By Makau MutuaProfessor at SUNY Buffalo Law School and Chair of the KHRC.
What you need to know:
Your job isn’t to accept line, hook, and sinker – like a pit latrine – everything that comes out of a politician’s mouth.Scrutinise the family background, education, personal and social relationships with partners, spouses, children, and close friends.
Let me state the bottom line upfront. Presidential candidates – in any country – aren’t saints. If you are looking for angels, go to heaven, or visit the grounds of the church, mosque, the African spirit world, or the temple. Here on Earth, politicians are living, breathing, fallible human beings.
Remember the admonition in the Holy Book in Romans 3:23 – “[f]or all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” So, dismiss those who say “God is with us” as though they are holy. Those who wear their piety on their sleeves and tongues are likely closer to the devil. Let’s not judge Bible-clutching politicians by their empty rhetoric. Here, I offer you a marking scheme for presidential hopefuls.
Let me frame your critical thinking. Only fools, or those without a choice, answer the call of nature in public. Most of us “do our business” behind the door of a bathroom, or restroom. That’s to say, no one wants you to see their dirty laundry. It’s the reason politicians lie, embellish, and exaggerate – they want you to think they are infallible.
Thus, your job isn’t to accept line, hook, and sinker – like a pit latrine – everything that comes out of a politician’s mouth. Don’t believe your lying ears. “Know” the candidates. Knowledge is everything. Do your own research. Talk to people who’ve studied the candidates. Then compare and contrast the candidates. Don’t believe twitter or Facebook blather.
Candidate’s moral structure
Here’s the marking scheme by which to judge the candidates so you can separate the wheat from the chaff.
First, get your facts straight about the personal histories of candidates. This is an indispensable block of your knowledge base. Personal history is a clear window into how the person has been forged, and what makes them tick. Scrutinise the family background, education, personal and social relationships with partners, spouses, children, and close friends. What company does the candidate keep? Does he oppress family members? Do those close to him fear, or respect, him? Is he humble when not in front of cameras? Is money his currency of the realm? Is he real, or fake?
Second, understand the candidate’s moral structure. How and why did the candidate enter politics? What motivated them to choose politics over other professional pursuits? Often, politicians say they entered the political arena to serve the people. For most of them, that’s a bunch of hooey. That line is as old as the oldest profession. The real clues about why a person joined politics is often hiding in plain sight. The most telling one is the size of their estate. What did the person own before they joined politics, and what do they possess today? If a chap is riding in his own helicopter, or a fleet of them, when a decade ago he rode matatus, then there’s your answer.
Candidate’s political history
Did the candidate join politics at the behest of a godfather? Who was that Svengali? Was the political father a corrupt thieving dictator, or thug? Remember, as in the Mafiosi, the first thing the mafia don, or crime boss, does is take your hand and “dip it in blood”. That’s the bond which binds you to the “organisation”. You must do something to prove yourself – usually committing a cold-blooded murder, or pulling off a heist. It’s called the school of hard knocks. The more bloodlust you exhibit, the higher you go. That’s why in Kenya, criminal thieves of public funds aren’t usually held to account because the web of elite thieves and the official protection rackets are too interwoven.
Third, what’s the candidate’s political history? What values and ideological hue have driven the candidate? This is easily gleaned from the causes that the candidate has championed. Does the candidate have a history of sacrifice, or fighting for causes nobler than lining his own pockets? In the case of Kenya, where was the candidate at the height of the Moi-Kanu dictatorship and kleptocracy? Did they oppose Kanu’s brutalities, impunity, and runaway thefts of public funds and resources? Were they themselves involved in the plunder? Did the candidate ever participate in criminal activities, including harming others? Have they fought for democracy and human rights, or anything larger than their personal business and political power? Did they support the 2010 Constitution?
Finally, what’s the candidate’s ideological history. The past is prologue. You are likely to do in the future what you did in the past. There’s a reason the campaign period is called the “silly season”. Anything goes. Candidates hope that you will forget their ideological history. They will make promises and deploy slogans that have nothing to do with their history or ideological make-up. They know all they need to do is say anything that will get them elected. That’s because many of them sell snake oil to a gullible hoi polloi. Remember those who voted for Jubilee in 2013 and 2017 are now crying the loudest.
What you need to know:
Your job isn’t to accept line, hook, and sinker – like a pit latrine – everything that comes out of a politician’s mouth.Scrutinise the family background, education, personal and social relationships with partners, spouses, children, and close friends.
Let me state the bottom line upfront. Presidential candidates – in any country – aren’t saints. If you are looking for angels, go to heaven, or visit the grounds of the church, mosque, the African spirit world, or the temple. Here on Earth, politicians are living, breathing, fallible human beings.
Remember the admonition in the Holy Book in Romans 3:23 – “[f]or all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” So, dismiss those who say “God is with us” as though they are holy. Those who wear their piety on their sleeves and tongues are likely closer to the devil. Let’s not judge Bible-clutching politicians by their empty rhetoric. Here, I offer you a marking scheme for presidential hopefuls.
Let me frame your critical thinking. Only fools, or those without a choice, answer the call of nature in public. Most of us “do our business” behind the door of a bathroom, or restroom. That’s to say, no one wants you to see their dirty laundry. It’s the reason politicians lie, embellish, and exaggerate – they want you to think they are infallible.
Thus, your job isn’t to accept line, hook, and sinker – like a pit latrine – everything that comes out of a politician’s mouth. Don’t believe your lying ears. “Know” the candidates. Knowledge is everything. Do your own research. Talk to people who’ve studied the candidates. Then compare and contrast the candidates. Don’t believe twitter or Facebook blather.
Candidate’s moral structure
Here’s the marking scheme by which to judge the candidates so you can separate the wheat from the chaff.
First, get your facts straight about the personal histories of candidates. This is an indispensable block of your knowledge base. Personal history is a clear window into how the person has been forged, and what makes them tick. Scrutinise the family background, education, personal and social relationships with partners, spouses, children, and close friends. What company does the candidate keep? Does he oppress family members? Do those close to him fear, or respect, him? Is he humble when not in front of cameras? Is money his currency of the realm? Is he real, or fake?
Second, understand the candidate’s moral structure. How and why did the candidate enter politics? What motivated them to choose politics over other professional pursuits? Often, politicians say they entered the political arena to serve the people. For most of them, that’s a bunch of hooey. That line is as old as the oldest profession. The real clues about why a person joined politics is often hiding in plain sight. The most telling one is the size of their estate. What did the person own before they joined politics, and what do they possess today? If a chap is riding in his own helicopter, or a fleet of them, when a decade ago he rode matatus, then there’s your answer.
Candidate’s political history
Did the candidate join politics at the behest of a godfather? Who was that Svengali? Was the political father a corrupt thieving dictator, or thug? Remember, as in the Mafiosi, the first thing the mafia don, or crime boss, does is take your hand and “dip it in blood”. That’s the bond which binds you to the “organisation”. You must do something to prove yourself – usually committing a cold-blooded murder, or pulling off a heist. It’s called the school of hard knocks. The more bloodlust you exhibit, the higher you go. That’s why in Kenya, criminal thieves of public funds aren’t usually held to account because the web of elite thieves and the official protection rackets are too interwoven.
Third, what’s the candidate’s political history? What values and ideological hue have driven the candidate? This is easily gleaned from the causes that the candidate has championed. Does the candidate have a history of sacrifice, or fighting for causes nobler than lining his own pockets? In the case of Kenya, where was the candidate at the height of the Moi-Kanu dictatorship and kleptocracy? Did they oppose Kanu’s brutalities, impunity, and runaway thefts of public funds and resources? Were they themselves involved in the plunder? Did the candidate ever participate in criminal activities, including harming others? Have they fought for democracy and human rights, or anything larger than their personal business and political power? Did they support the 2010 Constitution?
Finally, what’s the candidate’s ideological history. The past is prologue. You are likely to do in the future what you did in the past. There’s a reason the campaign period is called the “silly season”. Anything goes. Candidates hope that you will forget their ideological history. They will make promises and deploy slogans that have nothing to do with their history or ideological make-up. They know all they need to do is say anything that will get them elected. That’s because many of them sell snake oil to a gullible hoi polloi. Remember those who voted for Jubilee in 2013 and 2017 are now crying the loudest.
Makau Mutua is SUNY Distinguished Professor and Margaret W. Wong Professor at Buffalo Law School. He’s chair of KHRC. @makaumutua
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