BOTTOM LINE : Time for our neighbours to right their past mistakes

Those who remember how Kenya tragically sank into what is now famously known there as the Post-Election Violence (PEV) bloodbath, resulting from the allegedly rigged 2007 poll, will agree with me.

Come the August general election, Kenya needs what I’ll call the Post Election Victory (PEV), in which there won’t be any loser but winners, the condition being that the elections must be conducted fairly, peacefully and justly.

This means, those who’ll get voters’ consent to form the next government must be allowed to do so without any pretexts whatsoever. And those whose votes won’t allow them to form the government must concede defeat.

Winning and losing are the results of any credible competition. Again, all depends on the rules of the game -- judicious and legal. I don’t need to invoke the Fragments of Olympian Gossip to prove my point[s]. The author of this poem says “perhaps I failed, but I did my best” the king must heroically admit even if he inherited such a sacred blood of being a progeny of the master blackmailer.

Nobody is created to become president. Anybody can be president; and who knows and decides about who fits the bill is none other than voters. This is what we call democracy in which winning and losing are the same provided that doing so furthers the interests of the people as opposed to the hidden interests of the power elite.

For the coming elections to produce winners, Kenyans need to participate fully. They need to vote based on the agenda but not on who pays them how much. They can take the monies the corrupt politicians and their major donors offer; and still deny them their votes. What are they buying if at all elections are about getting somebody to serve the citizens?

I am not fond of accusing Kenya of negative tribalism, though it exists. Again, who wakes the devil up if it isn’t corrupt politicians? I am tired of hearing that Kenya is a tribal country. Kenyans, as well, need to get tired of this tag. If anything, August 8th is the time for Kenya and Kenyans to double down and prove right or wrong the belief that Kenya isn’t a nation but a congregation of ever warrying tribes.

Emphatically, August 8th–if used well–is supposed to be the day of singing a dirge for negative tribalism in Kenya.

I must echo President Uhuru Kenyatta’s avows saying that “we in Jubilee are asking the opposition to maintain peace and sell their agenda and policies instead of dwelling on insults. After Kenyans have made their choices, we shall accept their decision.” I must recommend Kenyatta and urge him to live up to his words while he steps up a notch to make sure that all under his control must follow suit.

Further, Kenyatta goes on saying that “I want to be perfectly clear, these perpetrators of violence and lawlessness will be dealt with.” Once, again, let Kenyatta live up to his promises.

So, too, Nasa’ flag-bearer Raila Odinga needs to take a leaf from Kenyatta. This is obvious given that these two protagonists are the ones to decide Kenya’s fate come August 8.

Importantly, the duo needs to know that Kenya is above and more important than everything, including their presidential ambitions. As for voters, the coming elections need to be the opportunity for Kenya to promote a good reputation.

Further, these elections should be about righting the wrongs the PEV 2007-08 caused. They must be about Kenya but not tribes or “it- is-our-time-to-eat-mission” and paltry politics of tummy and small things. Above all, the coming elections must be about peace, justice, and the oneness and the unity of the country, but not tribalism and hooliganism. We, your neighbours, wish you very peaceful and successful general elections 2018. May God stand by you though you need to stand by yourself before.

Nkwazi Mhango is a Tanzanian writer who is based in Canada