Let’s vet leaders, make informed choices in 2017

State officers are servants of the people and not vice versa. The Constitution is clear about the role of elected representatives at the various levels up from the presidency down to the ward. Elected leaders must at any given time be solely preoccupied in the socio-political and economic development of their people. The moment they lose this realization, they automatically forego the moral right to hold office.

It is a constitutional sabotage the National Assembly has refused to legislate on the process of recalling an elected leader who fails live up to his duty to the people.

A situation must never arise in which an elected leader is made to believe he is indispensable as demonstrated by the culture of party hopping without fear of being subjected to a by-election.

This could explain the disdain with which Kenyans hold the well-choreographed State House visits and much publicized party hopping. The people know that this political theatrics add no value to their lives.

Surely with all due honesty what will an elected leader hope to achieve for the people that he has failed to in an entire term by merely crossing over to another political party? It is paradoxical for a leader to expect the continued trust of the people when they cannot be trusted by their political party? In the coming General Election, the people have yet another opportunity to reassert themselves as the employer and not the servants of the leaders.

But the situation need not reach the level in which there is such a wide gap between the leader and the people in terms of expectation on matters of development. The blame does not solely lie with the cunning leaders but actually is also a result of the people failing to live up to their duty of oversight through public participation in the governance at the national and county level.

The conduct of leaders in the County Assemblies, National Assembly and Senate and their sheer detachment from the people and contempt of the law has been disturbing to say the least.

The ball lies squarely in the court of opinion shapers to rise to the occasion and lead the people to make informed choices.