Democracy? We got it all wrong by Mwangi Gituro

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Kenya boasts of more than a hundred political parties as it heads to its fourth multiparty elections. Good for us, democracy has gone full circle! One may be forgiven for thinking. With three parties for every tribe in Kenya, we had better burst the bubble and give democracy its true meaning. The ease with which these parties are being created leaves many questions unanswered. Back when I was in school, I was taught that political parties are formed by like-minded individuals subscribing to the same ideologies. Parties are guided by manifestos that are a promise to the electorate detailing what the party would or would not do should it get the mandate. This is not the case today; with a euphoric name, a war-like slogan and a couple of picayune officials, you have a political party. While in most democracies politicians are bound to a party by ideologies, this has not been the case with Africa in general and Kenya in particular. Many politicians consider everything else but ideologies when perambulating from one party to another. We have those who change parties when they fail to secure leadership in one party. Others ditch when they fail to secure a nomination while some of them just move to ride on the wave of the season. A majority of them change parties to be in line with their tribesmen. There is a unique class of mutant politicians who pledge allegiance to individuals instead of parties. The latter also go by the name sycophants and are the worst breed in the political zoo. Most of the decisions to switch parties are made injudiciously without the politician stopping to ask if (s)he concurs with the party’s manifesto. Instead of democracy, we have ended up with damn-all-crazy politicians who change parties with the frequency of diaper change on a new born.

There is something seriously wrong with political parties in Kenya and the registrar of societies is partly to blame. Before registering a political party, the registrar’s office should ensure that the party has a clear manifesto with objectives that are unique to the party. The belief that having many political parties expands the democratic space is claptrap and holds no water. In the same way splitter churches have become the fastest growing ‘get rich quick schemes’, political parties are threatening to get out of control. Before we know it, every clan in Kenya will be registering their own party. It is the duty of the registrar of societies to ensure that unscrupulous individuals do not register parties and auction them to the highest bidder the following week. Kenyans should also desist from supporting politicians who show no respect for party manifesto.

Let me set the record straight here, this country must never be allowed to go back to the dark days of monopartism. However, the way to go about it is not by creating a political party for each day of the year. This country needs not more than three serious political parties each with a clearly outlined manifesto. This would rid us of the tribal canopy that has threatened time and again to deny us our place in the sun. When parties have clear manifestos, we would be able to ask an aspirant who supports majimbo, for instance, why (s)he is in a party that is anti majimbo without risking a maternally-related insult. We would be able to hold politicians accountable for what they preach and drink. Until that happens, multiparty will remain one big joke. We have given the retired president the last laugh. He does not hesitate to remind us every time he mounts a dais that he warned us in 1991 that multiparty would usher in tribalism. And hasn’t it? We have leaders of political parties preaching hate and war right in the eyes of the country’s leadership. More than half of the registered political parties can hold NDCs using a common mother tongue.

The political landscape as we have it today is a mockery of democracy. The ninth parliament attests to this. It had no order thanks to a house that had neither respect for political parties nor debating principles. Bills were accepted or rejected based on the political mood of the day. In an ideal political dispensation, members would argue on bills vis a vis their party manifesto. Political parties should transform from being vehicles of power acquisition to blue prints of national development. All political parties should promote Kenyanism far above anything else. Those whose existence rests on tribal foundations should have no place in the future of the republic. They belong in annals at the museums. We are living in a global age where countries that refuse to shun tribalism and embrace nationalism will not be able to play effectively at the international arena. Africa is unfortunate to have myriads of such states. If politicians are going to deny us this global opportunity by using a host of parties to divide us along tribal lines, then by God above, all peace loving Kenyans should shout at the top of their lungs: WAS HIND WE!

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