By Anderson Ojwang
The fluidly Kenya’s political landscape is fast witnessing a unique and a precedential moment where the master and the servants who previously read from the same script, currently have a departure from the norm.
The political class and the public are currently witnessing a departure, with the latter charting their own destination while the former is still glued to the old script that they used to determine the present and the future.
For eons, the political class have dictated the scripts while the gullible and vulnerable public have swallowed without any form of contestation and followed the script to the letter.
But currently, the public has woken up from the ages of slumber and are charting their own destination while the political class have gone into sleep believing that the status quo remains constant.
The Genz rebellion seems to have triggered the awakening power in the public and a new dawn is fast emerging and unfolding in the country.
The political class have failed to read the public mood and the kind of leadership the public desires.
The public needs a servant leader who cares about their needs, food, jobs, education, mainly basic needs but these have not been forthcoming, and instead the current political class have been lording over the public and only thinks about himself, relatives and cronies
The trends and events in the recent past and currently towards the political class, are if anything to go by, then what awaits them is so consequential and could radically change the country.
The backlash that marked the death of son to MP Beatrice Elachi and the death of Kasipul MP Charles Ongondo Were is a pointer to what the future holds.
The recent Migori incident, where a shoe was thrown at President William Ruto, in Kehancha, in Kuria, where he received most of the presidential votes is so telling.
Medic and political analyst Dr Alfred Obengo says there is an ongoing social phenomenon going on unnoticed.
The political class are on their own. The public’s empathy towards them is gone.
My hunch is that the open and insensitive display of opulence by the political class could be one of the major reasons for the deep fissure between them and the public.
The political class are our work. They are the modern-day Marie Antoinettes: “Give them a cake if there is no bread.”
The political class is no longer in touch with the thinking of the hoi polloi.
Mr. Sam Ochieng, a political commentator, argues that the public and the political class are not reading from the same script.
He attributes this to several factors that contributed to this disconnect and include:
Different priorities: The public often prioritises basic needs like resource management, fair distribution, and project implementation. Politicians might focus on political survival, power dynamics, or personal gain.
Lack of transparency and accountability: Insufficient information and opaque decision-making processes can lead to mistrust.
Manipulation: Politicians might manipulate projects or resources for political mileage, rather than serving the public interest.
Communication gaps: Inadequate engagement between the public and politicians can exacerbate misunderstandings.
Ochieng says the disconnect can result in ineffective governance, unmet public expectations, and decreased trust in institutions.
Medic and Political Analyst Prof Otieno Obondi disagrees saying the public is so gullible and vulnerable to read from different script from the political class.
“The public will always obey the law, the law of inertia and move with the whims of the political class. Nature abhors a vacuum and that is why the political class cannot allow the public to create that Vacuum,” he argues.
He says the public will be manipulated by the political class, and they will create a common ground that the public will follow.
“What we are currently witnessing are just artificial moments, soon the public will recoil back to the status quo and will dance to the wish and whims of the political class,” he says.
He says the politicians have learnt the art and tact of enslaving the public and that they have remained indispensable in their lives.
Prof Otieno says currently the public are in political holiday and pretending to be reading from a different script with the political class.
“The public is on holiday and currently removed from reality. But they are confused and in the bondage of the political class.
The political class will ensure they remain in the cocoon because they are the custodian of thinking for the public.
They will vote what the political leadership will tell them and will surrender their lives and dance to the whims of the politicians,” he says.
Prof Otieno argues that the political class have identified the poor and illiterates to be pivotal in their colonization of the public mindset.
“ The political class will ensure the status quo is maintained and will remain the custodian of thinking and agenda setting. Politicians have taken away our common sense. The elites should be in the forefront to reverse the situation,” he says.
