Rule that requires employees to resign before an election unfair

I am not the biggest fan of politics but nowhere to avoid Kenya’s, so I find myself drifting along with the masses and maddened political aspirants. Neither am I a fan of politicians; I just tolerate them as part of the human race.

What grates me about Kenyan politicians is the way they demand preferential treatment over the rest of society. The latest on the resignation rule is a case in point.

The ruling on whether elected leaders need to resign before the elections was put to bed by Justice Mrima when he averred that they could stay on until a few nights prior to the polls. Essentially, they have the right to see their term in full, from when they are elected to the ‘second Tuesday’ of August of the election year.

This rule, however, has denied MCAs who wish to upgrade to the office of MPs the right to stay on. They must resign sooner than MPs. It is a contradiction and discriminatory to single out one political seat from all others.

I’m not sure what informed the decision to treat MCAs differently. All political seats must be given equal and fair amount of time to resign. Whether they aspire to become president or remain an MCA should not come into the final decision.

The other group facing several hurdles is that of state- and public officers, who must resign six months from when the ‘notice for polls’ is issued by IEBC if they wish to vie for a political seat. It’s not only discriminatory but throws up so many challenges for the officials and the country.

We’re gung-ho on the idea that most politicians in Kenya enter politics to justify an end—to create their ‘time to eat’. That has been the case in a number of situations. However, if we are to move away from corruption, the main purpose of vying for public office is to serve the people.

The pathway to election should be paved with fair and free elections, but it should first be preceded by fairness. The rule on forcing state officers and civil servants to resign is not fair because it leaves them in a precarious position, where they risk losing their job and livelihood just by showing an interest in a political seat. The same applies to many other professionals, such as journalists, secretaries, cleaners and just about every other employee.

The fairest thing is to give workers unpaid leave to try their hand in politics—as long as the Constitution does not bar them from vying. I see no reason why employees cannot throw their hat in the ring without suffering losses induced by unfair rules. They should only resign to take up their political seat if triumphant!

Harsh and cruel

The notion of forcing everyone else to resign from their position prior to elections apart from select politicians is discriminatory. Forcing people to also lose their jobs if they wish to vie for a political office is harsh and cruel. Many of those forced to resign from their job would only end up contributing to the bulging demography of the unemployed. It also risks the government losing experienced and talented individuals punished for showing an interest in an elective post.

Incidentally, nurses, doctors and lawyers and those whose work is deemed essential are still able to continue with their craft whether they win or lose a political duel. Why should others lose theirs for politics?

In a corrupt country such as ours, creating a vacuum in state and public offices would end up contributing to impunity and corruption. Those who are forced to resign have a chance to steal before they go into the elections, knowing they are not wanted back, and those left to cover using the small window of opportunity to stuff their bags.

If workers know that their jobs are assured when they lose a political seat, they may not be too inclined to loot before they resign. Forcing so many people to lose their jobs for, essentially, a passing fad is counterproductive.

Kenyan politics is made to appear a matter of life and death. But it really wouldn’t if it were drilled into the minds of the aspirants that the intention is to serve the public and not themselves. All the upheavals prior to elections, and the forced resignations, create unnecessary anxiety and loss of livelihood.

Perhaps one other thing we ought to do is train and educate aspirants on the roles of a politician, to discourage them from the culture of ‘eating’. It might also be beneficial to remunerate state and public workers well so that they don’t feel that the only route to a better life is to be a politician.

Regularisation and harmonisation of salaries is something that Kenya needs to consider in order to improve the welfare of all workers, rather than thinking politicians are the only people worth huge salaries and deserving security of tenure.

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