When the revolution began, for most of us, it felt like, finally, people are starting to get it. It felt like the wave of a new public order was yonder. It felt like we were about to rescue our country from the same old tired faces of corruption who believe they are the elite and not public servants who are meant to serve.
However, the events of the last few weeks makes me feel like we got tired of standing at a party for too long and we invoked a game of musical chairs. Only for the music to stop with us being the only ones standing at a less disadvantaged position than when we were when we first started. Meanwhile, President Ruto is holding the remote and sitting quite still in his comfy chair, welcoming latecomers to some of the highest seats available.
Throughout the mass protests and revolution movement that started because of the Finance Bill, I was curious to see how President Ruto would wiggle himself out of it. For the most part, we seemed to have him cornered. Sometimes, he was shedding his own layers in front of the public, exposing his true nature, only for the man to emerge even more victorious. How? He played the music of the piped piper and the people followed. My people…
As a native from the coastal region, I have been one of the most critical voices from the region. I speak from a place of knowledge, from experience and a position of understanding. I lay the blame where it lies without prejudice. And I have often said that I hold the people equally responsible for the problems in our region as much as I hold the administration responsible.
That gut sinking feeling, mixed with annoyance at the situation at hand and the comprehension that nothing will change for my people because they don't want it to change, was reawakened last week when I watched the mobs rallying around the President. I looked at the excited mobs in disbelief, thinking, “Did you not see how we just fought against this administration?”
How can a people be so blind to the harsh realities of the world? We all knew what Ruto was trying to accomplish by nominating a coastal public figure to the Cabinet. It is the same thing he was doing in other regions. The man was reshuffling the deck to secure his position for as long as he could. Just when the youth had him cornered and almost court-martialed him out of State House, the President seems to have emerged more victorious than ever.
The problem is, as much as Ruto’s scheme was transparent, it worked! I looked at the mobs surrounding him in Mombasa all excited because one guy who shall remain nameless hereon was named as a ministerial potential. We are talking about one out of a million-plus individuals who live in Mombasa. By the way, the nameless nominee lives in one county while ‘representing’ another.
This person had been active in the administration and political scene of Mombasa for more than two decades! Now as a Mombasa resident or visitor, ask yourself this: Have there been any developments that have benefited the people of Mombasa in the last 24 years?
The water pipes are for show, the drainage pipes have not worked since they were first implemented, and sanitation systems are a foreign concept. Yet the people have the energy to mobilise en masse to cheer on two of the wealthiest men in the country.
The saddest part I know is that, after all the cheering and excitement, the President and the nominee were going to take private jets to their palatial homes, while the people would be left to fight over the measly hundreds forked out to buy their time.