Where is the leader when the follower needs them most?
I have been thinking about this post for awhile. It’s been about 2 months after the elections. The country is finally moving forward abate slowly after the disputed elections. Uhuru and Ruto are getting down to work, to either the admiration of their followers or the disdain of their detractors. The Members of parliament are doing what they do best, trying to add themselves salaries that they don’t deserve. Civil society is battling them, taking the battle to where they seat, and showing them that they are no different then the common ngurue or pig.
CORD is regrouping, trying to find roles for their top brass who did not make it to the executive that is while they are not stirring up the hornet’s nest about the election. Same old, same old. One thing you can say about Raila he is consistent and he is out there.
So everything should be cool. Everybody should be happy. The government and opposition sides have drawn the battle lines and the Members of parliament are being who they always are, being spoilt (little) brats that they have always been, with an entitlement complex, which I don’t know came from where, since they didn’t inherit the post and the wealth that would come with it if they had gotten it from a rich dad.
But there are others who are lost in this new dispensation. Their leaders vied in the last election and when they didn’t win they disappeared. They said they have retired from politics or are taking a break to reconsider what they will do. Which is all well and good for them but what about their followers? The people who fought against the tide of Jubilee and CORD, against their tribal think to vote for these people.
I have to say I am very disappointed in them. In the last couple of months they have been silent. So what, they lost? We lost too, we who voted for you. But we are still pressing on, telling the MP’s that they cannot increase their salaries, we are there trying to keep Jubilee accountable for the promises that they made to the Kenyan people, including those who didn’t vote for them. Where are you in all this? You are keeping silent.
I know it hurts that many who said they will vote for you didn’t. Its tough and rejection hurts but you choose to be a leader. You told us that you were going to be a different kind of leader. That we should trust you and we did. So where are you when we need you to give direction on where we are going? Where are you when we need you to speak up? Why are you silent? Were our votes for you misplaced because when we need you, you retreat and leave your followers to face the battle alone?
I like Dida. He makes me laugh. I didn’t vote for him but I admire how he can be frank. When occupy parliament got flack from Muslim MPs about using pigs in their demonstration he came to the defense of the demonstrators. He said if the mps are being greedy then they should be called pigs. He stood up to be counted. Where are the rest of you?
It’s no secret that I voted for Peter Kenneth. I believed in his vision of the country. I believed that we can move beyond tribal politics and have politicians held accountable on issues. I knew this time we would not win but I thought this time would be a time to see how it’s done and get a feel of what running for presidency was about. I got a lot of flak from my friends and some of my relatives who wanted me to vote for Uhuru because he will “protect our interests.” I got where they were coming from and yet despite enormous pressure I voted proudly for him. I know many people who would have voted for him or Martha Karua were persuaded to vote for Uhuru to preserve interests and they did.
So now I disappointed that Peter Kenneth and Martha Karua have left their sheep to wander alone without a shepherd. This is my call to them. We who stood with you want you to show us the leadership you showed on the campaign trail. We need you to represent us. Just because you are not in parliament doesn’t mean that you can’t talk and be listened to. Look at Dida; he came from obscurity to become a national figure. When it is needed he is willing to speak. What about you? Where are you?
This post is a call out to you, a special dedication to you if you may. We need you to come out and be the leader you told us that you were. We need representation from you. We need you to articulate our issues, the issues that were in your manifestos. Otherwise if you don’t we will have wasted our votes as we were taunted by those who wanted us to vote for others. We did not vote for you in vain. Let it not be that we did.
