Heightened political rhetoric bad for Kenya

Evidently, the country has been plunged into campaign mode ahead of the allotted time. Last week, Kenyans witnessed the birth of the Jubilee Party amid pomp and fanfare at the Kasarani Stadium.

Speakers at the launch extoled the virtues of the new party, positively affirming it was the tool by which Kenyans could be united after previous attempts failed due to the presence of too many tribally inclined political parties. This view of the architects of the Jubilee Party is shared by many and despised by others. Time will be the judge.

On the same day, the Orange Democratic Party (ODM) celebrated its tenth anniversary at the Tononoka Grounds in Mombasa where its leaders promised to give Jubilee a run for its money in next year's General Election. But while these occasions should have been one-off occurrences, they have thrust the country into a season of electioneering.

The jostling for positions within the parties has started in earnest. The nominations will be closely contested given the crowded field and it is understandable that various aspirants are seeking advantage the earliest possible.

This jostling for advantage does not, however, warrant acting outside a constitutional provision that allows only a three months window ahead of the election date for aspirants sell their ideologies and policies. Sunday last week saw Jubilee and ODM legislators and aspirants hold parallel political rallies in Mathare, Nairobi in what was clearly a show of might.

The dangers of such rallies, especially now that tension is high with top leaders publicly trading barbs, cannot be overemphasised. Notably, the gist of these rallies has nothing to do with policy or developmental issues.

The rallies are centred on personality attacks which goes a long way in inflaming passions even as the leaders themselves claim their mission is to unite Kenyans. It will bode well for the country if leaders toned down their rhetoric and appealed to conscience.