HERE WE GO AGAIN

Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.  ~Richard Armour

It is that time of the season. Our beloved politicians (please take that word 'beloved' with a pinch of salt and glass of vinegar) are at it, 'repositioning' themselves ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
Which is alright. Problem is, I cannot remember a single period since the last elections when the entire August House, the crest of politics as it were, was ever in position. That bunch has been offside from the moment one Samuel Kivuitu announced controversial election results in an even more controversial manner - while hidden at a bunker like a state witness mouthing out sensitive confessions under armed guard, with the promise of witness protection.....
What followed was a showdown between two people, promptly dubbed 'protagonists' by Kenyan media, a showdown which eventually led to the loss of at least 1000 lives, displacement of many more, a side-hustle for Koffi Annan (read peace-broker as head of Eminent Persons) and eventually the formation of a very uneasy coalition government. Well, we all know how well that government coalesced.
The coalition government brought to the fore a hitherto under-appreciated term, very familiar with civil servants but otherwise secondary to the others- protocol. The closest many Kenyans have come to appreciate the significance of protocol probably at school, where dramatic presentations were always preceded with a mandatory rendition thus; ' The Guest of Honour, honorable adjudicators, distinguished guests, ladies n gentlemen,...''
Or, for those who attended the public holidays of the Nyayo era, the timeless MC, Sammy Loui, would croon out a chronology of names and portfolio, starting from the Honorable President and his accompanying titles- EGH, MP, Commander in Chief of the Armed forces, bla bla bla, down to the common mwananchi roasting under the scorching sun on the open terraces of Nyayo Stadium, otherwise referred to as 'ladies and gentlemen'.
The significance of the noun 'protocol' made no much sense to Wanjiku, until the standoff between Vice-President and Prime Minister made it a monolith in the coalition government. For so long protocol placed the VP right behind the President. Suddenly there was a Prime Minister, who according to the Peace Accord was equal to the president in stature. The bureaucrats were left scratching their bald heads, careful not to rock the boat, the Kibaki Camp insisted Kalonzo was above Raila, the Raila Camp regarded Kalonzo as an opportunistic nonentity who should not have been part of the government of national unity in the first place.
come to think of it, Kalonzo 'alipita katikati yao'. He was not involved in all the Pre and post-election Chaos, he finished a distant third in the presidential race, became vice President by design, and lay low as the tigers fought his war. Good times.
Eventually Raila won the protocol standoff, and some semblance of peace was restored. But the loose strands of the coalition were further stretched by the acrimony generated in the post-referendum of August 2010. William Ruto's big NO to a document fronted by a government in which he was a Minister created the first real cracks. Then came the ghosts of the Post-Election violence. A mysterious envelope nicknamed 'Waki" which until then hung over the powers that be like the Sword of Damocles, was the last straw as Luis Moreno Ocampo opened the Pandoras Box. It was no longer a crack. It was a glacial movement that separated the various continental entities in government.
As is wont in Kenya, The ICC pre-trials were politicised and their main objectives dumped in the cellar. Suddenly the entire process was all about the 2012 succession. One enigmatic man was using the process to secure a highway to the House on the Hill, a politician would intimate. People who lost loved ones in the 2008 violence and whose souls were crying for justice were forgotten. The Internally Displaced persons, who lost their property, dignity and lives were only mentioned in passing. Even "Men of God" joined the fray, praying for the accused, while cursing their perceived 'enemies'. Dear Pastor/Bishop/Reverend, There is a fine line between an intercession and a loud, lop-sided opinion blared through the speaker in the format of a prayer. God have Mercy on you.
These are but some of the Litany of issues that bedeviled the coalition government. Don't even get me started on the 'fight against corruption.' That ship pulled a Costa Concordia eons ago.
And so, here we are again. General Elections are back, or around the proverbial corner as it were. I will assume that the protagonists will have the presence of mind to give us the elections in December. Political wheeler-dealing has started. New parties, or 'political platforms', are being formed right, left, and centre. The politicians are regurgitating the old promises from five years ago, and, sadly, some of us voting folk are swallowing their cud.

Take our politicians:  they're a bunch of yo-yos.  The presidency is now a cross between a popularity contest and a high school debate, with an encyclopedia of cliches the first prize.  ~Saul Bellow


Everyone is already dreaming and strategising on how to take over State House once Kibaki retires to his goat-farm in Othaya. Meanwhile, IDPs remain unsettled. The repugnant smell of corruption and impunity is still emanating from every nook and cranny of the political class. Past injustices remain unaddressed. I wont event mention that the very 'repositioning' taking place is a clear disregard of the new constitution, which they promise to protect while they are already flouting it!
It goes without saying that we will dutifully vote back the same people we are chastising now. One reason is that its unlikely that a new, deserving face will prop up and win our trust in time for the ballot.
But the real reason is that at the end of the day, we will always vote for the politician we dislike the least, or who serves our interest most, however short-sighted. Oscar Ameringer, dubbed the 'Mark Twain' of American Socialism, aptly said that Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. 
Be not fooled with a new political party. What we need is a new politician. Politics is too serious a matter to be left to politicians. Stop complaining and do something about it. I laud the likes of the late Prof. Wangari Maathai, PLO lumumba, Ringtone, John Kiarie, Mdomo Baggy and Councillor Mongolo for stepping up. It is these baby-steps that will eventually deliver a full walk. And be warned, there shall be stumbles and fumbles, a la Simon Mbugua and Mike Sonko!
Kenya needs a political revolution. However, a revolution in the political class can only be attained by an evolution of the political players. It is time for new faces to step up and challenge the status Quo. After all, it was Che Guevara himself who asserted thus; The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.
I rest my case.