Festive handouts and cost of transactional politics

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki distributing Christmas handouts to Irunduni residents in Tharaka Nithi County. [DPCS]

I first heard the word “kugonyo” outside City Hall while walking with a friend. A large crowd had gathered, standing patiently as if waiting for something, and I soon learned they were expecting handouts from senior county officials clocking out from their offices.

My friend was shocked that I had never heard the word, but in the village, we called it “kuchua pakee,” (to pick a package). This act of receiving gifts may seem harmless, yet it exposes a deeper reality. In Kenya, political loyalty and survival often intersect in the ritual of handouts, a practice so normalised that it has its own vocabulary.