Independents should assert themselves in worst of times

It is not possible to be independent and clingy at the same time. When you are independent, you are on your own. You walk a solitary path, regardless of the consequences. No matter what your circumstances may be, you are proud to be the captain of your ship, the master of your destiny. You are unconquerable.

Let me tell you about one William Ernest Henley (1849 – 1903) who wrote a poem titled ‘Invictus.’ Henley suffered from tuberculosis of the bone from early childhood. At age 17 his left foot was amputated to save his life. Two years later, his father died, leaving him, as the eldest child, to struggle alongside his mother for the upkeep of his five siblings.

While regular ailment often kept him out of school, Henley defied his adversity to focus on what he wanted to do with himself and for himself. He is remembered today as an outstanding poet, critic and editor of the Victorian age. While he wrote and published many things, his hospital poem ‘Invictus’ stands out.

‘Invictus’ is a tribute to the kind of independence and resilience that a lot of us could borrow a leaf from. Those who will be independent must be willing to stoically stand alone in the worst of times. His foot just having been cut off under the knee, the adolescent Henley wrote, “Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul.” He did not grope around for Raila Odinga or Uhuru Kenyatta to cling to.

He went on in the second stanza, “In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed.” Bloody but unbowed is a lesson the so-called independent Kenyan politician could borrow from Henley. You gallantly soldier on with dignity and distinction. You don’t gather in a stadium to lament and plead with those who don’t want you to please recognise you.

For, we have thousands of “clingy independents” out there, cringingly clutching on the coattails of the National Super Alliance (NASA) and Jubilee. This is despite very clear pronouncements that they are unwanted. It is laughable to proclaim your independence while the same mouth sycophantically talks of “supporting Baba,” or “supporting President Uhuru Kenyatta.” That is not independence. That is servile bowing down to the clutches of dependence and humiliation.

Those saying they are independent would want to be running on Jubilee or NASA tickets. Majority of them participated in the primaries in Jubilee or NASA affiliate parties. They only “went independent” as the last and only option. There is nothing wrong with picking up alternative tickets, especially after the shambled primaries.

Having gone that way, however, it makes sense to walk your own path and tell the world what you stand for and why you should be elected.

You see, Raila Odinga of ODM, and who is also the NASA presidential candidate, has been telling the independents in his strongholds that he does not recognise them. This is despite the fact that they are proclaiming their support for him.

Wiper’s Kalonzo has done the same. The NASA presidential running mate has told the independents in his home turf, “Either you are with us, or you are not.” And in Jubilee, Majority Leader in the National Assembly, Aden Duale, has equally told the independents that they can go to hell, for all his party cares.

Grain of history

The stances taken by the giant politicians are, of course, at once curious and suicidal. Official sources indicate that there could be as many as 4,000 independent candidates. The grain of history shows that they could each garner from as few as a couple of dozen votes to several tens of thousands – and in the case of governors and others at county level even a few hundred thousands.

Even at a conservative estimate of say 2,000 votes, these people easily have a following of up to eight million votes. Split in the middle, this could mean four million votes either way, for NASA and Jubilee.

When you tell these candidates that you don’t recognise them, you are taking a big gamble with some four million voters. For these voters have four options. They may heed you and vote for you and your party candidates, because you make a compelling argument.

This is easier said than done. It is also possible – although unlikely – that your potential four million could vote for their independent candidates and ignore the rest of the positions, including the presidential vote.

More likely, however, are the last two choices. Some will vote for their independent candidates and for your opponent – out of protest. Finally, a majority is likely to consider it a lost cause and just stay at home, or go on with other business away from the polls. In the end, the presidential candidates have more at stake than do the independents.

For their part, therefore, the independents need to be a lot more dignified and assertive of their independence. The notion of independence arises out of the possibility that you do not share in the ideology espoused by either of the giants.

It is also a window of opportunity to victims of oppressive and shambolic primaries to try again. In either case, you don’t grovel on the ground, pleading with people who do not want you to embrace them.

—The writer is a publishing editor, consultant and advisor on public and media relations. [email protected]