This archive report was first published on 3 October 2019.
Luhya Unity Chants: A Distracting Diversion from Development ¶
Published on October 3, 2019
Leaders from Western Kenya who claim Musalia Mudavadi does not value his Luhya kinsmen for choosing Eliud Owalo to contest the Kibra parliamentary seat by-election are avowed tribalists, enemies of national cohesion, and healing, and integration.
These critics are hypocrites who prioritize personal gain over unity, as they have been shouting themselves hoarse in support of Deputy President William Ruto, who is not a Luhya, and have been calling for a Luhya presidential candidate for the 2022 elections while declaring Ruto the 'president in waiting 2022.'
The Luhya unity calls are a circus, a mirage only visible to politically delusional minds. Under the present circumstances, the unity will not materialise even if those shouting loudest about it live to be 150 years each.
Many of the critics have been tried before but failed the aptitude test. Some of them were rejected by the electorate while others got kicked off prime jobs that they took for granted even though they knew they did not merit them.
While not holding brief for Mudavadi, none of these political hecklers can hold a candle to him in terms of leadership qualities and articulating pertinent issues, away from self-effacing praise singing.
The failure of Luhya unity is not pegged on the Amani National Congress' choice of candidate for the Kibra by-election, but rather on unadulterated avarice. The first step to unity is finding a common thing on which to rally a group of people or communities, but the Luhya, with 17 sub tribes, as many dialects, and different customs, cannot foster unity in the sense that Luhya leaders envisage.
Many of the profitable, prestigious companies that once thrived in the region are now dead, and the national government is culpable for having abdicated its responsibilities to citizens and allowed a few greedy individuals with the right connections to dictate the Government's tempo.
One sure way of doing this is killing each and everything that is beneficial to the common man. None of the profitable, prestigious companies I knew while growing up is alive today. Was it worth the while fighting for self-rule only to turn upon ourselves and run practically everything to the ground so that a handful unscrupulous individuals can live in affluence off the sweat of millions of destitute countrymen?
Revive the comatose industries, empower your people economically, and you will leave an enduring legacy. Forget the futile chants.
