It is tough being a Kenyan right now. The economy is in the pits, businesses are doing badly and if bills won’t kill us, then the political uncertainty of days to come definitely will. There is something in the air right now in this country. And if we are being honest with ourselves, it is beginning to seem a little too coordinated, a little too certain about the future. The message is subtle but persistent. Even if we vote, it won’t matter. The outcome is already decided.
You have probably seen that on X or tiktok, or even heard it in person. The bigger probability is that you have even said it yourself, to friends while you were out drinking. They on the other hand, probably shook their heads in agreement – not a single voice could argue with such solid logic.
It sounds like realism, feels like truth. But it is, at its core, something far more dangerous. This statement, simple in it’s wording, hata tukivote wataiba tu, is defeatism dressed up as wisdom.
Because if you can convince a people that their voice does not matter, you do not need to silence them. You will have already won half the race as they will silence themselves.
And that is exactly why, now more than ever, the most radical thing an ordinary Kenyan can do is simply to register as a voter. Every single Kenyan that is eligible, should treat it with the urgency it deserves. Not tomorrow, or “when things are clearer.” Now.
We are being pulled, deliberately, into the end of the story before we have even begun writing the first chapter. We are arguing about whether votes will count before we have even ensured that we have votes to cast, smh. It is like refusing to plant because you are already convinced the harvest will fail.
But democracy, flawed as it may be, has always started with a basic, stubborn act of participation. Show up. That is all it takes. That is where it starts. Everything else comes after.
And let us not even start on the tribal rhetoric. Old wounds being reopened (speaking to you, NTV) and familiar lines being drawn. Very suspect, making documentaries about 2007 PEV. But, what do I know? The world of politics is complex, and I am just but a girl with a blog that writes about lifestyle content. Someone somewhere will probably say, stick to what you know best! and they could be right. Still, even in my naivety, I cannot help but ask, to what ends? What is the purpose of that documentary, just some months to elections? A threat?
Anyways, all these tribal sentiments being brought up, all these distractions are a trap.
Always, a divided population is easier to discourage. Easier to manipulate, and ultimately, easier to defeat. When we are busy arguing over who belongs where, we stop asking the harder, more important questions: What kind of country do we want? What kind of leadership do we deserve? Most importantly, why is this country being looted to the ground?
The bigger picture begins to blur, which at the end of the day, is part of the strategy. So this is a quiet, but firm reminder.
You do not control everything that will happen after an election. None of us do. But you control whether you participate in the process at all. You control whether your name is on that register. You control whether you show up. Let us not skip steps. Do not surrender before the race begins.
Do not let noise, whether it is fear, propaganda or tribal division, convince you to sit this one out. History has never been shaped by those who assumed their actions would not matter. It has always been shaped by those who showed up anyway.
Register as a voter, today.
