No one individual, group or family has a monopoly on the presidency

Here we go again! It’s all systems go as the country inches closer to yet another election season. The 2022 election campaigns have been going on for nearly four years and are entering the homestretch. 

Like pawns on a chessboard, Kenyan’s political scene has lately had a lot of movements but only one thing has remained constant: It is dominated by the same individuals and groups vying every now and again. It is almost a given, or rather presumed, that one of the ‘usual suspects’ will be the fifth President of Kenya. Who says they should have monopoly on political leadership just because they are veterans?

The signs are, were we to go to the polls now, Deputy President William Ruto is assured of a majority. The groundswell of support his UDA Party is getting is unsurprising. Erstwhile diehard Jubilee Party supporters can sense the wind of change as President Uhuru Kenyatta enters the home stretch in office. Hence, most politicians whose political fortunes are dwindling in Jubilee and ODM parties are busy ingratiating themselves with UDA. Who could blame them! It is survival time in our politics and only the fittest and most tenacious and gritty will make it across. 

As Dr Ruto trudges on, Nasa, or its shell, is yet to decide whom to pick as our next leader. Kanu, on the other hand, is busy buying back the support it lost. That is democratic but for the idea of the incumbent picking a leader and suggesting that we vote for him. (It will, certainly, be a ‘him’; that’s the only person who can sell in our patriarchal society.)

It is the idea of having a leader chosen for us that I find undemocratic; it harbours a hidden dictatorial streak. The chosen leader becomes the puppet of his benefactor and ends up at his beck and call. Essentially, the incumbent will never leave office.

Looking at the current line-up of potential presidential aspirants, it is not easy to tell who the frontrunner is, save for the one we are informed is the best by their sponsors or getting the highest media attention. The idea of having a leader chosen for us, and about whom we’re repeatedly informed, sounds like political gaslighting. 

‘Perfect competition’

Gaslighting is commonly used in a domestic abuse set-up, where an abusive partner uses their power to repeatedly convince a party of a reality made for them, not what it is — for instance, being blamed for a mistake one did not commit until one believes they are, in fact, at fault. 

Kenyan voters are in the same scenario, where their ability to choose a leader is questioned and, instead, they’re repeatedly convinced to elect someone who has been decided for them — without their consent. These are, in most cases, the same people or families, creating an unfair monopoly in the highest office in the land.

Kenya needs, and deserves, variety in its presidential elections. It is not just democratic but inclusive. We need ‘perfect competition’, as an economist would say, in our politics to give as many willing and able leaders a chance to compete. Ukraine’s current president was once a television comedian but took on the regime and won in the last election. He did not win because he was funny; he must have had convincing policies that were more appealing to the masses than those of his rivals.

A few Kenyans, including politicians, apart from the obvious names in circulation for the presidential seat, have shown an interest to vie in the next election. The person who intrigued me the most was a young comedian, whom I heard say he would be more than interested to vie. The host laughed at him but the actor (name withheld for political reasons) said he was dead serious — except that he did not feel that, as a young man and comedian, he stood a chance to be elected. 

That is the most depressing and self-defeating statement I ever heard. The young man, and any Kenyan interested in being a president now and in future, should not have to worry about their chances if the playing field is level. But it is not level or democratic. But the status quo will not change if we don’t drop the monopoly of having the same individuals call the shots when it comes to presidential elections. 

We, as a country, mistake power for leadership and that is why our elections become bloody time and again as the aspirants fight tooth and nail for power but rarely to lead. If the distinction between power and leadership was understood by those wishing to vie for presidency, then we would give people who have the right credentials and skills to step forward and apply to lead. The current system, where monopoly in politics is considered the norm, does not give gifted Kenyans with leadership skills a chance to ascend to the presidency. It is a norm that needs to be finally altered for the sake of democracy.

Ms Guyo is a legal researcher. [email protected]. @kdiguyo