Yes, with all the Kikuyu blood running through my thick Kikuyu veins, I did not vote for President Kenyatta. This may come as a shock to all you that say ‘Oh, Wakikuyu pekee ndio walimpigia Uhuru kura’ (Kikuyus are the only ones that voted for Uhuru). True, Kikuyus did vote for him but for your information so did plenty of Luos, Kambas and Luhyas.
Now don’t get me wrong, I take deep pride in my ethnicity as I'm sure most of you do and I respect the President too. But as shocking as it may sound, not all Kikuyus support their tribesmen politically and not all Luos support Raila either. Some of us simply prefer to vote with our brains and not our tribe.
Politicians control a lot and putting our leadership in the wrong hands ultimately means that we as the citizens will suffer. The fact that one can vote by tribe saddens me. What possible benefit do you think you’ll get out of it? Think of it like this, personally as a Kikuyu what has the President given to you for being a Kikuyu, or what did Raila give you when he was a Prime Minister? Because you voted with your tribe, we are suffering, all of us regardless of tribe or religion. *Kusota haina ubaguzi*
Let me move away from the whole political issue for a minute. I have a point to make. Tribalism is a sensitive issue in our beloved country, especially right now with politicians hurling all sorts of insults at each other, where they beat their chests and wave their money in our faces. I didn't vote for the President and I’m doing just fine. I have not lost sleep nor weight because of it. In fact, I may have gained more than some of you out there, who spend sleepless nights wondering what possibly went wrong with your beloved candidate.
As much as we want to stand and point out that our politicians are tribal, which they are, we have to realise that the rot begins with the citizens. We are all quick to point the fingers at who we think is wrong or right but never stop to question and acknowledge the evil all around us. It’s a shame seeing people who would benefit greatly from co-existing with each other, suffering because they fear to embrace the unknown.
I like to have an open mind while dealing with issues such as politics. I choose to use my brain to think and vote and not my ethnicity. I dream of a Kenya where everyone thinks like me.