President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA flag bearer Raila Odinga during a past function. [Photo/The Star]
It is now official that eight presidential candidates will be on the ballot on August 8, with President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA flag bearer Raila Odinga leading the team as per recent opinion polls.
According to political pundit and senior lecturer in the department of religious studies at St Paul's University Joseph Wandera there are three factors that will determine who wins the 2017 elections.
Wandera singled out a little dose of faith, tribe, and money(handouts) as some of the reasons either Raila or Uhuru will win the August 8, elections.
"For instance NASA flag bearer Odinga was appealing to people disaffected with the performance of the Jubilee government. But he was also appealing to the religious sensibilities of the Kenyan electorate where Christianity has a strong presence," said Wandera.
Wandera also points the fact that politicians invest heavily on gospel songs and musicians during their rallies shows that faith is an important vehicle for political mobilisation
"Most of the National Super Alliance’s campaign rallies feature a rendering of the popular gospel song “Mambo yabadilika” (things are a-changing)," he added.
"Kenyatta even had members of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, the National Muslim Leaders Forum and the Jamia Mosque visit State House where they pledged their support for his re-election bid. Religion and politics are entwined, each to some extent complicit in the providential authority of the other," he added.
However, Wandera also sees ethnic affiliations as one of the reason either Uhuru or Raila will take the reigns at the house on the hill.
Calls form both Odinga and Uhuru have been about calling 'our people' to come out in large numbers and vote, meaning ethnicity plays a key role in who wins the elections.
"A third factor makes for an even headier mix – ethnic affiliations. Combined, these three factors distort democracy, and the way in which elections are run in the country," said Wandera.
Finally the pundit, singled out cash handouts as another factor that will ensure either of the eight candidates wins the elections.
"On a recent visit to western Kenya during the party primaries I was struck by how voters’ actively sought cash handouts from politicians. And there is no shortage of candidates ready to offer money to the electorate as an inducement to vote for them," he said.
"A young man who gave me a ride on his motor cycle taxi spoke with pride about his busy schedule these days – “eating campaign money” by night and working by day," he added.
According to Wandera the handouts are ranging from a minimum of Sh100 to Sh1000.
"The amounts they got ranged from around 100 shillings ($1) to 1,000 shillings ($10), often not enough even to feed a family for a day. But the money counts for a lot in the context of extreme poverty," he said.
Demands like this are not unusual during election campaigns in Kenya. They have been a regular feature of elections as long as anyone can remember. So what’s the relationship between religion and handouts? They interact and influence each other in myriad ways. Politicians distribute goods for the bellies of their clients in return for political loyalty.In this context democracy as a competitive process in which citizens freely elect their leaders is thrown out of the window.