Succession politics – especially at local/county level – is a topic I have tried to run away from. Perhaps due to my upbringing and the contents I gathered from my old man (may he rest well), I have always felt that my home county Turkana deserves something better than mere politicking – you know it, that Kenyan habit that is founded on hollow, endless, directionless chatter.
Consequently, virtually every writing and reading expedition I make has, to a greater extent, been influenced by the question: "How does what you do impact on lives of peasants in the hamlets of Turkana County?" So in short, the trajectory of that resilient, ill-informed desert herder in Turkana has been my guiding star.
But here comes an intriguing scenario which, though politically-inclined, must not escape my attention. It is about a story of two bulls seeking to flex their muscles, and the uncertainties that may come with Kenya’s 2017 [Turkana gubernatorial] elections.
On the right is Josphat Nanok, the current Turkana County Governor while on the opposite end stands Senator John Munyes.
I hear both have deep pockets. But that is not what matters here. The sticking point arises from their track record and their intellectual inclination vis-à-vis the fate of post-devolution Turkana.
From the standpoint of a development-conscious individual, my grading style is informed by the inventiveness of those men and women we call leaders. That is, how far out-of-the-box can a leader go to provide answers to his/her electorates?
This is why. Leaders have lambasted some invisible forces from Nairobi for [socio-economically] “forgetting” the north. They say northern Kenya would have been another Garden of Eden had its residents not been victims of marginalization. They could be right. Majority of us have swallowed their rants as the only gospel truth. Then, to prove our loyalty, we have repeatedly elected them.
Yet, many moons have gone by and the situation remains practically the same. To spice it up, many of us seem to accept that faulty thinking that it is disrespectful to confront a leader with touchy questions. That leaders are infallible and are only equal to God. Total nonsense!
And here comes that not-so-sweet question that exists not in most of our leaders’ trays: would this so-called marginalization have materialized had the region got leaders with brains and spine?
It may sound mundane to repose this question now because those devolution billions pouring into the region have led most of us to conclude that “marginalization has been sorted out by devolution – once and for all.”
Yes and no. Yes, because no wo/man worth his/her moral makeup can now fail to shoulder the blame for not providing citizens with water, good roads, health care, et al.
No, because there exists another form of marginalization that must be uprooted for progress to take root. It is called, crowning people with zero oomph; people who stumble and crumble every time they face the question: “what have your many years in the corridors of power bequeathed to your followers?”
Back to our two bulls’ story. Senator John Munyes wants to become Governor John Munyes. I have read what his entourage scribbles. Their key word, again I gather, is “change”. They promise heavenly change should the mantle fall in their court.
To this far, 2017 will definitely turn out to be an epochal year; a moment where this “change” will solidly be subjected to its real test. But I feel I can’t wait. My pen can’t simply stick up till next year.
And here are my questions to the good Senator:
Having been a government minister, and as a result, an influential figure and someone to whom the peasants of Turkana looked up to as a development “tree shaker”, how far out-of-the-box did he go to cut Turkana’s over-reliance on relief food?
As a minister in the Water, Labour and Special Programs ministries, it comes out clearly that President Mwai Kibaki’s government agenda for Turkana was well read out but poorly assimilated. What justification will the Senator give for the perennial thirst and hopelessness experienced by a majority of residents in Turkana prior to devolution?
Do the people of Turkana have anything to take home for his continued silence in the Senate?
To those who may be tempted to think that this write-up seeks to catapult the names of some characters, I have something special to tell you: I reject to be pigeonholed. I refuse to swallow that lie that county positions “should be shared”. To go that route is to devolve a dangerous dose of elitism.
People whose public track record point to the direction of failure need to be told the truth. They must retire. Simple and clear.
In my view, Senator John Kiyong’a Munyes is NOT the right counter-weight to Governor Josphat Koli Nanok. You can take this to your bank – free of charge!
Twitter: @mlemukol.
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