COVER STORY
requires is the ability to convince a sizable group of people to vote for him or her .
In the election period he is on job interview and it is in his best interest to ensure that only his best side shows and he will go to great lengths to divert your attention to what his real agenda is by hiding in numbers and not being interrogated as an individual .
The best hiding places at the moment is either in UDA or ODM . It is assumed that all the positive attributes of leaders of these two parties automatically seep through to any aspirant who can win the nomination of that particular party .
Once the nomination has been won , we cease to interrogate the candidate and assume that any man in good company is automatically a good person . This is even encouraged by harping on the seven-piece voting style where you vote for the same party in all positions regardless of the individual .
When the narrative of dynasties began in Kenya it is because someone shrewdly threw aspersion to the fact that the politics of the country seem to revolve around the same families since independence and in so doing have excluded able newcomers .
As a voter have you noted that every time a politician dies in office and there is a by-election how come invariably in Kenya it is likely that the person fronted to take his place is either a brother , a sister or even a spouse ? Is politics genetically determined ?
In fact the only president who did not have his children and spouse directly involved in elective politics is President Mwai Kibaki who was also the president who happens to have achieved the most in terms of economic development , he did it as an individual .
But his example is the exception rather than the norm and even when you check in mature democracies like the United States you realize political dynasties do exist like the Kennedys , the Bushes or even the Clintons . So something else must be in play in politics to make dynasties possible .
Politics , in its raw definition , is the acquisition of power and the retention of that power for economic advantage . Those that are canny enough to rabble rouse enough people to elect them into office and have tasted the power they exert in public office rarely relinquish it .
The most dramatic display of trying to create a dynasty was the Trump presidency where he gave his son in law and daughter state roles without portfolio in an attempt to display those leadership qualities are engendered in the Trump gene , they are good because they come from good stock .
If this in any way sounds ridiculous , be reminded that the whole concept of the monarchy is based on this very fact that those of the blue blood , meaning special by birth are inherently superior to other mortals purely by the fact their ancestors grabbed and retained power .
As a voter , beware that the dynasties are voted in by you and you are the ones keeping them there by becoming a mindless voting machine every five years . If the dynasty has not improved your lot in the past fifty years what gives you the confidence that this time around it will be different ?
“ The height of stupidity is to get caught up in the electioneering fever and be at the forefront of demonstrations and strife in support of a political position you do not understand and for so called adversaries that have drinks together boasting how ‘ leo tumechangamsha wananchi .’”
What the voter needs to be most aware of is the fact that whoever is shouting dynasty the loudest is also trying to become a dynasty . How do we know ? Because they are using the same methods to acquire and retain power that dynasties use .
You can get power by the use of force , a la Putin , or you can get power if you can wield huge economic muscles , also a la Putin . A despot is created when you can combine the two . When you have access to one type of power you seek the other to consolidate your position .
The dynasties made their move to retain power when they sponsored the ill-fated BBI reggae and you can be sure that they have not surrendered their vision , it has just been temporarily interrupted . What the voter should worry about is what the hustler may do to thwart future efforts to revive the reggae .
As a voter , don ’ t be fooled , the dynasties and the hustlers have exactly the same agenda , the dynasty is to retain power and the hustler is to grab power . The voter has to be wary not to become a pawn in a game that they did not volunteer for , ask the Ukrainians .
The dynasties have by fair and foul means acquired massive wealth held in real estate as large tracts of land and buildings . They also have vast business interests in the financial sectors and as the primary suppliers of government .
They have access to lucrative government tenders and by simply influence peddling they are able to participate in businesses that the common mwanainchi cannot take part . In such ways they are able to maintain their economic clout and call shots under the radar .
The hustlers , cognizant of the reality on the ground have gone out of their way to improve their economic muscle and when you hear calls for them to explain how they acquired their wealth , it is an admission that the hustlers have discovered the means to easy wealth .
The hustler is comfortable in the knowledge that he does not have to answer any of those questions because those asking would have to answer similar questions , hence the stalemate . It is a government of the thieves , by the thieves , for the thieves .
It sounds almost obscene when you read the amount of money that has been looted from the public coffers and it should be clear by now that whatever is going on has nothing to do with Wanjiku but everything to do with a cutthroat attempt to maintain status quo .
The hustler is taking a do or die stab at the status quo and if he succeeds it will be a bloodless coup and the ramifications will be felt for years to come . Sifting through historical data the world over , we have as yet to unearth a comparable political scenario .
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