MCAs: Village tycoons changing the shape of society

Many want to say a thing or two to the leader. The announcer says over the raspy village public address system that the “honourable” MCA is now with us.

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That is a scene replicated in many parts of Kenya as the role of the MCA grows in stature within the country’s devolved system of governance.

Villages now have new kings and queens who, unlike the councillors of yore, are well-educated, rich, boisterous, well-travelled and younger. Give way, teachers.

Hold your horses, civil servants. Take the chill pill, village-based scholars. The grassroots now belong to MCAs. They are the ones who will get an audience.

Commenting on the ‘new normal’, Maseno University Vice Chancellor Julius Nyabundi regrets that academics are not as recognised and celebrated today as they should.

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“Countless times, I attend funerals and social gatherings in the village but hardly do they even accord me an opportunity to greet the crowd. But wait until an MCA or MP storms in, it’s a pandemonium. The worry is, the young ones might not see the need to work hard in school,” laments Prof Nyabundi.

His sentiments are shared by many professionals who have been relegated to the back burner. Facebook user Peter Chetambe sparked that conversation in a recent social media post, where he cheekily observed that devolution has made the educated in villages irrelevant.

Teachers who used to be revered figures, he noted, no longer hold sway as the class of county workers emerges as the most influential. Many who reacted to his post thought there was a great deal of accuracy in the description.

Journalist-turned-politician Beauttah Omanga was among the first crop of MCAs elected under the 2010 Constitution. He represented Bogichora Ward and went as far as becoming the majority leader in the Nyamira County Assembly.

“The first county assemblies came with a new hope to the electorate, given the powers, elevated status and handsome benefits which equated them to Members of Parliament in a way. The MCAs earned the new title ‘honourable’ and gave a new face to the lowest electoral position under the 2010 Constitution,” Mr Omanga told Nation.

Whereas grand entries are an old trick in the political playbook, the other sign that the MCA seat is a far cry from the old role of councillor is the stiff contest during elections.

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Since the 2013 General Election, MCA positions have taken the cake in terms of candidates cleared to run for office.

Until October 2021, Kenyans without university degrees could not dream of becoming MCAs in the 2022 polls following a directive by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

However, a judgement by the High Court that month threw the degree requirement out of the window. That meant that even those with the most modest of education stood a chance of getting elected.

In a recent occurrence, a vice chancellor was overheard explaining how nobody cares about the well-educated in the society any more. MCAs, even those with a palmful of education, get more recognition, the vice chancellor said.

However, the contempt with which some members of the public have held the position seems to change with time. Five years ago, Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai tweeted a post that did not flatter the position too much.

“I support lecturers. There is no reason why MCAs (councillors) should be earning more than University professors and doctors,” he posted in January 2018.

Today, he is an MCA and also supportive of a new group of MCAs that is pushing for better remuneration.

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