When Mistrust Supplants Ideology

What would crystallize in a politically fractious state particularly when leadership cannot give citizens at least the benefit of doubt on all its ideologies? Civic support would stand any government on a platform among dynamically developing states.

When the public is deprived of the morale to trust at least some developmental and political ideologies if not all, cohesiveness and tranquility in a state could be pushed to an edge. In an atmosphere of paranoia, efficacy for any leadership is a dream not to come true. Citizens usually lose touch with the need to execute every duty due of them as legitimate country-dwellers and this turns out as an obstacle to good governance.

Similar to most pan-African states, Kenya is tall among corrupt countries not to mention its volatile political environments. The same ‘ancestral spirit’ of selfishness still haunts governments hence fracturing the core of every attempt towards good governance.

Kenya would spectacularly undergo a political regeneration now compared to the previous regimes. Citizens were gradually getting impressed by ideologies over political and tribal groupings that formed major bandwagons. This was so until no ideology birthed at least the minimum expectations.

At the expense of a political rebirth into a world of ineffable leadership achievements, failures bore a paranoiac breed of citizens good for upheavals and activities eliciting nothing short of disappointment and betrayal. A momentous revolution was to be occasioned by the popular Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) in the country. A classical ideology, but the historical accounts of the men and women in leadership presented every evidence for a substantial block of Kenyans to suspect all manner of selfishness and would suspect even the slightest impossible scenario from it. It did not count that the initiative was presented as a panacea to all social and economic needs. A noticeable number of citizens did consider it a goose to political milestones for the leaders but not to the fulfillment of developmental ideologies.

Even in the midst of a hard biting pandemic, online demos have clearly indicated that leadership in Kenya ought to brace itself to build trust from its citizens. On the contrary, criticism is inevitable even under unlikely circumstances. Many Kenyans still think the government is on a reaping season at least from the various domestic and foreign donations.

How should leaders deal with this? Is there ostensibility revealed amidst the so much campaigned for ideologies? Why is this so? Do the ideologies turn out as a means to acquire power in the long-run ? Would citizens get to consider the government’s steps and strategies as sure ones?

Just speaking value to leadership.

Duncan Maigua,

Communication strategist, publicist and relations expert