Six people who decided to swim against the political tide in 2017

In a political environment like Kenya's where inclination and consideration are influenced more by tribe than by policy/ideology, it's not easy to support a political side that your tribesmen don't favor.

I have picked Kenyans below randomly for the sake of this piece. 

1. Raphael Tuju 

Former Rarieda MP Hon Raphael Tuju hails from Raila Odinga's backyard. He's the secretary general for Jubilee Party, which is NASA's greatest rival. Due to his political decision, Tuju is not Luo Nyanza's favorite son, a fact he's okay with and has decided to live with.

His commitment to ensure that Jubilee wins in the recently concluded presidential election was unwavering. He didn't hesitate to call out Opposition leadership whenever he deemed it necessary. His decision to move against political grain comes with consequences of course - he can hardly win a political seat in his backyard. 

2. SK Macharia 

Dr. Macharia hails from Central Kenya - Uhuru Kenyatta's backyard. He supported CORD coalition openly in 2013 and consistently, despite criticism from his tribesmen and President Kenyatta's allies. During the August 8th 2017 election, little of him was seen on the political stage. If he played any role, he did so incognito.

3. Paul Mwangi 

Senior counsel Mwangi is one of NASA’s lawyers and Raila Odinga's political advisor. Just like SK Macharia, he comes from the president's backyard. It's been "strange" and "not thoughtful" (as seen by Uhuru Kenyatta's diehard proponents) for him to support an individual that seeks to dislodge one of their own from power. Luckily he didn't contest for any political seat- should he have, he would have performed dismally especially within Mt. Kenya region. 

4. Jimmy Wanjigi 

Mr. Wanjigi supported and financed Odinga's activities during the 2017 electioneering period. Jimmy comes from GEMA community. He supported Raila Odinga during the 2017 campaigns. He did not support President Kenyatta as expected of him by a section of his tribesmen. 

This pitched the wealthy businessman against Kenyatta's allies. With some arguing that his wealth was illegally acquired - kettle calling pot black! At one point in time during the campaigns, his home was raided by security authorities in what they termed as a lawful security operation. A section of the public viewed the operation as political persecution. The authorities found the businessman's firearms among other items in his lavish residence. Jimmy gave a brief presser regarding the operation. He was flanked by his wife and NASA leaders. He denied any wrongdoing. He attributed his woes to his relentless political decision.

5. Boniface Mwangi 

The young photographer and activist has won admiration from a wide section of Kenyans and internationally too. With just fair education, this young man has achieved what some schooled Kenyans might probably not achieve. He has written his memoir and given public lectures in prestigious universities in the US among other achievements. For a long time he has criticized and protested wrongs committed by the government and other institutions without taking ethnic or political sides. He's done so uniformly not sparing leaders from his ethnic background however mighty they are. He's rubbed shoulders the wrong way with powerful people in government. He's fearless. He is courageous. This is a bold step that very few young Kenyans are willing to take for fear of persecution. He unsuccessfully ran for the Starehe Parliamentary seat in the 2017 general election. 

6. Salim Mvurya

HE Mvurya ditched ODM and joined Jubilee Party. Pundits opined that this move would diminish his chances of reelection as Kwale Governor. This was informed by the fact that Coast region is Opposition friendly and that the ruling party was likely to experience difficulty in making inroads to the region. Mvurya beat NASA's Chirau Mwakwere in the Kwale gubernatorial race. It's usually rare for such a development - to go against the political grain and win a political seat. One is usually taught a bitter political lesson. 

Conclusion

Our politics needs to change. We need to focus more on policies/ideologies that aspirants present.Every political aspirant must prove to their electorate beyond reasonable doubt that they are the most suitable to be entrusted with leadership. It's backward and outdated to support a candidate blindly for the sole reason - tribe!