Choppers parked at Eldoret Sports Club before a campaign rally. A helicopter has become the status symbol in today’s politics. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The skies in rural Kenya have never been busier with little planes carrying politicians to their homes and the odd project for photo-opportunity.
Kenyan politicians’ feet are not touching the ground currently, if they tried with competition among them to acquire private planes is getting stiffer by the day. This phenomenon is something I haven’t seen even with politicians in the countries that make the planes for the rest of the world, such as the UK and the US.
I just recently told Kenyan friends a story about sharing trains, underground trains and buses with politicians while studying in the UK. No one bats an eyelid when a minister jostles for position in the underground or when the London mayor trots in with his bicycles on the way to work or after. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was a well-known public transport user and keen cyclist and runner, whom you could bump into in the city with little to no bodyguards.
Another former mayor, Ken Livingstone, walked everywhere. I took my morning train to work and college with my local MP every morning. How many Kenyans see their representatives after elections? Not in matatus but in real life?
Kenyan politicians are, in fact, good at causing gridlock on the roads as if the job comes with the privilege of driving against traffic rushing nowhere faster but to the looting station. The moment Kenyans are elected to a position of authority, there is the presumption that they are above the law, and can drive, build and fly whichever way they please.
Political rallies
Until politicians start to be charged with traffic offences, the chaos on the roads, especially in Nairobi, will just get worse. The choppers are also becoming a nuisance, as they are parked or land whenever a politician pleases, with little regard for the safety of poor local communities or assembled crowds, as the case may be with political rallies.
The recent plane accident that claimed the life of an MP and other passengers made me question whether Kenyan taxpayers are getting value for money or are being taken for fools. The rush to acquire private planes by politicians is largely to avoid mad traffic in most towns and the terrible rural roads. It is extraordinary to see the distance politicians put between themselves and development as if they were not elected in the first place to develop their areas. The mess that led to bad roads and congested traffic is the creation of politicians who have abandoned their responsibilities.
No amount of flying or building a private fool’s paradise in the name of expensive and exclusive mansions will solve these problems. Potholes won’t fill themselves, nor would hospitals and schools build themselves.
Nothing looks out of place more than a grand building, whether that be a 10-bedroom mansion or an ornate church or mosque in the middle of a poor village or slum. Yet, somehow, this is the picture currently copied and pasted in many parts of Kenya in desperate need of public service. The question then is, if the politicians have found a faster way to move, could they not put the same effort into delivering public services faster? It is their legal and fiduciary duties after all. In some cases, it is a moral duty.
Private plane
When I see a politician gloating about a beautiful house and private plane in a country with a high unemployment and poverty rate, I tend to ask how many clinics, schools and industries the cost of the expensive house and plane could have built!
I am not jealous, just curious, as I see that Kenyan politicians are trying to fly before they can crawl. It also shows the abrogation of duty on their part. The flashing of obscene personal wealth by Kenyan politicians calls for more questions than answers. How the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is silent when it comes to politicians’ wealth leaves a lot to be desired, because I bet a lot of politicians cannot account for the unexplained wealth.
What is being witnessed in Kenya amidst runaway poverty is daylight robbery. How politicians in Kenya become wealthy within a year or two after the election needs to be studied. It boggles the mind of economists, I bet, but surely not that of anti-corruption officials. If roads are not built, but an MP can afford a private plane, then questions ought to be asked. Or do we always have to direct the EACC on where to look?
Ending corruption must start at the heart of government. If it is not eradicated within the political sphere and the entire government, then the EACC is not serious about its job. An MP’s salary is too low to afford a private plane. It may be a diversion of money meant for better roads and a transport system for all. Bad roads are bad for hoi polloi too! If private planes are banned for politicians, Kenya may just be lucky to get better roads built at last!
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Ms Guyo is a legal researcher; [email protected]; @kdiguyo.
