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It is that time again, yes, serious business that could change your life is at hand, the campaign season.
The politicians, the spin doctors and opportunists of all sizes and creed are all out to grab attention.
Some of the tactics these guys are using to seize power are very dirty and undemocratic kabisaa! You know what? Democracy is funny thing, unless it is built on sound liberal principles a democratic system can be as slippery as an eel. First, there is this strange tale a certain survivor of a fatal accident once told me of a bizarre democratic choice that a group of passengers made them pay dearly.
He was a passenger on a bus from Dar to Mwanza, at some point after Singida, the bus developed mechanical problem. A few kilometers from past the Sekenke hills; the drive stopped the bus. He told the passengers the journey had to stop because it was too dangerous to go downhill because the break system had problems.
However being democratic he gave the passengers choice to take the risk and on his part he would try to maneuver. The passengers were divided on whether to take the risk or wait for many hours for the break system to be repaired?
After some very heated debate like good democrats, they decided to cast votes by show of hands.
Wengi wape! The majority who wished to take the risk won the vote. It was like the Germans electing Adolf Hitler to govern them ; the bus lost control midway down the hill. It dashed off the road into the crater below. The scene of the crash was greasily as only 10 out of 60 survived. What I am trying to say is that not all democratic choices are good. However, that doesn’t mean democracy is bad. You don’t have to be a political scientist to know that there isn’t any system that is perfect.
Yet, since its humble beginnings in ancient Greece, democracy has always had its flaws. “The best we can do is constantly trying to improve,” writes Staffen Lindberg in his book Democracy and Elections in Africa .
Yes, always try to improve because some caning people are so hungry for power that they will use any weakness in the system to snatch and keep power at any cost.
In Bongo, we have this nagging problem of citizenship. Who is a real Mbongo? The funny thing is, when it gets to elections; mmmh wee sio raia witch hunt begins.
The situation is so bad that some constituencies in Bongo might be denied their liberal democratic right to choose representatives of their choice. Why? Because there will be only one candidate or none who passes the Bongo ‘uraia’ litmus test. Rumours at the kijiwe are that some powerful waheshimiwa are desperate to get to Dodoma that they will do anything possible to buy off any would be challengers. If that fails, plan B is to use some fishy legal procedures such as requiring you to prove that you are a citizen of Bongo; before the National Electoral Commission deadline for complaints at constituency level expires. This is a crime against democracy. Shame on you all, who don’t abide to the democratic principal of fair play.
Who really is the citizen of Bongo? That question cropped up at Mama B’s as we sat irrigated our throats.
“Kumbe, Bashe is not a citizen.” Somebody was commenting on the recently down fall of one of CCM’s young turk
“Labda you also are not raia.”
“No, no both my parents were born in Bongo.”
“That’s not enough; can you show us their birth certificates?”
There was silence for a moment. I could guess what was going through the guys’ heads. It is more than you can understand when it comes to citizenship of Bongo. “That is the problem. I don’t know if my parents understand what a birth certificate is,” Said one fellow.
“But it doesn’t end there.” Another guy said. “What about your grandparents?”
You know this can be a nightmare. What happened to the national identity cards project? I thought that was designed to clear these citizenship woes.
“Waa! National identity cards in Bongo? That is just a hoax I guess. Those cards have been promised from ages ago. Some people somewhere are making fortunes out of this Bongo uraia confusion.”
“But the ministry of Home Affairs promised the cards would be ready before these elections.”
In Bongo it’s no problem not keeping promises. If people start making noise the solution is simple, just give them more promises on top of the broken ones. Soon they will forget which promises are fresh and stale.” Long live Bongo.
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