Ignore the independents at your own peril

Last Saturday, history was made once again at the famous Kasarani Sports Complex Gymnasium. The Kenya Alliance of Independent Candidates (KAIC) was spectacularly born and with it the tectonic plates of the Kenyan political landscape shifted. The birth of KAIC guarantees the people their democratic right and the right to expression with its promise to “Let the People Decide”. On Saturday, Kenyans were liberated from the tyranny of political party nominations.

Political party nominations are often “sold” to members with high promise of “free and fair”, “level playing field” and other such tantalising epithets to rope in the critical mass. With the consistency of the night following day, these nominations end up in shambles delivering nothing save for disenfranchisement and resentment and the inevitable political fallout. The closure of party-hopping whilst originally fought by many is now proving to be a blessing in disguise.