assume has a well-defined job description .
We understand a political party to be an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a country ’ s elections . Party members hold similar ideas about politics and promote specific ideological and policy goals . If we accept this definition then Kenya is evidently a party-less state .
A party makes the working of a parliamentary government possible as the ultimate check and balance of political power . The party with a majority forms the government while the second in line forms the opposition , checking the government as a government in waiting ; it even has a shadow cabinet .
Since the cessation of the one party rule in Kenya , the country has witnessed a circus of political parties , none which survive long enough to develop an ideological platform to present to Kenyans . Political parties are simply a vehicle to power for individuals .
With the collapse of the party system and parties actually being converted into personal property it is no wonder that we have developed a bastard system where the government is often in opposition and the opposition is in government creating an impossible working atmosphere .
Political parties are supposed to formulate public policy which is supposed to demonstrate how the party will better the living conditions of its citizenry . It should be quite clear at any given point what any particular party stands for to inform the voter ’ s choice .
With our milliard briefcase parties that are used basically as personal bargaining outfits it is unclear what they stand for . That is not to say that the bigger outfits are any better , in fact the reality is worse since these bigger parties are actually personal cult followings and not parties .
It is only in Kenya that a political position holder sponsored by a particular political party can switch allegiance without having to quit the sponsoring party and the sponsoring party in many instances is unable to even expel the culprit since a party organ does not exist .
Political parties are supposed to educate the public opinion . It is through the parties that the electorate is supposed to weigh the pros and cons of the position taken by a particular party in their manifesto to enable the voter choose his affiliation preferences .
Without a robust political party system the electorate in effect is voting blindly as they do not get a chance to appreciate the intricate politics that go into the administration of a country . In such a void the politician with charisma carries the day not the one best suited for the country .
An essential role of a party is to create political stability since leaders come and go the party remains as the bastion and the custodian of the ideology that holds the party together and it is the party ’ s role to also recruit and nurture leaders into the party to perpetuate themselves .
In Kenya you hear of parties only during elections and they vanish thereafter . If parties in Kenya were truly ideological in nature then the comical party hopping that has become the order of the day as everyone tries to position themselves to be in the next government would not be taking place . Strong and vibrant parties are the only antidote to toxic tribal voting blocs and the only way to move to issue based politics and away from personality cult ones . A good idea should sell across tribal boundaries and the party with the best proposition wins .
So long as we continue to have parties in name only but not in practice , then the idea of the country developing strong democratic institutions will remain a pipe dream as the lack of an ideological framework is what helps us retreat into the convenient tribal cocoons .
We have defined at length the environment of the Kenyan political theater and now we need to look at the current actors most of whom are responsible to the political conundrum that we find ourselves in since they did not exercise due diligence and patience during the constitution making process .
The protagonists in the August duel make an interesting pair in that both are adept mobilisers and cut their political teeth during a turbulent political period in Kenya and their current persona is defined from those heady days of political upheaval .
Baba suffers from what we can only term as a hamartia syndrome , a tragic flaw in character that makes it impossible to hold his peace until the outcome he wants comes to pass . Every time he is close to his quest he somehow manages to blow it .
He has been cast as the doyen of the opposition that many find it difficult to embrace him as the establishment guy . His track record has been tumultuous and his popularity is exactly for the reason that he has always been anti-establishment .
A political commentator once quipped that if Baba was to form the government he may one day wake up and overthrow himself just so that he does not lose his edge . The truth is that we actually don ’ t know if he can govern in the normal traditional manner .
The fact that his name is associated with the 1982 coup attempt makes him both a hero and a villain and it is true that his villain persona is more attractive than his hero ’ s one and his unpredictability made him an enigma and the perfect opposition figure .
Baba is so good on self-sabotage that whenever he is close to his goal , he and his coterie are likely to indulge in an arrogant and intimidating manner that puts off his backers and frightens those he threatens with dire consequences when he attains power .
He has astutely picked a lady running mate , aka the iron lady , who was a comrade in the trenches when they were fighting for multiparties , a goal they achieved and as we have seen have been unable to do much with . Baba is a major culprit in undermining party structures .
People that may be tempted to write off Martha as a political lightweight when it comes to the game of numbers should revise their pessimism given that we are facing unprecedented times in the Kenyan politics and a pair that points at redemption may surprise everyone .
This partnership could be billed as the dynamic duo and they are well placed to end the endemic corruption that has become a way of life in Kenya . But therein lies their biggest hurdle , as we have been told countless times , corruption fights back .
Baba finds himself in very unfamiliar territory , this is the first time that the establishment has been on his side and rather than smoothen his way to the presidency it has become his Achilles heel and the unfortunate perception as being the government project is hurting him .
The protagonist on the other side suffers from hubris , an excessive pride and arrogance which makes him unable to bind his time and quietly wait . Moi who was a master tactician and DPs political mentor obviously failed to pass over this very important political lesson .
His brash character and too much
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