The Bahatian

Perhaps he was renowned for the simple life he led. If there was any frugal person under the sun, it was him. Unbeknown to many back then, he was also a miser. For, despite being in a good salaried government job, he denied self and his family the luxuries of life. He used public transport to commute to his work, having turned down the company’s offer for a car based on his seniority. His children attended local public schools, unlike those of his colleagues who were schooled in high end private schools as has become the norm for children of civil servants. If you asked him why the choice of school for his children, he would have told you private institutions were mere cash making business entities.

That there is a dearth of readership in the country is not in contention. Majority of Kenyans, so it has been said, will read in order to pass examinations. Rarely do we see youths engaged in literary discourses outside the domains of learning institutions. And with plenty of idle time at their hands, most have their eyes glued to their smartphones going through social media sites updating their status, liking posts, befriending or simply following strangers.

Truth, they say, hurts. And that is the reason the sycophants of the politicians will, in their praise and worship of their master, attack one like vicious dogs let loose. They are like artists who depict their masters in exaggerated details thinking everyone will see a princely person behind the false façade. I’ll illustrate this with a story. A mono-eyed king happened to rule in a certain kingdom. One day, he was invited to attend a state event by the ruler of another kingdom across the border. The king, elated, decided to first send an emissary bearing his portrait to his would be host before the great day.

The last thing I would want to be is a sycophant singing praises to our irredeemably corrupt politicians. It is not lost some politicians are performers, though, and can deliver on their mandate. What makes for an interesting observation, however, is to see the people some of them surround themselves with.   Be it the employees in their offices, the paid for bloggers and the cheerleaders, its inescapable some of these people are behind the negative image or perceptions the public have against them. Forget those rosy posts on social media or blogs that are purportedly to enhance a politician’s image, for, far from it, they tend to serve the contrary.