We have come a long way since first Saba Saba

Police officers disrupt members of Bunge la Mwananchi members at Manyatta, Shabaab in Nakuru Town West who had gathered for Saba Saba protest demos. [Standard]

This year marked 33 years since the first Saba Saba rally on July 7th, 1990. Back then, opposition politicians and their supporters risked it all in the quest for constitutional multipartyism.

It also heralded an important phase of our political development, which has been characterised by constitutional reforms, greater institutionalisation of our politics, and a move towards a more consolidated democracy.

The journey has not always been smooth. The first two multiparty elections in 1992 and 1997 involved significant levels of state-sponsored violence that left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes.

We saw the same carnage following the disputed 2007 elections. Unfortunately, this feature of our political culture - characterised by elite disregard for the lives of "regular" wananchi - is one that remains with us to this day.

Contemporary elites both in government and the opposition exhibit a sinister and entrenched disregard for human life. Whether they are making policy that condemns millions of our people to penury, stealing public resources, or dispensing with Kenyan lives during demonstrations, the political class embodies Tekayo, the cannibalistic grandfather in Grace Ogot's famous short story.

Despite the myriad challenges we have gone through since 1990, it is also worth noting we are significantly better off than we were in July of 1990.

Acknowledging the gains we have made is important for two reasons. First, it is an antidote against the corrosive cynicism often expressed by self-styled reformists.

Sometimes good enough is good enough. Publicly recognising our triumphs serves the purpose of giving hope to current and future generations in their efforts to make the Jamhuri a more perfect political community.

Second, being honest about areas of improvement enables us to be clear about what is yet to be done. As an aspiring well-ordered society, we do not want a political culture of perpetual sweeping structural reforms. Political institutions need time to congeal. Therefore, instead of suing for sweeping constitutional overhauls after every election, we ought to be more deliberate and honest about what needs to be done at the margins to make the current constitutional dispensation serve us better.

Change is hard and takes time - the original Saba Saba was 33 years ago. However, we should never let the slowness of change to breed cynicism.

The best change agents tend to be happy warriors who are clear-eyed about the past, and eternally hopeful about the future.

The writer is an Associate Professor at Georgetown University