The youth have been clamoring for generational change for eon. The notion has been that the old generation is out dated and is the main reason why our development has consistently remained stagnated. This fad has been epitomized by the election of president Obama and now everyone believes the youth are the change we can believe in.

However, majority of these youthful leaders who we have given the privilege in various political platforms have left us with nothing to write home about. Kenyans have been plagued by catastrophe after the other and as a society we had mainly believed this was as a result of poor stewardship of the old generation.

We have been looking forward to real civilization, where corruption is uncouth and tribalism is a Stone Age mentality. These vices are associated with the past and their effects have not only been felt for long but seen and lived by many of us.
However, I’m not oblivious to the fact that human beings, who are almost unique in their ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable in their apparent disinclination to do so.

The young leaders we have now and especially in this parliament are straddling right into these pasts and it perturbs me how fast they are being assimilated into the old enclave. The MPs in their thirties have become war mongers perpetuating tribal chieftaincy and propagating tribal alliances.
Some, who were astute writers on topical issues before joining the august house, are now apologists and personality chauvinists and one wonders whether the current activists are also just opportunists looking for a similar platform.

A run down on this genre of so called young leaders would leave you wondering whether we should really hand over our country to this ilk. It is interesting how they are quick to fix self serving deals and shift goal posts at little prodding and we are left wondering what happened to principles and integrity.

The civil society has produced a majority of these leaders but power has done overtime in corrupting them.
Leadership is either genetic as in natural or is attained after hard work experience and sacrifice and this was exhibited early in the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites talented, experienced and natural leaders.
We ought to elect leaders who would not make us regret and imagine we probably served the food before it was ready.

Our current crop of young leaders plunged into this game through political brokerage and family inheritance. They lack the molding, shaping or even the natural gait of leadership. We need to do better shopping. Kenyans arise and interrogate them, examine them, evaluate them and interact with them, only then should you elect them.

A leader is someone who knows the way, shows the way and goes the way. Remember a knowledgeable populace is difficult to dupe and that is what the Kenyan society has evolve to.
Change has come to Kenya.

By Paul William Ochieng.

Paul is a lawyer based in Nairobi, Kenya

The challenges that we face, the struggles that our people endure, are no different than those that have been fought somewhere else. From India to Indonesia, from the USA to SA, history reminds us. Just the other day Malaysia was a struggling nation but today it is an economic benchmark. History also tells us that it was when all people came together that they were able to defeat and shame tyranny. It was when a people were united that they were able to shame anarchy. Even the boldest of dictators have been humbled by a united front. If we believe in it, if we dream it, if we live it…then we can achieve it!

In the November 19^th 2009 issue of the Economist, Pratibha Thaker wrote that Africa’s emancipation depends on better policies. I agree…and Kenya needs them more. I give credit to Thaker for shaping my reasoning towards this resolve. As a native of Kenya, and having grown up and schooled in this beautiful country, I carry a citizens’ right to join hands with fellow Kenyans in finding the very best solutions for not only our generation but generations to come. Armed with will power, propelled by HOPE and encouraged by oneness, I too BELIEVE in a better Kenya.

The next years before 2012 will be both pivotal and challenging in terms of laying infrastructure and beginning the steps towards a new era. Having realized how diminutive and savage chaos can be, it is time to weave ourselves in a new fabric, one that embodies the toils of each and every Kenyan – a fabric we all will proudly display to the rest of the world.  Peace initiative(s) like Project Amani (www.projectamani.org) provide prove that Kenyans are committed to amend the ills of yesterday through outreach programs.

John Galbreith in his book, The Affluent Society, says that we need to empower people in order to achieve development. Every Kenyan needs to be involved in the process of building their country. People are the common denominator of progress. So, no improvement is possible with unimproved people, and advance is certain when people are liberated and educated. It would be wrong to dismiss the importance of roads, railroads, power plants, mills, and the other familiar furniture of economic development. But we are coming to realize that there is certain sterility in economic monuments that stand alone in a sea of illiteracy. And that if we must win; then conquest of illiteracy comes first. We need to educate and inform our people.

Mr. Mosomi, in his article THE KENYAN DREAM, notes that a strong economic agenda should be the cornerstone to our success. This message should be repeated over and over again. There is an urgent need to retool our economic policies and commit ourselves to transition from reliance on agriculture to manufacturing. The government should level the economic playing field, in an effort geared towards eradicating poverty with non ethnic programs. There is need to reconsider our monetary and fiscal policies, affirmative action and price controls. These policies should foster new foreign and domestic investment, key ingredients towards transformation of the Kenyan economy.

My friends and fellow citizens, the trouble with our country is that it is NOT what we want it to be. It cannot be that perfect state until we all chip in with our 2 cents worth of involvement. If we think about future generations and build for them, they will never forget us. We have lost respect for our leaders because they have misled us. Lets not be like generations before us…we are equipped to do better. I have confidence in your integrity, honesty and ability to bring change. Together we are KENYANS FOR CHANGE.

Thank you and God bless Kenya.

Arasa Mose

Change Agent,

Kenyans for Change.

An excerpt of a speech by Kenyatta at a Kenya African Union (K.A.U.) meeting on July 26, 1952. Kenyatta made this speech at a time when Kenya was struggling for sovereignty. An independence revolution was brewing in Kenya and Kenyatta was one of the revolutionary leaders representing the downtrodden and disenfranchised.

If we unite now, each and every one of us, and each tribe to another, we will cause the implementation in this country of that which the European calls democracy. True democracy has no colour distinction. It does not choose between black and white. We are here in this tremendous gathering under the K.A.U. flag to find which road leads us from darkness into democracy. In order to find it we Africans must first achieve the right to elect our own representatives. That is surely the first principle of democracy. We are the only race in Kenya which does not elect its own representatives in the Legislature and we are going to set about to rectify this situation. . . . It has never been known in history that a country prospers without equality. We despise bribery and corruption, those two words that the European repeatedly refers to. Bribery and corruption is prevalent in this country, but I am not surprised. As long as a people are held down, corruption is sure to rise and the only answer to this is a policy of equality. . . .(Cornfield 1960, pp. 301-308).

His was a noble call, the call for a broadly representative government. His legacy, however, as history tells us, is quite the opposite. Kenyatta ruled Kenya till dying of natural causes. He did not bring forth the equality, fairness, democracy, and liberty he promised. He railed against corruption in his 1952 speech, a decade before Kenya became independent yet decades later his presidency was dogged by kleptocratic practices. This culture was passed on to his predecessor Moi, an even more powerful tyrant. Moi’s presidency brought Kenya to its knees with a new cry from the oppressed, and just like their forefathers had cried for freedom in the 50’s & 60’s Kenyans cried out for political change that ushered in the Kibaki regime.

Kibaki like Kenyatta came aboard with similar sentiments as those Kenyans had cried for in the 50’s a call for more representational government and a promise to crush corruption.  Eight years later, Kibaki the man who had promised Kenya a better future is now credited to harboring a corrupt government. His last reelection is still questionable and he has allowed history credit him as a power hungry leader whose uncanny ways led to the loss of thousand of innocent Kenyans. Kenyatta and Kibaki, promised democracy, freedom, and equality. They offered peace and prosperity, but delivered to the contrary; corruption, poverty and despair.  Were their promises hollow and cynical or sincere? Did they truly believe in representational government and corruption as a vice? What changed these men?

At the time before victory leaders promise to improve public welfare (as per Kenyatta and Kibaki), at this point I believe they are sincere. This is because these leaders arise from the disenfranchised group, outside the political elite. At this point they are not part of the society that reinforces the oppressive regime, they do not get to enjoy the private benefits of the powerful who retain power by transferring at the direct expense of the poor. The dysfunction happens when these leaders defeat their oppressors; the victorious revolutionaries become the new leaders or members of the political elite. Having shifted from being outsiders to being those privileged with access to power and private benefits, they respond to their new incentives. The mechanism changes, it becomes a fight for self preservation and power.  The ideals they once held, are no longer in favor for their survival, all of a sudden the realization of a representational form of politics is no longer such a good idea, and corruption now becomes an attractive modus operandi, the very thing they vowed to eradicate is instead reinforced.

This is a mechanism that has dogged Kenyan politics and will continue to plunder us if we do not change our way of doing things. All who aspire to be the future leaders of Kenya need to understand this mechanism and understand its potential for entrapment. Those who are victorious and become leaders continue to do what is in their interest, and this is the tricky part because what defines that interest can be changed and be manipulated by their new found role. A role in Kenya that comes with immense power and can easily corrupts.

We the future Kenyan leaders aspiring to be the next generation of leaders cannot afford to fall prey to this trap. We have to approach change in our country with wisdom and foresight. We cannot kid ourselves that we are any different from those who have led this country before us. The potential for us to shift tactics once in power is real! We have to take proactive steps, if we are to ever change this mechanism that has preyed on the weak willed and enabled power politics in Kenya. We have to realize the institutional preferences of outsiders (i.e. a more representational form of government) is not the same as the institutional preferences of a leader in power. We need to think proactively, and be prepared with counter active plan that will ensure this flaw in our system is not abused by future leaders. Such a plan needs to include a strategy that redefines our institutions to keep our leaders in check. The new draft constitution is the beginning. If we are to break away from our past politics we need a constitution that is free of politics and is document for the people.

By Jane Munga – Kenyans For Change Vice Chairlady

Kenyans For Change held a presentation of Project Amani peace project
on January 2nd 2010. The event was hosted by Nyeri Social forum and
attended by the following community based organizations Asian Quarters
association, C.I.P.C., Central Kenya Forum for Peace, CETRADIN
International, Elections International, FACEP – Kenya/ CETA Kenya,
Girl Child Network, KACC Group, Kangemi Poultry (Mugumo Group),
Kangemi Poultry (Mugumo Group), Moonlight Theatre Club, Muslim Women,
Nyumba Ya Sanaa, Operation Save the Youth, OPSY 2000, Promise Keepers,
Slums Development Network Initiative, Y.M.C.A.Yamgambo Arts, Nyeri
Social Forum, Youth Peace Alliance