Participating In The Re-birth of the Kenyan Nation That Has Started In Earnest on 5th March 2013
By Mwangi Wanjumbi – Newtimes B.S. Chief Trainer/Consultant
Finally, March 4th 2013, the day famous for the first Kenyan Election under the new constitution has now come to pass. Despite being a public holiday, the day was starting earlier than usual for most of us. It was not that we had any other engagements, other than casting our votes. Given that voting stations were opening at 6.am; many Kenyans were up by 4.00 am aiming to exercise their constitutional right at the earliest possible.
The voting day started early for my family. All the 5 of us who happen to be registered voters were up in good time. Safe for my case, the rest were off to their polling station by 7.00 am. Personally, I arrived at my estate primary school based voting station at 9.00 am. Upon arrival, I was taken aback by one long queue, which stretched for almost one km, before reaching the gates of the primary school. It was only after two hours thereafter that I ventured inside the school.
One would have thought that arriving inside the school meant immediately discharging our voting responsibility. Shockingly, that was not to happen soon. There were even longer queues that were circling all the open spaces outside the polling booths located in the various classes that were inside the school compound. Multitudes of both young and old men and women queued patiently as they waited for their turns to vote.
Notably, the sick, elderly, physically challenged as well as mothers with young ones were given priority treatment. Marking of the left hand index finger with indelible ink depicts the end of the voting process. Apparently, even the children accompanying their mothers had their fingers marked too. Upon enquiring on the significance of marking the children, there were some interesting lessons to learn.
The ever creative Kenyans caught electoral officers unawares, during the party nominations. Prospective voters intending to save on time, had some ‘generous’ mothers coming to their rescue. These mothers made good business out of renting out their toddlers for a small fee. It appears that the Independent Electoral and boundaries Commission (IEBC) got wind of this and was therefore leaving nothing to chance.
But, why did this election attract so much enthusiasm from Kenyans if the queues in Nairobi were anything to go by? That seemed to have been the question uppermost in the minds of even the voters themselves. Obviously, there are numerous reasons which may not be tackled in this space.
Nevertheless, it appears that Kenyans are determined to tame the political order of this country. Having gone through unprecedented experiences occasioned by an election process gone awry in 2007, majority have said never again. No wonder, they have taken full advantage of the new constitutional order to eliminate the chances of repeats of 2007 for now and the future.
These are the kind of discussions that kept us busy, as we braved the scorching sun while waiting to cast our votes. The voting itself was a cumbersome process that involved filling 6 pale coloured ballot papers for the different categories of candidates.
But, to get there I had to first produce my identification card which was checked against the manual register. The biometric voter identification system seemed to have its own operational challenges even though it finally displayed my voting details. Having waited from 9.00 am, it was my turn to go home and wait for the results after voting at just about 3.00 pm
Meanwhile, it is important to indicate that 4th March 2013 was just like any other day for me and my family. As many Kenyans embraced panic buying of domestic provisions for fear of unexpected, life went on normally. We did not have the slightest expectations of violence or any anomalies occasioned by the 2013 general elections. We objectively believed in a peaceful election whose outcome will be embraced by all the stakeholders.
At the time of writing, we were already firmly in the 2013 post election period. The same involves patiently waiting for the votes to be counted and results released by the IEBC. Naturally, we will expect losers and winners coming out of the whole exercise.
We will look forward to graceful conceding of defeat by the losers. We will also anticipate situations where the winners adorably embrace the losers. That for now is the best that can happen to a re-branded nation, whose renewed direction starts in earnest March 5th 2013 upon successful conclusion of the national elections.
(Welcome for more STRUCTURED learning on how politics affect business and economic development, In our Business Leadership and Performance Management Training as well as Strategic Leadership & Management Workshops. Meanwhile, please note that personal and team assessment tips/guides on desirable re-alignment strategies, are now incorporated into all our training programs. This is in realization that people will inevitably unleash their potential only when work becomes fun. (For guidance see Calendar and Training Plans attached)