted with money from the pockets of the people doing these ceremonies, then it is unfortunate because this money should be spent otherwise," he noted.

He said that when a person is appointed to high office, it happens in the trust of the entire population in the country. For instance, he explained that if a CS is appointed and comes from, say Murang’a he or she is not given that opportunity to serve people from that county alone, but to serve the country.

He said the alternative to homecoming ceremonies should be individuals simply doing a thanksgiving note to the President who appointed him as well as promising and assuring the people they will serve without prejudice. Similarly, they should commit to giving the best the office can offer regardless of race, religion, tribe or political persuasion and that should be enough.

He also said they entrench tribal-based politics, and are unnecessary. “If you say you are going back to Murang’a to celebrate in your home, what about that Turkana child?  As a Minister of Education official, if you come from Kisii, what about the Pokomo in Tana River, in Kilifi or Kwale? When will they ever celebrate a homecoming ceremony of one of their own? So, I think these things are divisive and discriminatory.”

But  Joshua Nyamori, a lawyer said the fractious nature of Kenyan politics and governance system requires the Government to go out of its way to create awareness on its decisions as well as seek and build ownership. 

Nyamori said that one of the biggest problems, in Nyanza for instance, was the feeling that they have been marginalised from the Government structures for over 40 years.

He said that when the President makes a decision to appoint people from the region, especially to critical positions in government, like in the Ministries of Finance and Energy as well as the Attorney General, it is important to let the masses appreciate.

“They can only appreciate it when policymakers come down to them, engage with them, explain to them the essence of it and celebrate it with them. In my view, it's a process of national healing. It is a process of inclusion of areas that felt marginalized,” explained Nyamori.

He said that issues about financial implications may be raised for a good but stated that the government should be modest, given the status of the economy, which has been destabilized in the last few years.

Another advocate, Bruce Odeny said there is a need to explore the financing aspect and who does it. “If the financing is coming from public coffers, then that is wrong because that is an expense that is not budgeted for. It can only dwindle down to corruption. If financed by politicians, then it depicts the logic, purpose or reasons why we prevent CSs from being in politics,” he explained.

Odeny said the positive aspect of the events, however, is that it gives CSs a platform to articulate their visions and how to sort out challenges in ministries. 

“The other positive aspect to it, just like in our African culture, we celebrate the birth of newborns as well as a celebration of achievements or even death, although in a mourning way. It is good also to appreciate and celebrate when one of us is able to clinch a national position. So if the financing of those celebrations can be transparent and the source is clean money, there is nothing wrong about it,” he explained.

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