Here’s a theory why Kenyan politics is on steroids, and why campaigns never end.
The “father of the nation” was a pretender. He was a colonial collaborator, but accepted a tag of “pan-Africanist” freedom fighter. We all know that his family doesn’t have any culture or ideas. Just money. But in 2013, some people voted for his son as an anti-imperialist, because he was charged with killing them by the white man’s court. And that campaign was driven by the white people of Cambridge Analytica.
That means that for 55 years, Kenyans have been doing theatrics to cover up reality. The longer the ruling class stays in power, the more the theatrics they have to do. In Jomo’s days, politicians didn’t need to eat roast maize, drink soda at a kiosk, eat nyama choma at Kenyatta market, sit down with a beggar on the street or invite constituents to their homes. The president didn’t need to go to a school on exam day, and the vice-president didn’t need to sit on a desk with kids, and the CS didn’t need to attend a primary school class and take photos of the class.
Now they do.
Before, the words of teachers about education and medics about healthcare was enough for Kenyans. Now Kenyans cant hear anything from us unless Matiangi is bursting into a school or Sonko is displaying infants who didnt survive birth. We need more and more drama to solve very simple problems. We need a system replacement to solve very simple educational problems.
So that’s why we are more corrupt. Because we need more money to pay for displaying ourselves. Our authenticity is no longer enough. We no longer want freedom but reputations as activists. We are walking brands, the PR people remind us. And yes. PR has become more important than art and expression. Spin more important than authenticity. Image more important than truth.
