Nip poll chaos in the bud for peaceful 2022

Chaos in Juja By-election at Mang'u High School Tallying centre on May 18, 2021 [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

The script, once again replicated to the letter. Violence is the order of the day.

Residents of Juja and Bonchari constituencies and Rurii Ward went to the polls on Tuesday, and right from the start, these by-elections had the tell-tale signs of a do-or-die process.

Politicians and their respective parties engaged in a popularity contest that was seen as a litmus test for the outcomes in the 2022 General Election which is just about 15 months away.

Heated campaigns, accusations and counter-accusations, violence and blatant disregard of the law were witnessed. Tallying of votes was even stopped in Juja as leaders violently disrupted the process. 

It was very shameful seeing Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) stop the vote tallying process.

Kiambu Governor James Nyoro had walked in with a bunch of people and chaos erupted. In other by-elections too, chaos erupted  leading to the arrests of some people.

We have normalised such happenings in our electoral processes so much so we move on almost immediately like nothing happened.

Even more appalling is that the same people pushing for changes that supposedly will bring an end to such acts do not condone those shameful acts. In some instances, they are the perpetrators whether directly or indirectly. Who’s fooling who?

What happened on Tuesday was not news. That is exactly what happened two months ago in Matungu, Kabuchai and London Ward by-elections where IEBC officials were harassed, processes interfered with and running battles were the order of the day.

Several arrests were made  but the leaders were later released. Some cases are still at the courts and the culprits are going about their businesses. They are waheshimiwa who do dishonorable things but are still accorded the privileges that come with the office.

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission watches helplessly, armed with their disingenuous plan of adding the names of said leaders to a list of shame and hoping it will deter them from acting the way they do. Laughable.

It seems NCIC is not aware that these politicians thrive in  chaos and that a list of shame will not tame people who think they are above the law.

If we keep condoning what happened on Tuesday and during the other by-elections two months ago, then come next year, the dark 2007/2008 will look like it was child’s play.

It has been proven more than enough times that politicians only care about their interests. They have tested the waters too many times and each time, they are emboldened by their shameful actions.

Woe unto us if we sit back and watch them misbehave over and over. They will run this country and all its institutions to the ground under the pretext of fixing it.

Look keenly at how your leader behaves during elections. Do they pass the integrity test? Next time you are in that voting booth, let the answer to that question inform your decision