Historic Event

With every race, there is always a victor and a loser. Ours was a two-horse race that was vicious to the end. A game of politics it was where the presidential race had been loosely referred to as a two-horse race, disregarding the other six presidential candidates. Just as in a racecourse, the placed bets and supporting fans are what keeps the game alive and lively. Anyone who’s a keen analyst could tell by the look of things.

Cord and Jubilee were their names. You were either corded or jubilant as a fan in this race. The tallying of the numbers took an excruciating five days! You could smell the tension in air and sceptical looks on people’s faces everywhere you dared to go. I say dared because we were cynical about the whole affair and going by what happened in 2007, we were not taking any chances.

Alie na macho huwa haambiwi ona. The local media did a tremendous job in keeping it as real as possible to all is viewers and listeners, inviting brilliant individuals to analytically break it down to us politically laypersons. Just as the tallying was being done, so were the horses gaining the numbers and even you as the layman could tell who the winner of the race was.

After an excruciating wait, five days later, IEBC finally announced the winner, everyone was literally jubilant! Naaah... whom I'm I kidding! Indeed the Jubilee guys were literally jubilant but the same could not be said of the Cord(ed) guys. You see, its the corded guys that are the most vocal and expressive. They definitely didn't see this coming. I feel sorry for the way things turned out. This thing called politics...

You have to play smart and strategic. If you were not smart and strategic enough to know that you can go far alone but you can go further with people, then you will notice that the individual who did invest on strategic coalitions, got more votes. It was all in the tyranny of the numbers!

Congratulations are therefore in order to the son of Jomo, our founding father of this beautiful nation called Kenya. In his acceptance speech he acknowledged and commended his deputy, one William Samoei Ruto, an equally brilliant young lad with whom he promised to work with as a team and deliver what they promised in their manifesto especially in the first 100days in office!

While quoting the last verse of our national anthem,
                      "Let all with one accord,
                       In common bond united,
                       Build this our nation together,
                       And the glory of Kenya,
                       The fruit of our labour,
                       Fill every heart with thanksgiving." , our eloquent, brilliant, sharp and smart political scientist and economist oozed confidence as he concluded his speech. He's equally an excellent orator as he did not read out his speech but spoke from the heart. Yeah right, he had four days to rehearse it! tihihi... ;-)))) 

To you Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, the fourth President of our beloved country Kenya, under a new constitution have our promise to work together and indeed have won a place in the Hall of Fame, just as The Script & Will.i.am sang, not forgetting Kenya too earned has also earned its place at the Hall of Fame!

...and to this historic event, join me in three cheers to Kenya, "Hip hip Hooray! Hip hip Hooray! Hip hip Hooray!"

The deciding vote

I was so high in spirit as hubby and I went to vote at our hometown, down at the coast and prayed for journey mercies. We arrived safely and set out early to go cast our vote. We had each registered at different polling stations though within the same county because we had two candidates to support, and common knowledge dictates that one vote CAN make a difference.

Upon arrival at 7am in the morning, the queues were already long. People had gone to the polling stations as early as 4am! just so as to be the first ones. Talk about being patriotic! The sun had risen and the rays were subtle. Guys at the queue were advising each other on the order of the queues. The voting was happening in streams according to the first letter of your first name.

There was disorder left, right and center as the queues grew longer and the sun's heat grew stronger. There was a lot of queue jumping and confusion as guys grew more impatient and anxious which is typical in controlling of large human gatherings. A lady was anxiously walking towards a different queue when she suddenly fainted! I think her body couldn't take it any more as it succumbed to the coastal heat, long hours on the endless queue and as most of the other voters, on an empty stomach!

If I thought Nairobi was hot, boy was I in for a shock! The coastal heat was just too much! It was like being in a sauna but on open space with more humans, vegetation and buildings! Luckily I had had breakfast but the thirst was drying up my throat faster than the sweat trickles. I kept sipping water to hydrate myself and the spaghetti top and skinny jeans underneath my buibui equally helped. Good thing I didn't dress heavily as I would have succumbed to the heat too.

At least the elderly, the sick and women with babies were allowed to jump the queue, to go cast their votes. All in all, it was an exciting feeling for having participated in this year's deciding vote. Now the anxiety of watching how the tallying of the cast votes begins as we each pray and hope with bated breath!

Final submissions

Presidential candidates are on their last lap of campaigns urging and enticing voters that each is the best candidate for the job. Some of the manifestos are wanting and practical downright unrealistic! Wow! Politics is indeed a game of chess! Where the pawn is the most favoured piece!

Each candidate is spreading the message that the loser should concede and swear in a new president and government without a repeat of what happened five years ago, when Kenya was marred by the post elections violence that left scores of innocent people/citizens displaced, dead, injured and a country full of hatred and unwanted bloodshed.

The campaigns are at their final pitch as the elective candidates each spreads their final homestretch submission to the Kenyan voters. May the best candidate win and to my fellow Kenyans, there are better times ahead for this country for it is upon you to exercise your democratic right to vote. Vote wisely! Vote peacefully!

Let it be for the welfare of you as a citizen and not the political individual!

Safari ya Kenya kuwa mshindi imewadia, na msafiri ni yule aliye bandarini! Turnout in large numbers and vote for your future!