In the wisdom of the village politics is not the hot potato it is said to be

Otuma Ongalo

I’m back to my roots in the lush green plains of Kamukuywa and after a spell of more listening and less talking, I have a tale to tell about folk wisdom.

Folks here are in the heart of the maize weeding season but after the toil of the day they, too, relapse to the political fever that has gripped the nation.

For a glass of the potent chang’aa or a tin of busaa, you get a sober view on the latest happenings in the country and almost any topic under the sun.

From here, you have a vantage view of Mt Elgon rolling into Uganda, just a few kilometres away. The people are livid that the neighbouring country that they have always considered inferior is now tormenting Kenya at will.

Here, Uganda has always been viewed as the nation to turn to when you need a cattle herder, house help or barmaid. Kamukuywa villagers do not understand how the ruler of such a nation can invade our land, hoist their flag and hurl abuses at the community in the invaded territory.

Here, territorial invasion is considered a very grave issue. Even the strongest man cannot dare invade the homestead of the weakest man in broad daylight.

Folks here accuse President Kibaki of cowardice not only in the international arena but also at the domestic front. They say the reason the nation is in perpetual impasse is because Kibaki has been ‘sat on’. Now, you need to be a thoroughly ignorant person not to understand what to be ‘sat on’ means. For the uninitiated, it has got to do with a man — mostly a gentleman — who doesn’t make decisions or even get in a foul mood of his own volition.

Kamukuywa folks do not comprehend the recent announcement that a computer became mad and decided to add some figures in the Supplementary Budget tabled by Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

They wonder why a computer often only adjusts figures upwards whenever sums do not add up. They are livid that Uhuru has been exonerated when he should be the first person in dock to answer charges of attempted fraud. They demand to know why the spotlight always focuses on small fish when things go wrong while the big fish often take credit when things go right.

On the coalition governance, folks here agree Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga are the men ruling Kenya. However, this being the famed land of ingokho, they have learnt that no two cocks can crow equally loud in a chicken pen.

Unlike what the city folks think, the word "presitenti" still invokes awe and whoever bears the title is the undisputed leader. They are perplexed why Raila sometimes wants to be treated like the President instead of demanding to be treated like a Prime Minister.

While Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura is reviled in some quarters, folks here think he is doing a good job in ensuring sanity prevails in a government where everything is now conducted on political whims.

As a person who writes in newspapers, the people want to hear from me what the recent much publicised sex strike was all about.

They want to know how the magic of Nasimiyu denying Wephukulu conjugal rights in Misemwa or Nandemu villages would jolt our leaders into action to initiate constitutional reforms. Women here do not understand what the G or 10 stands for in G10 or who their purported leaders are. They can hardly identify with the bespectacled kitenge and jewelry clad women to make any sacrifice for their cause. They do not believe that those who ‘incited’ them practised what they preached.

While PNU and ODM rivalry threatens to tear the country apart, ‘foti’ Kenya (Ford-Kenya) is still the party of choice here despite the fact that the lion party long lost its roar. The attachment is purely sentimental: It was Masinde Muliro’s party and Kijana Wamalwa ‘died in it’. Here, politics is not all about Raila and Kibaki. Muliro remains the political god and Wamalwa his messiah.

The writer is The Standard’s Senior Editor, Production and Quality

[email protected]