HERE is WHY Kenyans will NOT VOTE for Uhuru and Ruto in 2017

Elections 2017: Unless the BVR Kits Malfunction, Here Is Why UhuRuto Might not be Reelected
By Albert Nyakundi Amenya – Banana Pedlar, Kitutu Chache North

As I look forward to August 2017 elections, I can only make intelligent guesses. First off, as I make these remarks, and going by the political temperature, I am not sure if elections will take place. Given the harsh political atmospheric pressure facing this administration following failed promises coupled with mega corruption scandals, there are strong indications that Uhuru will postpone 2017 polls, but I am not sure. Let us assume there’s no going back to 2007 and that somebody is not planning to force “Kivuitu”, at gunpoint, to throw in the towel.

I hope that Kenyans will seize the opportunity of the ballot box to redirect the course of our history. It remains to be seen if Kenyans will vote back the ‘apostles of continuity’ or the ‘Apostles of Change’ Dear fellow Kenyans, voting for the Apostles of Continuity will mean that we shall continue to live in darkness and led by impunity and corruption infested administration. Valiant people of this great nation, voting for the masters of continuity will further nail our confine and consign the poor vulnerable to be perpetual slaves in their land of birth. But, voting change beckons in unmistakable terms and I known when placed side by side, Kenyans will vote for change rather than continuity.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the ascendancy of the Jubilee Coalition to the highest office in the land has brought nothing but untold hardship on the people. Uhuru and Ruto promised pupils milk but failed to notify them that the milk they wanted to give them was not from the cow, but that of an elephant which is expected to give birth this April – exactly 21 months since they took over, and also the normal gestation period of an elephant. This is a government that has watched while its officials plunder the nation’s treasury to near zero.

This is an administration that went prodigal with our resources only to slam austerity measures on the poor masses at the slightest economic shocks. This is a government that could not or refused to tackle insurgency in parts of the country only to claim it has achieved a measure of victory in just five weeks. This is a government whose policies or lack of it have sufficiently hampered industrial growth and yet say it is providing jobs through ‘you-win’ or ‘you-lose’ enterprises.

Kenyans must now decide between change and continuity. The former promises great hope and optimism while the latter spells doom because they can only continue to buffet us. For over 15 years Kenyans have continued to suffer from the effects of impunity and corruption. We have lived in darkness – no electricity, no water, no opportunities for our children. The Jubilee government has ruined the lives of generations.
The inability or unwillingness of the Uhuru administrations to checkmate the history of impunity for very serious crimes has emboldened politicians to continue to engage in acts inimical to the growth and development of our country. We must ensure we elect a President that will not only dismantle this architecture of impunity but rebuild our society based on the rule of law.

What dire challenges confront us today? The institutionalization of armed robbery and terrorism, the endless series of kidnapping, the ravages of ethnic militias like the Mungiki and Sungusungu, the nepotistic awarding of mouth-watering contracts to policymakers through rub my back I rub your back charade by the present administration, political actors and indeed the government who create militia groups for political ends and deny it later?

Now they are out on the streets. Who is more poised to give the anti-corruption commissions the needed impetus to end the stealing and misuse of public wealth? Who among the two frontrunners will strengthen the judiciary and provide it with adequate resources, reform the security sector and ensure that Kenya’s teaming population can benefit from the country’s abundant natural resources?

Whereas as a nation we owe it to our youth to provide them with an opportunity to gain the skills that will enable them to keep Kenya as the greatest nation in the world, successive Jubilee administrations including the present one have frustrated them and turned to them to recruit for political banditry. We need a President who can give the youths their pride of place as future leaders. We need a president who will not only turn our socio-economic woes around but one that will make our country to become a destination of pride and purpose.

We need a President who will reform and reequip our security forces and root out endemic corruption which for decades impeded Kenya’s access to basic health care, education, and other socio-economic rights. Despite the recent rebasing of our economy and vast valuable mineral resources Kenya remains one of the world’s poorest countries on the World Bank Index. The recent assessment by the World Bank on the situation of poverty in the world, where it ranked Kenya fifth among the world’s 10 countries with extreme poor citizens cannot be allowed to continue by those championing “continuity” in the forthcoming elections.

Kenyans must as a necessity realize that the woeful result of the World Bank report is a wake-up call to vote “change”. From the assessment, the World Bank established that Kenya with about 45 million population falls among countries with extreme poverty whose over 70% population live on $1 (Ksh.85) or even less per day. Specifically, the report showed that 3 per cent of the 1.2 billion people living below poverty line in the world are Nigerians. “The fact is that two-thirds of the world’s extreme poor are concentrated in just five countries: India, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). If you add another four countries: Indonesia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Ethiopia and China, the total grows to 80 per cent of the world’s extreme poor,” the report stated.

In 2017, it is only the presidential election, not the Gubernatorial, Member of Parliament, Senatorial, Women Rep, or Member of County Assembly election expected on the same day, that will truly matter. Although the BVR kits will as well be the cynosure of naked eyes, I expect the devices to spark a revolution to the general elections. Unfortunately, it might be the game changer.

I will rather vote for a forward looking candidate with a rich pedigree and royal courage, I’d rather vote for a leader with a clear vision and adept proactiveness in leadership. As an already humiliated Kenyan I’ll elect a dependable and a shrewd manager of the people’s resources than a profligate, visionless and laid-back candidate in the name of continuity. We are at a crossroads and the way we cast our votes come 2017 will determine whether we are ready to leave Egypt for the Promised Land or stay in Egypt and dine with the Pharaohs.

What we need more than ever is a visionary leader whose bipartisan efforts, cross-sector support, resilience in the face of obstacles, and singularity of focus will raise and put our country on the path of growth again. Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga – the Presidential candidate of the Coalition of Reforms and Democracy (CORD) today represents the face of change in Kenya. He is widely acclaimed both at the local and international levels to posses the Midas touch that will ensure growth and speed on our progress.