In Murang'a, UDA reckons he who pays piper seldom calls the tune

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It’s called the “stampede.” A coordinated performance where folks assemble at market and trading centres and wait to be “deployed” to political rallies. The performance comes with costumes, mainly caps and t-shirts and other merchandise branded with party colours and emblems. Cash inducements are the icing on the cake. Thus prepared, bands arrive in the meeting to cheer and ululate on cue.

Someone called me last Saturday when he witnessed crowds being bussed in to towns within Murang’a County, where Prezzo Bill Ruto was touring. And since the ground has been shifting, it is understood that cash wasn’t offered in full; a down payment was made before the meeting. The balance was to be collected afterwards to improve compliance.

I have no idea what the story is behind the tale of hordes of young men and women who assembled, moments after Prezzo Ruto had departed, to destroy the party merchandise they had adorned, while chanting “Wantam.”

It could be that the balance hadn’t been paid. Or perhaps it was, and now they felt enamoured to express their true feelings without inhibition, as they did when they heckled Lands Minister Alice Wahome.

The lingering question: if things are so hot on the ground, and one’s “investment” in crowd recruitment isn’t guaranteed to yield positive outcomes, then why bother? I guess this is what they mean about optics being more important than reality.

Building on that analogy, the optics of 2022 that reflected a compelling momentum for UDA pales in comparison in the current season of politicking. It’s like someone is in complete denial.