A Clean And Peaceful Election Will Mark Our Turning Point.
Jared Oluoch. Waterford, Michigan. February 23rd, 2013. 10:35 PM
The people of Kenya go to the polling stations on March 4th, 2013 to elect a
new president and other public officials. This is the first general election
since a progressive constitution was overwhelmingly adopted in August 2010.
It is also the first since 2007, when a hotly contested poll plunged the
country into chaos.
The future stability and economic prosperity of our nation will depend to a
very large extent on the way we conduct ourselves during the voting period,
and after receiving results of this epoch making election. It is in our best
interest that the process be free, fair and peaceful. If any aggrieved party
contests the results, then it should be done through a court process,
without putting the lives of citizens in great danger through street
protests, and excessive use of police force. We have been there in the past,
and the consequences are well known.
The international media has taken a keen interest in our process, and has
dispatched staff to cover the election. Like any other African nation, the
international media has already sharpened its pencil, waiting for another
bloodletting story out of Africa. Now is the time to put our house in order,
and prove to ourselves and the whole world that we have come of age.
We must take stock of, and jealously protect the gains we have made over the
years. We were the first country in Africa to offer mobile banking and money
transfer services. We have an undersea fiber optic cable, and a road
infrastructure that has been improving in the last few years. Our rate of
adoption and use of mobile phones and social media is among the highest in
Africa. Indeed, a large swath of our population has leapfrogged from the
traditional use of desktop computers to the sophistication of cell phones
and smart phones for business transaction and social interactions. We have
an English speaking population and an educated work force. In short, we have
all the ingredients necessary for a huge economic take off into a middle
income country. All these gains risk being thrown to the waste paper basket
if we do not get it right next Monday.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IECB) has a herculean
task. It must assure all citizens that their votes will count. That voters
will not be intimidated. That the results will not be manipulated. And that
IECB has full control of the entire process. President Kibaki must also
ensure that there is a smooth handing and taking over ceremony to the next
duly elected President. This is his perfect chance to leave a lasting
legacy.
I am guardedly optimistic that we will seize this moment and rise to the
occasion. We are one people. One nation. We have a chance to continue with
the implementation of a new constitution, check runaway corruption, and
invest in healthcare, education, and infrastructure. The city in the sun
will rise again. The London of Africa will take her place of pride once
again. The Swahili tiger will pounce.
Let me close with a phrase from Shakespeare. Immortal Shakespeare is
speaking to Brutus through Cassius in his comic-tragic play Julius Caesar.
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars. But in ourselves, that we are
underlings." If we miss this chance, it will not be in our stars that we
remain underlings. It will be in ourselves. And the ghost of Banquo,
depicted in Shakespeare`s play Macbeth, will hang over us like the swords of
Damocles in the Greek mythology of old.
Hear my cry, oh my country of thee.
Cc: Daily Nation
Standard Newspaper.
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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