political class - Hellen Kimaru

Dashed hopes: Shattered Dreams

Hellen Kimaru / April 24, 2025

Do you see them, Young energetic and eager, Their faces brightened with hope the day they walked out of those educational institutions, With their certificates, diplomas and degrees, Their mission, To contribute and change a small part of their world. Do you see him, How he makes promises on every public platform and behind every microphone? Of economic growth, How he will address unemployment, Jobs, jobs, jobs, Technologia. Do you see them, The factories, The foreign companies, The way they close shop every day, The way the cotton farms, the pyrethrum farms, the sugarcane farms, the textile EPZ, Did you notice how they faded into thin air? Yet every year, Children of the nation filled with hope, They hope to earn a decent wage, Live decent lives. Do you see them scavenging? Their ID and certificates at hand. He will gather them at the public arena, Remind them of his humble beginnings, The son of a peasant, Making a name for himself amongst the political bigwigs, How he built from scratch, He started with an egg, And now is the biggest distributor of eggs in the east, west, north and south, That if they work a little hard, They will get there, That they should give him another political term to fulfill all his promises. Dashed hopes, Politically killed dreams.

What lies!

He told so many lies he forgot what the truth looked like, He sowed seeds of hope that he could not keep up with, He took away from the poor their last dime in the name of development, Then he vanished until the next elections. Now we see him walking, He wants to be relatable, So, he left his range rover at the edge of the village. He knocks on every door, Accepting the cup of tea offered with disdain, He is selling his manifesto again A humble servant of the people, He wants us to re-elect him, That he will finish tarmacking the old Nairobi Road. That the government hospital will finally get a new x-ray machine in his new term, That the new health insurance will finally cover the poor Eti afya yangu bima yangu. He came with his usual bribe, A 50 bob here and there, A packet of unga, He left feeling accomplished, That a difference he had made. We looked at him disappear, We now know his tactics, Tomorrow we will show up at the ballot box and vote for change, We are tired! And we finally realize that it has always been our decision to make!