Mr. Politician I believe

Mr. Politician how are you? Now that you’re campaigning new slogans are coming like I Believe campaign slogan. A slogan is very important. It can cause people to believe in you, to push for your agenda. Look at Obama and change we can believe in campaign with the slogan Yes we can. It conjured images in people’s minds and gave them hope that things will change and can change. It was a brilliant Public Relations strategy. It did help however that he meant it.

Now Mr. Politician back to you. I believe that people can change. A person can look in the mirror and realize that they don’t like what they see. They can decide to change for the better. They can change their ways as Michael Jackson sang in the song Man in the mirror. It is possible. As you know man is a creature that evolves (not in the Darwin sense). Man has the capacity to change either due to circumstances, or internal forces that drive him among other things.

Now you claim that you are a new man. You are not the man you used to be. You have changed. You want me not to look at your past but look at the future you are painting for this country and believe in it. You want me to forget all the injustices you, your friends, and family have caused to this country. You want me to believe in a Public relations exercise that was done in pomp and colour.

You want me to believe in you. That you have a vision for this country and that you will take this country far. I want to believe but I can’t. Your like a snake, you keep shedding your skin and take on a new pattern but underneath nothing has changed. You look beautiful, your new skin glistens in the sun but your eyes your eyes are still the same. And the venom that you have inside you to poison is still there. You’re a snake waiting to bite. As a friend of yours said, a fellow politician you don’t rattle a rattlesnake and don’t expect it to bite.

You all keep saying you have changed. But guess what it is same script, different cast. If you have changed why isn’t your record changing? Why am I not seeing development? Why am I not seeing change in your constituency? Why isn’t your CDF working at 100% and always seems to have funds that have gone missing or been misused? Why do you still have scandals? Why does your constituency continue to have floods or famines all year around? Why are your people still very poor without schools, hospitals and no income generating projects etc yet you have a CDF kitty? Why is the CDF committee made up of your friends and family and no professionals? Why is your ministry filled with members of your tribe? Why are the IDP’s still languishing in camps? Why do I keep seeing you in Parliament asleep when you should be articulating the citizens issues?

You want to lead the country fine. But your record does not give me hope. Your record doesn’t make me want to believe that you are the man or woman for the job. I want to believe in your brilliant PR exercises that are colorful and entertaining. In your speeches that make Kenya seem like it is on the brink of getting a Moses to lead us out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. I want to believe in you and your campaign. Sadly I don’t believe. Because even though I believe in change, I believe in giving second chances I don’t believe that you have changed, you’re still the man you used to be. And that man is not good for my future, for my constituency and for my country.

I am sorry Mr. Politician I don’t believe in you. That's I am not going to vote for you as president.

Sincerely the citizen.