Good when leaders support each other

NAIROBI: Last presidential elections were too competitive and fiercely fought both on the ground and at the Supreme Court.

After delivery of the unanimous decision that confirmed UhuRuto's win against Raila and Kalonzo, the Opposition in the interest of justice, after passing a harsh indictment on the electoral body, IEBC, chose to accept and move on.

They had subscribed to the notion that they were caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. Whatever affected one affected all of them.

They abandoned self-seeking ways and declared that the nation was more important than an individual.

Having shed off egoistic ways the Opposition paved a clear path of how future elections should be fought.

It paved the way and showed that we are one as a people and Kenyans should not be considered outsiders anywhere in the country.

It also showed that leaders should have time for constructive work which is beneficial to all.

It is now harder to be influenced by those who propagate ideas about "outsiders coming into their town or counties."

Our country has, however, been treated to grand standings in high places over emerging issues, which have culminated into tension and name calling by some of our leaders.

A lot of times, matters of governance and legislation have led to friction between the Opposition and government.

But no leader should be content with analysis that showcase effects and does not grapple with underlying causes of tension.

Parallels in ideologies brewed along political party divides, unfortunately have stood on the way of bipartisan solutions.

We know through painful experience that each time our leaders cross the artificial boundaries and embrace each other, the country heals.

President Uhuru Kenyatta met Opposition leader Raila Odinga during the burial of former Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary General David Okuta Osiany in Kisumu County in April 2013, when political tensions were still fever pitch.

At the burial site, the duo held each other's hands while exchanging pleasantries.

The perception was that both men mean well for the country and criticism that emanate from either about the other is sincere.

Then followed the Opposition joining President Kenyatta in State house, Nairobi, after the brutal attacks at the Westgate Mall, in September 2013.

Even though our heads were bloodied, a palpable sense of relief was registered everywhere within the country as bipartisanship was witnessed, while Kenyans consistently interpreted the approach as engagement of our leaders in national matters.

Watching the Opposition leader exchange pleasantries with Deputy President William Ruto during the burial of Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto's daughter, Emily, was another reassuring scene.

Similar scintillating occurrences would later be seen between the President and Raila at the late Homa Bay Senator Otieno Kajwang's Nairobi home, besides warm hand-shakes during Jamhuri Day celebrations at the Nyayo National Stadium last December that ultimately culminated in the latter visiting State House for the luncheon.

Another positive picture played out when the President and the Opposition leader paid their last respects to the former Kanu Secretary General Joseph Kamotho in December last year.

The two met again at Raila's Karen home when the President went to comfort the former Prime Minister's family following the unfortunate demise of their son, Fidel Castro Odinga.

Raila, while addressing the mourners cracked jokes that made people laugh by saying that Fidel had brought people like former presidential aspirant Peter Kenneth whom he had not met since the 2013 elections.

The question to pose now is: Isn't bipartisanship a better path?

It's not contested that our national leaders look really 'cool' when they engage and talk to each other cordially. It is a spirit that should be encouraged because this is what we need as a nation.

Of course, this is not to say that things should always be quiet, no. There is a type of constructive, legal, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth as they enable leaders see beyond their comfort zones.

Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for legal nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help leaders rise from the dark depths of prejudice and ethnicity to brotherhood.

Healthy tension can create a situation that opens the door to bipartisan negotiation.

Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our national values into creative forces that will not only promote good neighbourliness, but make us treat each other like brothers and sisters.

Now is the time to lift our national ideals from the quicksand of ethnic jingoism to the solid rock of human dignity. When our leaders transcend their political parties, our nation heals.