Yes, Sack All Except Hon. Joyce A. Emanikor!

Turkana County MPs

It is not part of me to write about personalities – especially those donning political colours. Whenever I shout out their names, it is for a reason. Either they have slipped off the way, and their action, whether collectively or individually, is likely to, or has actually caused pain to the public, or they have danced in such a manner that rhymes with public demands – of course, coupled with the exigencies of law and conscience.  

For we are reminded that democracy is neutered the moment we reduce it to an event – elections. In other words, it takes a continuous evaluation (and sometimes stoning, quite literally) of (elected) leaders by the public for democracy to take root. It is under this banner that I place my mission vis-à-vis the political decisions that are likely to come out of next year’s general elections.

Above this, there is a fundamental development happening in our midst that must be brought to light. It touches on what some people call “forced resocialisation”. Meaning, the general socio-political re-conditioning of a society so as it reconsiders its hitherto one-sided “cultural” links.

Of great concern here is an evaluation of the successes, challenges and failures of Kenya’s womenfolk in politics. It is about how Kenya’s 2010 Constitution has reconfigured thoughts of those communities that – for eons – considered man an unchallenged ‘king’ with an ever flowing reservoir of wisdom and goodwill.

And this is where the people of Turkana come in. All physical symbols of progress aside, in this land man calls the shots. It is a historical undertaking that goes beyond the homestead. Until 2013, this thinking colonized even the political sphere. Prior to that, it would take a heart of a superhuman to convince the general populace – the literate and illiterate – that demolishing this gender barrier would actually yield fruitful returns for all.

But as they say, good news must go beyond its source for its “goodness” to be tasted by all. Anything to the contrary negates the very “goodness” of good news. In short, in this exercise of “resocialising” a people, information is the only armor you can lean on.

Well, this is the good news. Out of the eight men and woman representing Turkana County in Parliament – both at the Senate and the National Assembly – only (and I seriously mean it) Turkana Women Representative Hon. Joyce Akai Emanikor has proven her worth. The rest, despite having that pseudo-cultural backing on their side, must take time off and explain to their respective electorate why they should not be sacked next year.

It is simple. They have failed.

A good number of them seem to be on a mission to thicken their personal pockets. No, not to stand with the average voter in Turkana.

A look into their philosophical leanings tells me that they dance when hollowness rules. This is what I mean. Hollowness attracts desperation. Desperation weakens democracy. And a weakened democratic process does one thing: it rewards rulers. It protects not the citizenry.

For a leadership that went into comatose for four good years despite having a huge demand list from the public must be called by its real name: An enemy of the people.

This explains why critical pillars of people’s progress are down and no one bothers to raise a finger. It looks like this heavy lifting is the exclusive mandate of Hon Joyce.

Look, I have listened to Hon. Joyce’s contributions during parliamentary debates. She is smart. Her male colleagues have mountains to scale to reach her. That is, after they have overcome the curse of absenteeism.

Back to Turkana. What does Hon. Joyce’s performance have to do with the rest of us out there? Now unlike before, that average pastoralist woman in Turkana has a bearing to look up to in her exploits to free herself from the yoke of patriarchal bondage.

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AN OPEN note to Hon Joyce Emanikor: I’m sure you are aware that nomadism isn’t a crime in Kenya. With that in mind, I want to believe that any utterances characterizing some leaders as “outsiders”, hence “not qualified” to stand for any political seat in Turkana County amount to negating your very own roots. Let not demagoguery get hold of your brains. Respect and respect will flow back to you.

Twitter: @mlemukol