Nyerere’s humility and the grand dream of a more prosperous Kenya

I may have been 20 then, waiting to join university. I had gone to the Holy Family Basilica for a brief moment before the midday Mass, when a man slowly walked in and, from his unmistakable gait and aura of confidence, I instantly recognised him as Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere. He had walked from across the street with only one bodyguard, to attend the mid-day Mass. He sat quietly among the congregants. There was no special space reserved for him. At communion he joined the queue like everybody else. To him, being the President of Tanzania did not give him bragging rights! I was dumbfounded by his humility and simplicity!

We Kenyans have accepted the image of political leadership that has over the years been presented to us. Something akin to the Greek mythical culture, where leaders were regarded as gods! We seem to believe everything depends on them, even our own existence. This is never so obvious as when election time comes around. They lure us with a full display of their financial might and power.

Bishops’ Sunday message

But what is it that we must look for in a leader seeking elective office? The Catholic bishops, in their ‘Bishops’ Sunday message’ a week ago, highlighted some of the qualities we must look for.

High among these is humility; the very opposite of what we see displayed on the campaign trail. A true leader, one who would deliver the transformation we need, one who would actualise the dream of this country, must be one who is fully aware that he is a steward. A person who is entrusted only for a moment with the role of leadership. He must not be one who feels entitled to the office, or believes he owns the people, or resources, or – worse still – owns the nation. If there is one quality that is a sure test of a worthy leader, it is this: he must be humble. Humble enough to know he needs others to bring about the dream of welfare and development; humble enough to respect the voter and address his needs; humble enough to accept his mistakes and personal or institutional failures; humble enough not to seek the flair of glory and power, the show of might and control; and above all, humble enough to kneel before God to ask for his graces, thank him for successes, and commit himself to keep his laws.  Here you have your first indicator. We do not need saviours, what we need are real servant leaders.

‘Political gods’

We are seeing negative propaganda being peddled by this ‘culture of political gods’, where the politicians strum the chord of ethnicity and antagonism; they play the role of tribal chiefs, and godfathers to certain groups. The bishops urged us to wake up and realise the power of our vote. We must totally reject the manipulation of these proud and imposing leaders who have been pretending to be messiahs – they do not deserve our votes. These leaders would likely use their offices to enrich themselves and fleece our country.

Listen intently to how a leader speaks, and distinguish a good leader who listens and speaks to the voter with respect. Listen to the leader whose mouth is ‘sanitised’, because he respects the people he leads and does not use abusive language. Such is a leader who can reconcile and unite and deserves our vote!

Finally, what a leader sells defines what he or she believes in.

A good leader should have a good moral life, and must embrace goodness and upright behaviour before God and humanity. We normally use the term God-fearing, but that is not enough! He must be one who embraces Godliness and knows that obedience to God’s law is a must! Interrogate the moral life of each person seeking your vote! 

That is why the Catholic bishops flagged the different manifestos being presented by parties and individuals. For our nation and society to thrive, it must be based on ethical principles.

No society ever succeeded through the loosening of morals and permissiveness of immoral conduct. Indeed, the Roman empire is said to have collapsed precisely due to its moral decadence. Any political proposals endorsing immoral and deviant behaviour, that seek to destroy our youth by allowing the use of drugs or the liberalisation of pornography and immorality, are totally unacceptable. So is the agenda against the life of the unborn. We have already witnessed the disaster these can cause in our families, schools and in society. The rising number of suicides is in fact linked to drug abuse, among other vices.

Election is an important duty, so we can’t be casual about it. We can dream of a wonderful Kenya, but the realisation depends on the quality of leaders you give her!

Mr Muheria is the Catholic Archbishop of Nyeri and Chair, Interfaith Council for Covid. [email protected]