How democracy is being sold in marketplaces and churches in Ol Kalou
Opinion
By
Mburu Wamatangi
| Jun 16, 2026
A thousand shillings can buy a packet of unga, a few tomatoes and perhaps enough vegetables for a day's meal. But somewhere along the way, we allowed it to buy something far more expensive, our voice. As Ol Kalou prepares for a by-election, familiar drums are beginning to beat. Not the drums of ideas. Not the drums of development. Not even the drums of accountability.
The drums we hear are those of carefully choreographed generosity. Women gather under tents. Youths are summoned in the name of empowerment. The elderly are invited in the name of support. Then envelopes appear. Smiles broaden. Names are recorded. Identification card numbers are shared. In some instances, fingerprints are taken as if citizenship itself has become a receipt of purchase. The tragedy is not that people accept the money. Hunger has a way of negotiating with dignity. Empty pockets often silence principles.
The real tragedy is that those distributing the money understand this too well. They know that desperation is fertile ground for manipulation. They know that when a mother worries about supper, democracy becomes a luxury she can scarcely afford. What we are witnessing is not empowerment. Empowerment does not arrive carrying a camera crew and disappear immediately after applause. Empowerment builds skills. It creates jobs. It leaves people stronger than it found them.
What we are seeing instead are carefully packaged political investments disguised as charity. The language is polished. The banners are colourful. The speeches are inspiring. But beneath the wrapping paper sits the same old gift: Voter bribery wearing a fresh suit. The church has not been spared either. Generous donations arrive at sanctuaries. Contributions flow with remarkable enthusiasm. Front pews suddenly become crowded with politicians. Congregations cheer. Photographs are taken. Hands are raised in prayer.
Yet one cannot help but wonder whether some of these donations are offerings to God or deposits into a political account expected to mature on polling day. Then there are the endless pilgrimages to State House. Convoys arrive carrying delegations carefully selected to represent communities. Pictures are taken against manicured lawns. Speeches are made. Promises are exchanged. And too often, those who return whisper about cash gifts handed out as souvenirs of the visit. It is a troubling culture that risks turning citizenship into a transaction and leadership into an auction.
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Democracy was never meant to be sold retail. The vote is the only thing that makes a millionaire and a hawker equal for one brief moment. Inside a polling booth, wealth loses its voice. Titles lose their power. Convoys lose their sirens. Every vote carries the same weight. That sacred equality is what voter bribery seeks to destroy. The painful irony is that the Sh1,000 disappears almost immediately.
The unga is consumed. The vegetables are cooked. The note changes hands several times and vanishes. But the consequences remain for years. Roads remain unfinished. Hospitals remain understaffed. Youth remain unemployed. Water remains scarce. Cost of living soars and the same leaders return five years later carrying another thousand shillings and another promise. A voter should never be bought. A church should never be used as a campaign stage. A youth programme should never be a disguise. Support for the elderly should never be an election strategy. Public leadership should be earned through ideas, integrity and service, not through cash transfers wrapped in the language of goodwill.
Mr Wamatangi is a governance and policy expert