Kenyan politicians fail export test but they make the cut for shipment

President William Ruto with Hon Raila Odinga at a funeral service in Homabay County. [File, Standard]

If Kenyan politicians were products for export, most would fail the quality check before leaving the factory. Some would be deemed unfit for global presentation right at home, yet the lure of foreign trips, official allowances, and prestige pushes them to stage themselves on the international market. Abroad, they attempt to manipulate and polish the very qualities that disqualify them at home-greed, pride, vanity, and dishonesty-packaging them as virtues. But foreign audiences usually see through the act.

Greed comes first - an endless hunger for money. At home, it shows in secret deals, inflated assets, and careless handling of public funds. Abroad, politicians try to make their wealth appear reasonable, as if a bit of polishing could hide years of mismanagement. But foreign observers are not easily fooled. Past actions, public records, and even dramatized behavior reveal the truth.