Kibra election should be about performance

Campaigns in the Kibra by-election are in full-swing. The leading political parties and alliances are working hard to game each other, with the goal of nominating the most viable candidate. Ethnic breakdowns of the constituency’s voters are circulating on social media (yes, Kibra is not 150 per cent Luo!). Meanwhile, prospective candidates are prostrating themselves – literary and figuratively – at the feet of our self-styled ethnic chiefs. The so-called party leaders are busy peddling nominations in exchange for pledges of loyalty and more.

Missing in this charade is any discussion of former Kibra MP Ken Okoth’s legacy. As I have written before, the late Okoth was the best MP Kibra ever had. His works spoke for themselves. For multiple years, he was given awards for being the most diligent steward of the Constituency Development Fund. He built schools. A library. Repaired classrooms and other public infrastructure. He was a champion of human rights and education, especially for the forgotten among us.