Why I Gave Up Pursuing a Political Career

As the 2007 general elections were nearing and getting riveting, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine at the university JKUAT when I remarked, "These politics of Kenya are very tribal." The friend agreed, then sagely added, "And very local."

It must have been around then that I set my sights on becoming president of our nation someday. And I nurtured that dream in the years that followed with a goal of becoming a different kind of politician: a charismatic and eloquent leader with a nationwide appeal.

In an effort to bring that dream to fruition, I read biographies of my role models in politics (most of them Americans) and listened to their speeches on YouTube. Among the speeches I listened to were the first inaugural addresses of Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. Those two speeches are in a word, inspiring.

Sometime last year, it dawned on me that the observations my friend and I made in 2007 about Kenya's politics - that they are tribal and local - were right and spot on. Unlike America, Kenya is not a mature democracy going by its current politics characterized by tribal-based voting and rigging of elections.

Bill Clinton points that out in his memoir by saying that many democracies in the world don't have the kind of effective institutions and legions of dedicated public servants that Americans take for granted. Kenya is one of those democracies that are yet to mature.

The immaturity of our nation's politics and the lack of order and discipline that are often too much in evidence in our governmental affairs, and bearing in mind that I am a good-natured young man, are what led me to eventually give up my ambition of becoming president of Kenya someday. Expecting me to thrive as a politician in Kenya is both cruel and unrealistic.

I sincerely don't know why I stuck for over ten years to that dream of getting into politics. Maybe it's because I have always been inspired by the school song of Starehe Boys' Centre, my Alma Mater, where we pledged to serve diligently when our time in government reached.

Or maybe it's because politicians here in Kenya seem to attract all the attention. You see, newspapers' front-page headlines are almost always about politics. And when you eavesdrop on people talking idly in pubs and cafes, their talks are usually about politics, if not football.

Come to think of it, we don't have to enter politics to impact lives. History is replete with heroes who made pivotal contributions in other fields of endeavour besides politics, such as William Shakespeare in literature, Albert Einstein in physics, Alexander Fleming in medicine, George F. Handel in music, Charles Lindberg in aviation, Henry Ford in entrepreneurship and Isaac Newton in mathematics.

I could go on and on to list more examples but I beg to stop there in the interest of time. But I guess you get my point that I don't have to get into politics to impact lives and leave a legacy. I am therefore at peace with my decision to not pursue a political career.

That however doesn't mean I have become disinterested in the affairs of my Motherland. I am always wishing for peace and stability to prevail in Kenya so that I don't get displaced from my beloved hometown of Kiserian as a result of tribal violence or civil war. And I have vowed that should I ever note an upcoming Kenyan politician in the mould of Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan, I will endorse his election.

You may be asking, "Thuita, now that you have given up getting into politics, which career are you planning to pursue?" Well, I will tell you about that in my next story, God willing. So stay tuned to this lovely blog of mine.