Let me remind Kenyans that the separation between politics and development is a colonial divide.
The colonial administration divided the two to make African nationalists appear like people who just make noise and dont care for the people at all.
The devil is in the details.
The colonial administration divided the two to make African nationalists appear like people who just make noise and dont care for the people at all.
The devil is in the details.
The colonial administration believed that the purpose of colonialism was to "develop" Kenya and rescue us natives from backwardness by bringing us into global capitalism as wage laborers or resource harvestors and producers.
So colonialists divided Kenya into the urban & settler areas on one hand, and tribal reserves on the other.
They allowed wage labor on settler farms and in the cities, but used the provincial administration to prevent any political activity in the reserves.
They allowed wage labor on settler farms and in the cities, but used the provincial administration to prevent any political activity in the reserves.
To live in the reserves was to be enclosed in a tribal concave. To either go to school or to work, you needed the permission of the chief/DC and a recommendation that you were a well behaved person.
When workers started to politically organize, they had to apply for permits from the administration.
But the colonialists would not allow political parties in the reserves. The white administrators said they needed to protect "their" natives from the corruption of the city.
But the colonialists would not allow political parties in the reserves. The white administrators said they needed to protect "their" natives from the corruption of the city.
Colonial administrators said that if African political parties reached the reserves, politics would interfere with the "development" there which was brought by the colonial administrators.
But even in the cities, the colonial administration interfered with unions. It rigged union elections, and during the emergency they detained nationalist union leaders so that the unions would be led by political moderates who believed in negotiating with power.
The role of Tom Mboya and @CotuOfficial was to tone down the nationalist voice in unions, and to restrict unions to salary negotiation.
That is why unions are silent on politics of issues. Like UASU has said nothing about education privatization or CBC. standardmedia.co.ke/article/200125…
That is why unions are silent on politics of issues. Like UASU has said nothing about education privatization or CBC. standardmedia.co.ke/article/200125…
@CotuOfficial This is how in 1963 Kenya had no party with a consistent ideology to boast of. The first decent attempt to form a party based on issues - KPU - was so resoundly crushed by Jomo in 1969.
Since 2002 till today, the president wins on a different party than the previous election.
Since 2002 till today, the president wins on a different party than the previous election.
@CotuOfficial It's so bad that even the ICC suspects had to form a different party despite being the same ticket in two elections.
So, the reason why we have so much useless noise between elections is because we have no structured political parties.
So, the reason why we have so much useless noise between elections is because we have no structured political parties.
@CotuOfficial No structured parties means that politicians contest on party ticket A, win and then spend the next 5 years negotiating for party ticket B or another coalition.
But the reason we don't have political parties is for the same reasons as during the colonial times.
But the reason we don't have political parties is for the same reasons as during the colonial times.
@CotuOfficial GoK interferes and interferes with consistent political thought. It beats the humanities out of the education, it censors the arts, it bribes media with advertising to dumb us down, and if anyone like @CommunistsKe persists in ideology, they are frustrated by bureaucracy.
@CotuOfficial @CommunistsKe GoK also uses the police to kill or prevent most political meetings, even meetings like asking for energy justice #switchoffkplc. Any gathering that is not religious or supporting the status quo is violently crushed.
The government is afraid of the people, as Shikuku once said.
So by preventing political parties, the president can continue with the lie that politics and development are two seperate things.
But that lie makes sense within the system itself, because the way Kenya is structured, the president controls the government resources.
But that lie makes sense within the system itself, because the way Kenya is structured, the president controls the government resources.
But that problem cannot be solved with a prime-minister or #BBINonsense. What is required is political organizing to demand the removal of the provincial administration of the county commissioners, and the former Tribal police, otherwise known as the Administration police.
We Kenyans must also make it politically costly for Mpigs who do not say anothing about nasty policies like SGR, #HudumaNamba and #competencybasedcurriculum. It's ridiculous that our kids are being dumbed down and our country is in debt as politicians dance at rallies.
This must come from changing our political culture. We have to stop voting for politicians based on goodies and concrete lollipops.
In 2017, I complained about our inability to ask pertinent political questions. And this is what I concluded:
In 2017, I complained about our inability to ask pertinent political questions. And this is what I concluded:
But most of all, we must remove the power of politicians to use the state to implement policy that is not subjected to democratic debate. And we must demand the dissolving of the colonial administration (otherwise known as Administation police and county commissioners).
The politicians and the civil servants are all parasites using the state. Civil servants extort from us, and use our money to bribe politicians with allowances and tenders, and then politicians protect civil servants by passing bad policy and never holding them accountable.
This racket is kept alive by US, UK and EU embassies that support fraudulent elections and that fund noise making like #BBINonsense. We need international solidarity so that American and European citizens know what their governments do in Africa and tell them to stop it.
Development IS political. Politics is decisions about resources and where they go and for what.
Anyone saying development is not politics is a thief. They want to build things without us asking where the money came from, how it was spent, and whether it as a priority.
END.
Anyone saying development is not politics is a thief. They want to build things without us asking where the money came from, how it was spent, and whether it as a priority.
END.
