[Photo/ laosongs]
As we vote for our leaders for the next five years, we as Kenyans must remember that the country is bigger than any one individual and it is important to remain peaceful during and after the general election. We should not let politicians set us up against each other, as ordinary Kenyans, and destroy one another other in their names. Your neighbor, even with divergent political views, remains more helpful to you than a politician who may not even know you by name. In case you have a problem, it is your next door person who is more likely to come to your aid. As you have seen before, politicians tend to disappear from the ground after elections. Although Kenyans learned a bitter lesson after the 2007/08 general election, in which more than 1,000 people were killed and another 600,000 displaced from their homes, there are are still some aspirants who think they can incite people to go to the streets and attack other Kenyans.
It is important to remember that should you be found breaking any law just because you have been paid by a politician, you will face the long arm of the law alone. That politician will not rescue you. Let’s all shame those politicians who want to misuse the youth by ignoring and shunning them. No matter what happens on Tuesday, there will be Kenya on Wednesday and the days to come. August 8 will not be the end of the world if any politician will not win. There is always a next time to try. After voting, let us go home safely and monitor the election results on TV. Do not heed any call to go to the streets thereafter to protest election results of any politician. The courts are open to resolve such disputes.