Scramble for power must not lead to confrontation

A few years to the 2017 General Election, politicians have upped their selfish struggle to win and/or retain power. From the floor of Parliament, in the hallowed presence of the President, to political rallies across the country, the engagement is the same; power politics for dominance and control.

In this day and age, we must remind our political leaders that a conflict in political opinion does not necessarily call for a confrontation. It is a measure of political maturity and a statement on the deepening of democracy if and when leaders hold very divergent views but construct an amicable way of taking the country forward.

But this can only happen if the motivation to get into politics is anchored on service to the electorate. Unfortunately, it would appear that a large majority of elected leaders in this country are driven by other considerations, mostly personal and selfish, to delve into elective politics.

The 2010 Constitution is applauded as one of the most progressive supreme laws across the world. The Chapter on the Bill of Rights sets us apart in regard to provisions on individual liberties. What happened on the floor of Parliament on Thursday must concern every Kenyan.

Beyond the booing of the President and the subsequent expelling of members from the Chambers, there were flickers of warning signals as the country prepares for the next General Election. A section of leaders warned that the actions of opposition MPs were a pointer to what the President should expect in the coming elections.

The thing to note here is that this country belongs to all Kenyans. It is neither a Jubilee country nor is it a CORD country. It is our country. All of us. And so when politicians threaten to throw the political space into disarray in pursuit of sectarian interests, they must be reminded that the political space is a Kenyan space. And we can confidently say that an overwhelming majority of Kenyans want peace to prevail, even in the political arena.

It is the same greed for political control and domination that informed the circus around the launch of Senator Moses Wetang’ula’s presidential bid in Kakamega. It is a shame that internal party processes should breed so much antagonism as to result in physical confrontation. The same narrative has been repeated in attempts to merge all political parties in the Jubilee alliance and form one political party. For the fear of diluting political control, elected leaders have opted to create confusion and scuttle such efforts.

The decision on who becomes the next President of the Republic of Kenya is not one that will be made by individual political parties. The decision on which party or coalition of parties will form the next government is not one that will be made by the political class on the floor of Parliament or at a political rally. These important decisions will be made by Kenyans through the ballot.

So instead of the political class issuing warnings to each other and spending sleepless nights scheming on how best to capture political power at all levels of government, efforts should be concentrated on building a more democratic country. And for any democracy to grow, the power of choice must be placed where it rightly belongs. This power belongs to a people who have been sufficiently empowered to exercise their right to vote leaders of their choice.

It would have been better if Kenyans saw politicians from across the political divide going door to door urging eligible voters to get out and register as voters in the just-concluded mass voter registration exercise. It is a waste of precious time and energy for politicians to tear each other apart in the scramble for political control while doing nothing to sensitise, mobilise and empower the electorate to make wise decisions at the ballot.

Politics and the scramble for power cannot be the reason why Kenya should go to the dogs. And we are surrounded by sufficient examples of how the appetite and greed for political power can tear apart countries. The latest example is Burundi where personal interests of a single politician and his cronies have thrown an entire nation into chaos in complete disregard to advice from around the world.

Wanjiku is watching.