Tyranny of obliviousness amongst Kenyans

Oblivious: not aware of or concerned about what is happening around one. Yes that is what we must defeat during this month of voter registration. Beginning Monday, 15th day of February 15, 2016, IEBC opens its doors to adult citizens of the Republic of Kenya to register as voters until Tuesday, the 15th day of March.

The right to vote is the most important pivotal right granted to a citizen, as it is the critical right preservative of all other rights. It is through the vote that we as the citizens donate our sovereignty to elected representatives. Chapter one of our Constitutions begins by making this point crystal clear: 1. (1) “All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and shall be exercised only in accordance with the Constitution.” (2) “The people may exercise their sovereign power either directly or through their democratically elected representatives.

But with the tyranny of obliviousness, a significant population gives up this most powerful right to exercise their sovereignty directly and with it they give up all other rights. The most notorious manifestation of obliviousness is the long queues that shall be witnessed on 15th of March, the last day of the voter registration drive. Waiting until the last day to go register is the worst choice, especially when the registration clerks are paid to sit idle for twenty nine days just for everyone to show up on the afternoon of the last day.  Why wouldn’t one spare a moment to go register early without having to queue? Total obliviousness!

 The tyranny of obliviousness deludes others into registering as voters in what we call our ‘ancestral home’ instead of where we actually live, work and get services from the government. My fellow Naivashans are among the culprits of the ‘ancestral home’ obliviousness; why would one live, work, raise children who also live, work and raise their own children in Naivasha yet when it comes to exercising their most powerful right, they travel hundreds of kilometers with their children and grandchildren to elect leaders in a place foreign to their children and grandchildren? Complete obliviousness!

I want to address this group that is also present all around the country; I beseech you to appreciate that the supreme law of Kenya guarantees you the right to live, work and own property and exercise all citizenry rights in any part of our great nation. The moment you leave Naivasha or whichever other place you live to go register as a voter and eventually vote for leaders in a place where your personal interests are not at stake, you are not only oblivious of your own rights but are clearly also oblivious of the rights of those in your so called ‘ancestral home’.

The ten votes of your wife and children you transfer there add no value to the choice and quality of leaders at your ‘ancestral home’ because their leaders are ultimately elected by those who live, work and get government services from there. Your votes would add a lot of value to the choice of leaders, the quality of services and representation you get where you live, work and raise your children. In fact, it would reinforce your rights when your vote counts where it matters the most for your daily life.

I call upon my fellow Naivashans who work in the various flower farms and other places within Naivasha to go to their nearest IEBC registration centers and register as voters and for those who are registered as voters in their ‘ancestral homes’, fill the change of voting station form to ensure that 2017 your vote shall be counted among the votes that will determine the County Assembly Representative  nearest to you, the Member of the National Assembly of Naivasha, the Woman Representative of Nakuru County, the Senator of Nakuru County, the Governor of Nakuru County, the Deputy President of Kenya and the President of Kenya.

This is the first right step towards ensuring the next set of leaders all around the country will reflect a true representation of the people who reside in every part of Kenya. We shall no longer have representatives who only represent a certain section of his/her constituents.

We shall also give true meaning to section 138 (4) of our constitution that “a candidate shall be declared elected as President if the candidate receives – (a) more than half of all the votes cast in the election; and (b) at least twenty-five per cent of the votes cast in each of more than half of the counties.  Fifty percent plus one vote under the yoke of tyranny of obliviousness can never be the same or equal to fifty percent plus one vote from the universal suffrage of a people liberated from the tyranny of obliviousness.

Get up and be part of the liberation, ensure you ask at least ten people to reclaim their right to vote and ensure their vote is where their personal interests matter the most. The rest will be the work of IEBC to ensure a free and fair election and on our political parties to ensure a free and fair nomination process for those who wish to contest on the various party tickets so that the best candidate as decided by the voters and not by the party gets on the ballot paper.

On my part, I shall walk the talk not just by asking ten people to register in the right polling station, I will go a step further, I will mobilize my fellow Naivashans to register, register, register and for those registered in their ‘ancestral homes’ to bring their votes where it matters the most for their daily lives.

Register to vote where it matters. Register to vote where your vote has the highest value for your life. Register today, not tomorrow!

#LetsDefeatTyrannyofObliviousness!

Dan Mahiri is a Management and Leadership Consultant

(Dan Mahiri contested the Naivasha Parliamentary Seat as an Independent Candidate in the 2013 General election and intends to give his fellow Naivashans another chance to elect him in 2017)

[email protected]