Sonko... a word that is common among the youth, a rich person in formal language. Can a non-sonko with political ambitions vie for a parliamentary seat? If your answer is yes think again. I am yet to come across a potential MP who does not have a hefty account to show for it. Do we as the noble Kenyans responsible for setting the bars high? Can a common mwananchi driven by a great vision for his constituency or country contest? Are we generally a materialistic society? What are we most passionate about? Wealth or a socially upright society? Are we more ready to extend a well oiled hand to a police officer to buy one's own freedom but in essence enslaving ourselves to corruption or stand up for what is right?
Is the victory of Sonko a sign to the seating MP's that they should perform or be sent packing? Are we hungry for new faces? Or the youth are proving a point, that their time has come? However, in our hunger for new faces we should exercise right judgement of character.
Someone help me understand, do the old fellows keep coming back because of their charisma? Do their words drip honey or are we are more comfortable with familiar faces? Or we think that since they are more grounded one's vote does not count? Let us exercise our voting rights fully!! Let us not vote because we have already predicted the results based on speculation but let us vote because we are driven to put leaders with a difference. Who will not seat on their laurels. Leaders who will not care whether their office vehicles are being leased or bought, but their main concern would be "can the members of my constituency afford the matatu fare and what can I do to help them increase their daily income so that they can stop living below the poverty line?" so that they can become sonkos in their own right!! We can do this!!
If I could paraphrase what you said earlier in a previous post, bad people are voted in by good people who do nothing. Not voting is voting in the sense that your vote (and that of another who did not vote) could make a huge difference in the way the country is Governed.
ReplyDeleteNice piece :)
Well put greatrnk!! When you decide not to vote you are not exercising your right as a citizen. What would be more effective? voting as a bloc to remove the non-performers or not voting at all in the hope that some other people through their votes will remove the non-performer??
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