Include the public in dialogue to stem this disillusionment

There are currently two schools of thought on the question of “national dialogue” as a prerequisite to “national healing” and “reconciliation.” In Kenya’s political lexicon, these are words loaded with deeply contested meanings hence the quotation marks. The first school of thought argues there is absolutely no need for dialogue. This group, largely from Jubilee, believes that the only legitimate “national dialogue” was the elections.

To them, that dialogue ended on October 26. What is needed is to allow Jubilee to fulfill the mandate on which it was elected to govern. A slight variation of this “no dialogue” position accepts the principle of a national discourse but insists that any discourse must take place within the constitutionally mandated institutions and must focus on developmental issues not politics and settlements thereof.