From 'kivumbi' to 'bluenami,' US midterms offer lessons to Kenyan youth

Young voters cast their ballots. [iSockphoto]

Our Swahili elders say when you see your mate having his head shaved off, start watering your own scalp before the inevitable. The people of America, especially the youthful population among minority groups generally categorised as “people of colour,” upended the political order, many decades in the making, as Republicans were beaten to a pulp in this week’s midterms.

Kenyans call it kivumbi, meaning dust, but Americans have a more inventive term. They are calling it a bluenami, an amalgamation of blue (the Democrats’ official colour) and tsunami.

I have no idea what this means for Americans; there are 300 million of them to worry about the future direction of their nation. But this moment is significant for Kenyans, too, most immediately because, despite America’s imperfections and despite its gargantuan size, it delivers electoral results within hours of polls closing.

For context, Kenya is the size of Texas, one of the 50 States that make up the United States. The pace and volume of electoral results in American elections suggest we’re still in the Stone Age.

But we’re not. We’re a tech-savvy nation, with more mobile phones in circulation than the people who dwell on our land. A mobile phone isn’t proof of literacy; it means we’re able to communicate with the rest of the world, receive and transmit information and, more importantly, move up to Sh500k on our phones daily.

Banks allow you to move half a million bob without setting foot in their banking halls; in fact, we don’t trust electoral officials to record and transmit a single vote on a similar platform with integrity!

And despite the ease with which we access technology, voter literacy is at its lowest ebb. Even voter registration among the young hasn’t hit the expected numbers.  Those who have ears will hear; those with eyes will see. If the youth of America have made their voices heard, what’s to prevent the youth of Kenya from reclaiming their future?

Since we like to parody Americans, I suppose this is a great example of what an engaged populace looks like. Siasa is too important to be left to thieves and imbeciles.