Making public the source of campaign funding will expose the privacy of candidates because some get money from friends who do not want to be known.
Some cheeky opponents can also use the information for cheap propaganda by discrediting others for either having a lot of money or not having enough because politics has largely been commercialised in Kenya.
It cuts both ways, either for those who reveal huge budgets or those on a shoe string kitty. They will have to deal with a lot of pressure from opponents and propagandists instead of dealing with campaign issues that the electorate needs to be told.
Although the law to control campaign funding was well intentioned, Members of Parliament may have feared the many regulations they were supposed to meet and the exposure they risked facing.
However, serious candidates spend huge amounts of money on publicity and transport but today’s Kenyan voter cannot be swayed by material things only.
They are keen to know what you have to offer both inside and outside Parliament and if you have the capacity to properly represent them when you are elected. Empty promises and a show of money bags will not take you far.
EngChris Kikechi is a parliamentary aspirant for Kimilili constituency
Campaign funding is not just political, because it ultimately mutates into a national security issue.
Therefore, the need for any state and especially Kenya to stay vigilant in holding its politicians accountable by requiring them to reveal sources of their campaign kitty is very crucial.
With campaign budgets being estimated to be over Sh20 billion, the need to win an election through a cutting edge contest can easily cause politicians to sell this country and compromise its sovereignty.
Campaign funding sources should therefore be regulated and checked for integrity and goodwill, so as to curb monies coming from dubious sources such as drug lords, terrorist groups and even foreign organisations or nations who may want to hold the country at ransom for their selfish gain. On the other hand Kenya is prone to terrorism, money laundering, inflation and corruption. It is therefore necessary to have tight measures in place to control the flow of finances into the country. It is unfortunate that the campaign financing regulations were declared null and void by a National Assembly committee. The regulations could help sanitise local campaigns by checking use of excessive cash by politicians and the sources thereof.
Mr John Kaguchia is a lawyer in the city.
