Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja's Dishi na County bill board at Donholm Primary School in Nairobi County on July 7, 2024.
They are everywhere. Across the country, the stark reality of taxpayer-funded projects emblazoned with the names and faces of Members of Parliament, Governors, and Members of County Assemblies reveals how low we have sunk as a nation in building personality cults.
From toilets to bridges, classrooms to dispensaries, these public spaces have become avenues of political self-promotion — an ego-driven branding that masquerades as a demonstration of development consciousness and which suggests that these politicians are the vanguards of progress and champions of the people.
We have allowed politicians a platform to saturate public spaces with cult products, and they have not stopped hijacking taxpayer-funded projects and inscribing their names on them. The most abused are projects under the National Government Constituencies Development Fund, which politicians do not seem to let go.
The same happens at the counties where governors have painted their faces on every small project they complete. Soon, we might find Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries follow suit if they haven't already. Then we shall have governor’s statues in public parks.
Harold Laswell, the famous communication theorist, defined propaganda as "ways and means of controlling public opinion" and argued that this manipulation involves mobilising of the civilian mind. Similarly, Edward Bernays termed propaganda as the "conscious and intelligence manipulation of the masses."
Personalised branding
Therefore, when you encounter all those images and personalised branding of taxpayer-funded services and infrastructure, you are being manipulated through propaganda. Since this is not an academic paper, I will leave it to propaganda students who might find such a study interesting.
When writing the 2010 Constitution, the framers agreed that not even the national currency should bear the image of the president, the symbol of national unity. There was a reason why we did that. Chapter 12 of the Kenya Constitution outlaws the use of “portrait of any individual” on our currency. I wonder why projects financed by taxpayers' money should be awash with portraits of governors, MPs, and MCAs purporting to be “patrons” .
In 1996, Tigania MP Benjamin Ndubai suggested that a Bill should be introduced in Parliament to stop the government from printing "the portrait of a living head of state .... on our currency.” “His portrait should appear on our currency after say one century,” he said. Leaders have always used coins and public spaces to promote their ego. So, what MPS and governors are doing is nothing new.
Darius the Great, the powerful ruler of Persepolis, cleverly used coins with his image to show his authority across his enormous empire.
This early form of political messaging was so effective that it inspired leaders in Ancient Rome centuries later. After Julius Caesar was assassinated, his rivals Antony and Octavian started putting their faces on coins, making themselves look almost like gods. Instead of being left behind, Brutus also created coins, using symbols from his family instead of gods.
In Asia, coins with Antony's image showed him wearing an ivy crown, linking him to the god Dionysus. This was Antony's way of trying to appear divine, similar to Octavian's.
As we can see from the coins, they were more than just money; they were powerful tools for spreading messages. Their small size and wide use made them perfect for spreading political ideas and reinforcing the power of those in charge, ensuring that their images and messages reached every part of their lands.
What am I saying? My argument is that if we reject currency-based portraiture, then we can still say no to the misuse of public platforms for self-aggrandisement.
By using taxpayer-financed projects for political marketing, we are allowing politicians to exaggerate their achievements and importance.
But let's call it what it is: a relentless campaign strategy. By plastering the MPs' names and images on every conceivable public project, these officials are shamelessly using taxpayers' money to perpetuate their political careers. It is a cynical exploitation of public funds for personal aggrandisement and a gross misuse of a public space for ego trips. This practice undermines public service and accountability principles, revealing a disturbing willingness to prioritise self-interest over genuine community development. The time has come to reject this farce and demand that our public funds be used for the public good, not the personal branding of the politically ambitious.
Propaganda
What we see today is akin to the propaganda. The politicians have grabbed public spaces within our projects and personalised them to mobilise support. We all remember how Mao Zedong went around China creating images that were hung in factories, public facilities and in millions of homes to develop national affection.
In the long run, this will be the biggest threat to democracy because we are allowing incumbents to use public spaces for self-aggrandisement. Chapter 6 of the 2010 Constitution calls for “selfless service” as one of the responsibilities of a State Officer. What we are witnessing across the country are “personal interests” elevated into public interest.
By putting their names and portraits on publicly funded spaces, the MPS, governors and MCAs are not only being dishonest but also appropriating public property and converting them to billboards. The idea behind all these is to create visibility of these politicians daily and free advertising using our money. Brand managers will tell you that such visibility increases the chances of brand recognition and message retention among passersby. It is not an innocent practice but a form of corruption that we see, ignore, or we are tired of complaining.
We know that public infrastructure offers long-term exposure, so politicians make sure that the branding with their names is visible from a distance. In essence, we have created a landscape awash with politicians' names at every corner. Yet, these are not their projects.
I also see an element of manipulation here. The voters are being manipulated to believe that politicians are the agents of development and that a particular project would not have happened without their input. In such an arrangement, there seems to be no distinction between the public and private – and that is why these politicians are comfortable splattering their images and names on public facilities.
What do we do?
There comes a time in a nation's history when it must choose the path to follow. First, we must say no to this self-aggrandisement. If the county does a project, put the emblem of that county. If it is a NGCDF project, ask for their logo. And if it is a national government project, do the same.
MPS, Governors and MCAs should not be allowed to grab public spaces to promote their ego – for lack of a better word.
The onus is on civil society – or any Kenyan of goodwill – to file such a case in court and seek to order these politicians to remove their names and images from public spaces. If we can't have an image of President Ruto on the currency, we certainly don't need an image of Wavinya Ndeti or Ndindi Nyoro in a bus park or primary school. Does that make sense?
[email protected] @johnkamau1
