This archive report was first published on 25 August 2019.
As Kenyans, we often view political opposition as a negative force, but it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, opposition can be a vital component of a healthy democracy, as long as it's conducted in a responsible and constructive manner.
According to Philip Ochieng, writing in The Nation on August 25, 2019, the purpose of opposition should be to help the government follow a path that is objectively good for all citizens, regardless of their ethnic, professional, racial, or religious backgrounds.
He argues that opposition should not mean personal or ethnic or racial or religious hatred, but rather a commitment to helping the government achieve its goals in the most effective way possible.
For Ochieng, the ideal is to conduct opposition in a manner that would please you whenever you are the government. This means striving to achieve common national goals in a friendly and effective way.
He notes that when Kenyans of different ethnic backgrounds and usually unfriendly political attitudes announce a joint political activity, it suggests that the chief mission of any true opposition party should be to help ensure that whoever is the government embarks upon a path most likely to help them achieve excellent results for all the people of Kenya.
However, Ochieng also acknowledges that one problem is that Kenyans are not in one accord about the definition of their 'objective goals'. He argues that awareness of these goals is the ideal duty of every would-be leader, as the future of Kenya lies in whether the people of Kenya of all ethnic and racial backgrounds will join hands to achieve together their jointly defined community of goals.
