This archive report was first published on 10 August 2019.
Kenya's parliamentarians have been exhibiting a disturbing trend of juvenile behavior, shirking the moral that leadership is intended to serve a higher purpose. This is evident in their outrageous and audacious adventures, such as a recent trip to Nashville, Tennessee, where 90 delegates traveled in business class.
According to Tom Mshindi, a former editor-in-chief of the Nation Media Group, this behavior is a result of a generational deficiency in understanding the purpose of leadership. Many of the current parliamentarians are post-independence children who do not see leadership as a way to serve others, but rather as a privilege to grandstand and indulge.
As Mshindi notes, the majority of the 349 members of the National Assembly and a good number of the 67 Senators are not inspired to lead, do not see any reason to lead, and view leadership as an end in itself. This is a far cry from the leadership of their fathers and mothers, who lived through a highly oppressive colonial system and emerged to lead the liberation struggle.
Today's parliamentarians have failed to recast priorities and define their leadership objectives clearly. They have instead become corrupt and tribalized, creating and encouraging political parties built on personalities and tribes. They are devoid of any unique ideologies, which is why a handshake between Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga can effectively nullify any ideological difference between Jubilee and ODM.
As Mshindi points out, Speaker Justin Muturi and Speaker Kenneth Lusaka are not in administrative control of the Houses they lead, and therefore cannot eschew the nonsense that the public is constantly subjected to courtesy of the parliamentarians. The ease with which Raila Odinga now 'helps' run Kenyatta's government surely confirms that none of these leaders has a defining political ideology or unique governance agenda.
Tom Mshindi is the former editor-in-chief of the Nation Media Group and is now consulting.
