Political aspirants bombarded by outrageous demands

By Kenfrey Kiberenge

Voters are in the dock for making outrageous demands to political aspirants in exchange for their votes, a habit experts warn  has entrenched corruption.

Aspirants have come out complaining how they are usually taken aback by requests often made through calls or Short Messages Service sent through their mobile phones. Members of Parliament have also not been let off the hook, as their constituents keep forwarding them ‘shopping lists’, which many feel should be handled personally by the requester.

The frequency of harambees during the campaign period also escalates with aspirants getting tens of invitations in what former Subukia MP Koigi Wamwere terms as “manifestation of beggary”.

This has left them in a catch-22 situation: bogged down but at the same time too afraid to decline or publicly condemn the trend for fear of being branded broke and therefore unelectable according to majority of Kenyan voters’ perception.

But to circumvent this, MPs cleverly passed the Elections Act 2011, which bars anybody aspiring for political office from partaking in a fundraiser eight months before the election.

The Act applies to all levels of office from presidency, governor, senator, MP, women representative and councillors.

In one instance, an MP from Nyanza was felled for giving Sh500 to each bereaved family within the constituency, which earned him the demeaning tag of “Mr Five Hundred”.

Wamwere says he has encountered “ill-advised and humiliating” demands from his constituents.

“At one point, a family was bereaved and they had mortgaged their title deed. I spoke to then Health Minister Charity Ngilu and the hospital bill was waived, but they went ahead and arranged a harambee and had the audacity to invite me. That was callous,” said Wamwere.