We are not the challenged humans in Monkey Kingdom

By Angela Ambitho

The tale is told of monkeys that ruled humans. As kings, the primates were domineering, cheeky, deceitful, greedy and incorrigible. Every year, the humans gathered and complained about their jumpy leaders. But because they knew no better, they begrudgingly persevered. One day, one of them said there was a way to oust the apes since humans had superior mental faculties.

Not everyone was convinced. As time went by, more and more people tested the superiority theory and realised the secret in liberation lay in unlocking the mental blocks in their minds. Soon, all humans felt empowered enough to revolt against the Monkey Kings and indeed they were victorious.

The tale teaches that as long as the people are able to conquer their fears and unlock their minds, the impossible is possible. Indeed, voting to get a new Constitution was a manifestation of what we can do. But the referendum was not an end in itself, but a new beginning. A beginning where we said no to old ways, old means and personalities with old political ideologies. Some are already arguing all the words and speeches of a better tomorrow were nothing but mere rhetoric meant to temporarily soothe the hearts of the masses. The bubble is slowly beginning to deflate as reality sets in that the traditional enemies of change in a cacophonic manner plan to rear their ugly heads, trying to retard us from moving forward.

How else could one explain the calibre of people already being touted for the positions of leadership in county governments? Looking at the list of names, it seems there are certain mandatory requirements one has to meet to be either a Governor or Senator. To begin with, you must have been in active politics during more than two regimes; simply put, you must be a recycled, revamped and reinvented politician.

You certainly don’t have to be a reformist. Second, you must either be an octogenarian or approaching that age. Even those who are 60 may not meet the criteria because they are too young. They would stand advised that an accumulation of another 10 to 20 years experience is necessary to be ripe for governorship.

Third, you must be loaded. And we are not talking a couple of millions. A great deal more is required to garner the goodwill from the political godfathers and to prove ones might with the necessary constituents.

As the script unfolds, the humans will begin to feel like they did in the Monkey Kingdom; trapped, helpless and hopeless.

Their rulers will slowly start to resemble the monkey kings; jumpy redundant and self centred. The beauty however is that in life whether we like it or not, we are naturally inclined to learn from our mistakes. We learn for instance that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.

It will be foolhardy to expect recycled politicians to run counties as creatively as the younger firebrands will. Furthermore, we learn that all talk and no action will not lead to development. A leader with no track record, no vision and no goals except for those that will fill their stomachs has no place in our midst. In the 21st Century, leaders musto deliver without doubt.

Let our political class not mistake us for the challenged humans in the Monkey Kingdom. We are liberated, we are informed and we are charged. Most importantly, we are intent on showing the recycled leaders that ‘when the monkey is destined to die, all the trees get slippery". And in Kenya, that time is now.

The writer is founder and CEO, Infotrak Research & Consulting