Campaign trail is not for the faint of heart

Nothing could have adequately prepared me for my debut experience on the campaign trail. Hours of watching political drama such as Netflix’s acclaimed series ‘House of Cards’ or ABC’s ‘The Good Wife’ came to naught. Keeping up with our national politics from the luxury of my couch is in many ways tantamount to watching fictional political drama. So when the opportunity to experience firsthand what election campaigning in Kenya entails came knocking, I grabbed the chance, gathered my bags and joined a parliamentary candidate on his final three weeks of vote hunting in Siaya County.

I quickly learnt that the day starts at sun rise and ends long after sun set. Meetings are intermittently held in homesteads by night and rallies under trees by day. Candidates are in touch with their people, literally – they are not aloft intensely branded jukwaas (dias). They stand among them. They sing and dance with their constituents, not for them. Theirs is not a choreographed dance punctuated by music from a high powered public address system, their music, often initiated by the crowds, breaks out spontaneously, soulfully and authentically – the only accompaniment being ululations and of course a traditional rhythmic jig. Occasionally however, joint rallies with other candidates such as the governor or senator created more hype during which the arrival of the said candidates would be heralded by loud music punctuated with lyrics like ‘Tibim!, Tialala!, and Ingwe Ingwe!’