Kenyans need for dialogue cannot be overemphasised

NAIROBI: Grandstanding has become the hallmark of Kenyan politics. Dialogue between the Government and the Opposition is frowned upon. The result is that there are a lot of things going wrong that would have been sorted out through round-table discussions.

The call to dialogue was first mooted by the Opposition mid last year, but some individuals in Government, citing the manner and tone of the demands for talks, saw it as a ploy by the Opposition to topple the duly elected government of President Uhuru Kenyatta. The winner-takes-it-all mentality seems to hold sway in Kenya to the exclusion of reason.

Corruption and inflammatory statements from both sides of the political divide threaten to tear the country apart.

In the end, former President Mwai Kibaki called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to talk to the Opposition in the realisation that Kenya belongs to all of us and no one individual or political party has the monopoly to determine the direction the country should take, hence the need for honest dialogue.

Mr Kibaki knows what he is talking about, because he has been there and achieved in one year of his presidency more than the Jubilee government has in close to three of its years in power.

The latest scientific polls from Infotrak, which shows a slump in the President's ranking from 59.8 per cent in 2014 to 39.7 per cent in 2015 due to rampant corruption should serve as a warning that it is no longer business as usual.

That slump, if objective, signifies disillusionment with his administration, which has done little to unite the country, fight corruption and give civil society and the Opposition a chance to be heard.

Talking to the opposition, contrary to general perception, is a mark of confidence and strength, not weakness. Political leaders, irrespective of party affiliations, must pool resources and share ideas for the good of all Kenyans.