Let political slogans have ideologies

In Kenya, every election cycle is adorned with colourful soundbites and newly minted party slogans. Political parties and organisations utilise sloganeering to promote their campaign’s tenets through memorable messages.

A look at Kenya’s political environment indicates a bid to entice voters with slogans like ‘democracy’, ‘umoja (unity)’, ‘amani (peace)’, ‘service’ and ‘development’. But as past elections have proven, such catchy slogans merely act as bait to net gullible voters, promising them heaven but usually delivering damnation every five years.

Our leaders appear to be talented at coining slogans but lack the integrity to live up to the values these promote. As a result, we have ‘democrats’ who rig elections, reward cronies and rue the rule of law; high priests of ‘unity’ who fan ethnic hatred and retreat to tribal enclaves for political mileage; agents of ‘peace’ by day but lords of violence by night; ‘servant leadership’ that thrives on the proceeds of corruption; and ‘progressives’ who despise competition.

Injecting actualisation

When it comes to injecting actualisation into party slogans, players in political formations have chosen a use-and-disuse attitude. For self-preservation, they seem wired to switch political parties at will—hence unsurprising that party slogans and identities are so erratic. While political dynamics are bound to play out from time to time, the tragedy resides in sloganeering that is devoid of ideological underpinnings.

Traditionally, briefcase parties have made a killing by selling party organs and slogans to the highest bidder around election time. That shows parties are nothing more than political conveyor belts. Once elected, the ostensible ideas fall to sleep, to awaken at the dawn of the next cycle.

Let political slogans not be bouncing cheques after elections. Let’s have a better Kenya, where party slogans are firmly founded on progressive ideologies that then drive campaigns with the goal of improving our lives. Regrettably, our politics appears to be centred on catching the imagination of voting blocs through hollow promises.

Mr Wagunda is a communication a lecturer at Rongo University. [email protected].