Servant leaders, not servant thieves, please

We are elated because with the promulgation of this constitution, resource devolution was facilitated. With it too is the devolution of anything that was good and bad about Nairobi. The thieves who have been roaming the capital, pulling strings and cutting deals are definitely being devolved to Kapsabet, Eldoret, Kisumu, Mombasa, Nyeri and any other County HQ. Where we say politics is local, we could as well say thieves shall be local.

With this constitution, the requirement that one must be a first rate thief to steal state largesse in order to develop his area is no longer tenable. Our society needs a Senator who's a negotiator, a (wo)man who can stand and defend the need for funding of key projects in an open and transparent manner. Governors must be (wo)men who can't deep fingers in the gravy jar. We need servant leaders, not servant thieves. So help us God.

Welcome to Nandi 2.0

As the president signs into law the new constitution of Kenya to usher in the birth of the second republic, I can't help thinking that this is the moment that Nandi 2.0 is also born alongside Kenya 2.0. Kenya 2.0 is the product of a negotiated constitution which pitted Kenyans saying YES against those saying NO. In a rare show of maturity, Kenyans cast their ballots and retreated to their homes to await the results of the plebiscite. Those of us, like me, who were outside Kenya at the time stayed glued to livestreaming TV and blogs to monitor the goings-on in Jamhuri. I was elated. Partly because I had pitched for a YES vote and said as much in several posts on this blog and on Kass FM. Partly because this vote was, for the first time as far as my memory could recollect, the most peaceful and possibly the only one whose result was accepted by both victor and loser.

Kenya has had her share of upheavals. From destruction of property and life, from bodily harm to those pluralism activists to deaths of hundreds as we fought to restore our dignity as a people, Kenya 1.0 is a stark reminder of an aborted dream. It is that missed journey that we hope will not recur again, ever. Kenya 1.0, the first republic, was characterised by anything bad about government. From excessive police force (used) against innocent Kenyans to the corruption pandemic to impunity. Kenya 1.0 is synonymous with death, corruption, hate, bitterness, nepotism, skewed resource allocation, favouritism, political marginalisation and failure. It is Misri to us. Not that Kenya 2.0 marks an abrupt departure from the sleaze of the past. No. The RED sea is crossed but we need time in the desert to allow the relics of Kenya 1.0 to die off before we reach Canaan lest they bring their bad into the promised land. Most of the purveyors of those vices associated with Kenya 1.0 are alive and they are positioning themselves to transcend the RED sea and stake a claim on the prominent roles which must re-engineer Kenya o be in sync with a new order.

Nandi County is born, welcome to Nandi 2.0. With this birth comes devolution, of resources and of corruption and vices that have been localised to Nairobi. Unless the new devolved units watch out, change the leaderships and elect responsible and responsive representatives, it shall be business as usual. What with our 'ngo samis muriat ko bo goot ne bo'. That bad and stinking rat knows what to do to evict you from your comfort. It just needs to stink, and off you bolt. Leaving behind the devolved largesse, on which fellow stinking mice will feast. It is real. Devolution of misrule, devolution of corruption or devolution to increase efficiency? We, members of Nandi Kaburwo County must choose to say NO to devolved ills and shades of misrule. Already, I hear whispers of 'he was with us, read RED' or 'he was not with us, read GREEN'. Now is the time for leadership, NOT activism.

Just the other day, someone told me. You'd make a great Senator for Nandi Kaburwo lakini you were GREEN. I considered it unwise. Kenya is ALL Green now, the new GREEN constitution is law and whether you were RED or GREEN doesn't matter no more. We are all in a GREEN Kenya 2.0. Nandi Kaburwo too is GREEN and the move to Nandi 2.0 MUST include ME. I stake claim to this new Nandi because I have been part and parcel of the struggle for fairness. Furthermore it is time to compete for office and the people of Nandi Kaburwo shall determine who stands to serve their interests. I want to be part of that team that shall usher Nandi to the new heights. I want to be part of the new Nandi 2.0, born on 27th Aug 2010. Arye we inyee! During the campaigns for or against this constitution, it was popular to say NO even if you did not know why. I refused to go the popular way. I still believe my choice of a YES campaign, which I explained in this blog, was right. I am proud to have been part of the team that was on the right side of history. That is courage. Safe politics is not necessarily right. By saying YES, I jeopardised my chances of being a prominent part of the Nandi 2.0, but that decision was borne out of the desire to see fairness in matters of squatter landrights. That is why I want to be part of the Nandi 2.0 team.

Make the wish of so many Nandi Kaburwo members come true. Support this transition to new leadership in Nandi. We cannot solve Nandi problems using the same people who created them. Nor can we be fooled any more with stories like "elect so and so because he/she is a friend of XYZ". Nandi Kaburwo must elect leaders with a clear mandate to LEAD Nandi Kaburwo FIRST. Nandi Kaburwo must believe in the abilities of her sons and daughters, the same people in whom you have invested enormous resources and time. This generation is alive to the heavy tasks ahead. But we are up to the task. We need new thinking, an assertive but dynamic leadership. Here we are.