What we saw in 2007/8 is still fresh in our minds and the warning is that should we have a repeat of the same violence, then even the world will give up on us and Kenyans too could lose faith in their own country.
Kenyans and Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commissions (IEBC) must work together to safeguard this poll, let us not botch this constitutional exercise.
This country is going through difficult moments of heightened political atmosphere, hate speech, and cyber bullying spurred by lack of information or misinformation in the media. What politicians need to do is play their part in safeguarding the peace that will help spur this country forward and place Kenya as an economic hub in the Sub Saharan Africa and attract investors.
What Kenya requires is unity of purpose to confront these challenges. Unfortunately, politicians are setting a trend where political affiliation is not ideological but is being considered along party and ethnic lines. Reason is no longer considered in making political choice.
If we make our country uninhabitable because of the elections, then many people, particularly women and youth, would rather remove themselves from this process than take the chance of being involved in violent conflict.
The challenge of youth and unemployment is not only in Kenya and this is a vulnerable group because of the space they occupy in our society, which mainly leaves them to be idle.
The youth lack a connection to do the right thing; they feel hopeless but they can improve their situations through peaceful means.
Jubilee government has done whatever it can in the last four years to involve the youth coming up with structures and policies to address their plight like Ajira, Youth Fund, Uwezo Fund and National Youth Service. However, these are not enough and parents and NGOs need to help convince more young people to take up soft loans and start small business ventures that will employ them and others to boost the country’s economy.
Often, the youth are used to perpetuate acts of lawlessness especially at election time. And with a youth unemployment rate of nearly 35 per cent, the youth should have reason to hope for a better tomorrow. Youth need an assurance that their say at the ballot counts for something.
IEBC must prove it is not incompetent in conducting the polls and must shake off the integrity issues, which can tip a country into violence. Let nobody take the harmony and political tolerance we enjoy for granted. This country needs to cultivate a peaceful, cohesive and tolerant society. This requires more than a raft of stringent rules.
We must respect the will of the people and not start calling for another Grand Coalition Government because NASA can’t get enough votes. Kenyans must show that we learnt our lesson from 2007. It is a chance to demonstrate that we have come of age and are fully prepared to take our rightful place in the community to secure our democracy. The future of this country is today in our hands. Let us all go out to vote peacefully.
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