Ruling Class Taught a Lesson in Mugirango By-Election

John Cheruiyot
The South Mugirango by election result was stunning. It was a devastating defeat to the ruling class; who for a long time has underrated the intelligence of the masses. With the helicopters, their money, their limousines and other fuel guzzlers they did not sway the voters of South Mugirango to vote their way.

A divided PNU, ODM and KANU could not stand the verdict of the people.
Manson Nyamweya of FORD People won with 14,099 followed at a distance by Magara of PDP with 8885, then Ochoi of ODM at 7638 and Rashid Miyoga of PPK with 1,145. KANU did not feature at all.

When Magara defected from ODM to join little known PDP, political bigwigs swung to his side. He became an instant political darling of the connected and the moneyed. Top political gurus suspended their parties to support Magara. Uhuru Kenyatta left KANU to support Magara, likewise William Ruto left ODM to support Magara. The support for Magara was more of a protest against Raila. The YES and the NO contenders left their differences to support Magara. In the process the voice of the people, the voice and the conscience of the masses was ignored.

The political class displayed their glamour and splendour as they climbed the skies of South Mugirango with impunity. Manson Nyamweya kept telling the people: “It is you who will determine who goes to parliament not them.” He was right. It is the people and not the moneyed and the connected.

The win by Nyamweya may be dismissed as a mere by-election. It is a battle between the interests of the elite and those of the people. The real political landscape was crafted during the Mugirango by-election.

That leaders who remain faithful to the interests of the people and who are not stooges and puppets of the outsiders - it is they who prevail. Being associated to party heavyweights is longer an asset.

The party bigwigs focusing on the 2012 were at South Mugirango to show their prowess. The PNU and ODM supremacy was the centrepiece of the Mugirango by-election. Their agenda was defeated.

What this means is - Kenyan voters are independent and intelligent. They can courageously decide who becomes their leader.

Indeed it should be noted that the one party dictatorship was all about leaders who were planted from the apex. It was all about being connected to the power barons of the nation. The people were bought and swayed at will and whim. The top-down political structure was the order of the day. The bottom-up was apparently outlawed.
Indeed the bottom-up won in South Mugirango. In one way or another the ruling elite has run out of ideas. They have no ideas to turn around the economy. They have no vision to prosper the nation. They drive expensive limousines and ride first world copters in the fourth world economy. Their life styles are beyond the economy of the nation.

Being president and being a bigwig and a political heavyweight in a weak nation and a weak economy is what mesmerizes the ruling class.

Kenya needs a third force, a force of the people, a force fuelled by a vision to empower and prosper the people. Being president and being powerful and affluent in a poor economy does not make sense.

What Kenya today needs possibly is a national Manson Nyamweya, a leader who is driven more by the aspirations and the interest of the people. A leader whose vision is to serve and empower the people.

A leader who is ready to outlaw the use of helicopters and fuel guzzlers in a weak economy as ours. A leader who not after power and authority for personal glory. A leader who dares to innovate, invent and create new ideas and new options for the nation. A leader who is not craving for foreign aid and foreign neo-colonial favours. One who believes in the people and in the potential of the nation.
The 2012 is not about a change economically and technologically; it is about leaders queuing for privileges as the people sink into the abyss of poverty and penury.