Kenya's opposition must prove its mettle

The Third Force turns out to be a puny Luhya affair. All this, after one of its luminaries averred he was consulting far and wide on the composition of the party that would reflect a national outlook.

The promised political hurricane that would have swept Kenyans off their feet failed, for just when we were getting ready to experience the heady feeling of floating on air, a breeze barely able to move the drapes passed and we were told the third force had landed, just like that! It was a bit of an anticlimax.

Some leaders are a pain. A throbbing pain, the kind that goes and comes just when you are settling back to enjoy your chicken. In the land of my forefathers, beef is not such a big deal. Oh yes, my ancestors had a palate for chicken though the old men were mean. Women and children were forbidden to eat the gizzard. To date, it remains the preserve of the man of the house. It was not shared for fear of fallout.

Children who appeared enterprising and ready to challenge the man of the house were deliberately made to taste a piece of the gizzard surreptitiously sprinkled with a little bile and left to spread the gospel; it worked. Then came the Brits bearing the bible in one hand and tea leaves in the other. Both have stuck.

Among my kinsmen, you don’t show visitors respect and goodwill by proclaiming it, no. You do that by preparing ‘thick’ tea so full of milk the stirring spoon remains ‘upright’ (figuratively) in the cup on its own. And this tea is served only after crushed bones of chicken have been cleared from the table.

The party mood that has been building across parts of the country is in danger of dissipating. While I don’t begrudge leaders from Western their flighty moments of fame, I have issues with their timing and what could be driving them.

No doubt, every Kenyan has the right to belong to a political party of their choice. Yet in a way, it is not simply about belonging. There are choices to be made in the wider Kenyan context; like what choices to make when the populace is panting under the yoke of oppression.

Oppression does not necessarily manifest itself the Burundi, Uganda or DR Congo style. One needn’t look past the conduct of some governors and Members of Parliament who would unapologetically sit and pass wind on your head just because you don’t speak their dialect.

It is manifest in that involuntary urge to steer clear of policemen. You experience it when an Industrial Court awards teachers a pay rise and the Government simply says ‘can’t pay, won’t pay’ and the Justices merely shrug. It reveals itself in hospitals where patients go to die because there are no doctors or medication.

You see it in skewed public appointments. It is manifested by Cabinet and Principal Secretaries who act with impunity. When politicians are told ‘ you either toe the line or....’ while being herded into a particular political outfit, you know their loyal followers have no choice but to tag along.

When Government institutions like the office of the Controller of Budget and Auditor General look at the same set of figures and derive different conclusions, that is an element of oppression.

Public funds disappear without explanation. Those responsible put on straight faces, claim they are being persecuted, maintain a low profile then later emerge in the company of unknown elders with endorsements and blessings to vie for political posts.

The time to take the war to the oppressors is now. The Opposition cannot continuously regale us with tales of Government’s failures yet fail to act concertedly. The Opposition, which is virtually all political parties and individuals outside the Jubilee consortium, must pool resources to give Jubilee a run for its money in 2017. This is not the time to revive moribund parties or create additional political outfits.

It is time for parties under CORD to eschew the Ford-K route on nominations. It is the time to prove that Jubilee's claim to improved infrastructure citing the SGR, to some extent, is a facade. Bring up issues like the Kakamega/ Webuye ruse of a road and question why it is in that state. Why is the sugar industry dying? What has the Government done about the growing water scarcity across the country?

Now is the time for those who incessantly talk about unity to go beyond the stale rhetoric stage. It is time Opposition leaders gave themselves objective appraisals and realised they don’t weigh the same on the political scale. Only the strongest in the Opposition should be backed to take on the incumbent.

Though the field is crowded, there can only be one president and deputy at a time. Narrow down the field and make the contest exciting; you owe many Kenyans that much. Prove that you are ready to lead, not just avaricious.