Wrong rulers will lead us to bitter tears 

As I pondered the direction this country’s politics is taking, I could not help thinking about something I read in the Bible long ago as a child. It was about 11 men and a woman (Deborah) who ruled Israel as Judges between 1397 and 1062 BC.

The main role of these judges was to settle local disputes and protect the tribes of Israel from the marauding hordes all around them, ranging from the Edomites to Philistines. The best known among them are Gideon, Samson, Eli and Samuel, the Prophet.

But not all of the judges were beyond reproach, proof that power is not only intoxicating, it is also corrupting. When Samuel, in his old age, retired and chose his two sons to succeed him, they became greedy and took bribes to deny justice. Fed up with this corruption, the people went to Samuel and told him: “Give us a king, like all the other nations.” 

Although terribly upset, the Prophet eventually acceded to their demand, but not before he had warned them of what kings would do to them. Not only would a king send their sons to unnecessary battles, he would turn the rest into slaves and their daughters into domestic servants. He would also grab their best lands and tax them to the bone.

Party hopping

In the end, the Prophet said, they would shed bitter tears and the Lord would not help them. That is how their first king, Saul, gained his crown and then lost it because he disobeyed God. It would appear the sin of hubris, which has undone many a mortal, did not start yesterday amongst rulers.

Now here we are, in an election year, when we should be asking God to give us a new leader who will protect us from our enemies, mostly ourselves, but the bar set for this leadership has been alarmingly low. We seem to be intent on electing a new government which is just as corrupt as the one whose term is coming to an end, but, alas! we do not have a prophet like Samuel to warn us of the evils that lie ahead. Whom should we blame if we elect men and women whose sordid past we overlook merely because we like what they are telling us?

For instance, this is the migratory season for politicians who are hopping from one party to another, from one alliance to the other, not due to conviction that one ideology is superior to another, but for political survival. And the unspoken reasons many are doing so are quite varied. 

Some are vying for office because if they get it wrong and are thrown out into the cold, their ignoble past will catch up with them, and they may even end up in jail. Others are doing it with the singular aim of preventing their rivals from ascending to power.

Cut-throat affairs

But the worst lot are those convinced that without their presence in high office, this country will definitely go to the dogs. This is probably what The Preacher in Ecclesiastes meant when he railed against all forms of vanity, which he likened to striving after wind.

Is it any wonder political contests have become such cut-throat affairs that electoral violence becomes inevitable? Is it any wonder that any meaningful service for the people has long ceased to be a priority except to a few blessed souls who still believe in servant-leadership?

I cannot pretend that the Bible has been my bedside companion, but in early youth, I did like reading the many interesting tales in the Old Testament, the source of my fascination being the roguish nature of most of the rulers those days.

But since we are supposed to be a lot more enlightened today, and since we have a choice which the ancients did not have, maybe we should scrutinise more closely the kind of people we elect.

However, it increasingly appears that we are doomed to fulfill old Samuel’s prophecy that if we get the wrong rulers, we shall shed bitter tears.

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Has anyone else noticed that ours is perhaps the only country in the world whose slowest drivers monopolise the fast lane on superhighways and by-passes, thus forcing faster drivers to weave through traffic from one lane to the other if they want to get to their destinations on time?

This habit is not only irritating, it should be punishable. But all you see are effete traffic advisories to “keep left unless overtaking”, which many motorists blatantly ignore. Such foibles make our dear Kenya a very interesting place to live in.

This next may not be peculiar to Kenya, but why are old men always trying to look younger while youths go out of their way to look old, using the simple dye? While one can understand the elderly coots sucking in their tummies or even trying out the latest dance move to impress the ladies, it is not clear why young celebrities are dyeing their hair and beards in odd colours which just make them look weird. By the way, no condemnation meant here -- just bewilderment.

Mr Ngwiri is a consultant editor; [email protected]