Why They Vote for a Ukrainian President

I have to switch the music player before I start typing this. #np Emeli Sande-Read all about it. I used to think I work best with music in the background till I started doing late nights. I then discovered that my mind involuntarily listens to the lyrics and can’t therefore focus on what I type.

The country voted yesterday. We are waiting for results. As expected, all our talk of a non-tribal Kenya is not reflected-as expected. Question; is that really a bad thing as we claim it is?

Allow me to use two arguments or ways of looking at it.

My uncle, Chris, once mentioned that some professor explained this to them when he was still in campo. You know those professors, old with some well-nurtured goatee and cynical about anything and everything? Yap, those ones. 

Le professeur had this to say. Think about it, before the scramble and partition for Africa, what we call tribes were actually nations. Minus the partition that meant we now had Kenyan Somalis and Somali Somalis, Kenyan Luos and Tanzanian Luos etc, with time they would have formed states-as countries like Europe did.

The point being; the tutiny fragments of land called countries in Europe are ‘tribes’ in the African sense. We wouldn’t have to worry about tribalism if we had a Kikuyu country and Buganda country etc. 

Map of Europe

The second way of looking at it is based on this other story my other uncle Jim will tell you (probably repeatedly) if you ever end up discussing early Kenya. Tom Mboya is the one who went to this Kadu guy...ummm...Ronald Ngala (my former house) and convinced him last minute that the nation needs to vote for Kanu/Kenyatta.

What he told them was, ‘One, you guys are going to lose either way. Two, therefore join the winning team and we discuss the issues you raise.’

My understanding of this ‘meeting in the dark’ is...

Who best understands the needs of people in Eldoret? Ruto, the farmer who grew up there or X who did not? When going to campaign to the different tribal blocs, methinks a leader should convince those people that he will take care of THEIR issues. Not national ones.

It doesn’t matter whether you are campaigning on a non-tribal ticket, just show that you understand/can sort out the issues of the sugarcane farmer in Bungoma much better than Wetangula can.

People vote on tribal basis because it is tribal leaders who speak their language understand them. Otherwise hii mambo ya voting based on national issues ni kudanganyana till next year but 10.

P.S. You guys voted on my birthday :-) I honestly don’t know why that makes me happy.