‘My Kenya’ set to spread powerful messages on peaceful elections

“Where were you on December 31, 2007?” asked Kenya Private Sector Alliance ( KEPSA) chairman Patrick Obath at the launch of the “My Kenya” campaign.

It is a question that brought the CEOs and others in the packed Serena Hotel ballroom back to those dreadful days when Kenya descended into violence.

The year 2007/8 was not the first time we had witnessed dreadful things around election time. But on each occasion it got worse, and in 2008 the now vigorous media were out in full force vividly covering everything that happened.

Then the next question: “Where were you in the early days of January, and in the days and weeks following, till the National Accord was signed?”

While so many people were being killed and displaced, while property was being destroyed and the economy came to a virtual standstill, did you get involved… or did you just stay at home worrying about the chaos, assuming there was nothing you could do and that the government would sort things out?

Well, last time round most of us were taken by surprise, and few knew what it would take to bring Kenya back to sanity. But some got straight to work, getting the country moving again, offering humanitarian support and facilitating the political settlement. Skills were developed and lessons learned, as a result of which numerous initiatives have been launched, from the formation of regional peace committees to the establishment of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to all the other Agenda Four programmes.
Inevitably, even those who came forward so vigorously to support the peace -building and the healing eventually returned to their normal activities. But with the next election approaching (to listen to the politicians — and the media— you’d think it’s been just around the corner ever since the last one), it is time to get properly prepared.

Hence “My Kenya”, which will soon be spreading its (our!) key messages: we must have peaceful elections, with respect for the law; we must work to reduce ethnic tensions, including in the workplace, and to encourage peaceful dialogue; the private sector must fully engaged with civil society and the religious sector; and everyone must spread these messages widely among their networks.

A number of aspects of “My Kenya” strongly appealed to me. First, its low-ego ethos. While it started off as a private sector project, civil society and religious leaders are fully integrated with the businesspeople of KEPSA. Then, there will be no branding of either institutions or individuals. (This will make it the more difficult for mischief-makers to indulge in our national hobby of “pull him/her down”.)

Next, I love the ideas that will permeate the “My Kenya” communications campaign.

Each Kenyan will be inspired to move from a mentality of entitlement to one of responsibility. We will be challenged to no longer see ourselves as mere “children” of the nation, but as its “owners”. We must rise from an ugly state of ushenzi to a virtuous one of uungwana. And no one should see themselves as mere recipients or mere distributors of the national cake, but rather as bakers.

During the breakfast meeting we were shown footage of the 2008 violence and its consequences, and later we watched snippets of the kind of programming that will featurein the media (the media houses are fully behind the initiative), in which ordinary folk rather than the usual cast of “Big Men” hold the microphone, voicing messages of owning and building the country and acting responsibly.

The project has borrowed heavily from the success of the Kenyans for Kenya campaign, that garnered such widespreadsupport – first to save lives, and then to build long term sustainability in the vulnerable communities affected by the drought.

Likewise, My Kenya is designed not merely to see us through a peaceful election, but also to build prosperity thereafter. For the key mindset that will be promoted between now and the election is exactly the one needed for the ongoing development of the country as foreseen by Vision 2030.
To help us into a sober frame of mind, we heard that the challenge facing us could well be expressed as one of “business continuity”. If we are to reduce poverty and create wealth and jobs, it is evident that we need to actively plan for peace and stability. So the organisers of My Kenya talked about gathering the country around a compelling common cause, just as happened with Kenyans for Kenya.
The speakers representing the business community reminded us that when the nation prospers, companies and individuals also do; that business is not separated from society but is an integral part of it; and that businesspeople can and must play a key role in assisting the nation to find a peaceful path into and through the elections. Religious leaders spoke, a Christian and a Muslim, representing those who “bring the power of persuasion and presence”, of “values and convictions that determine behaviour” to large numbers of people each week.
The representative of civil society confirmed that they too are bakers of the national cake, cooking up and advocating ideas that take society forward. An unscheduled contributor also joined the gathering— the chairman of much-admired global infrastructure giant GE. Jeff Immelt, who happened to be in Kenya, told his fellow CEOs he liked the Vision 2030 blueprint, as it helped his company plug into our national long term priorities. But, he added, multinationals like GE can move faster where there is less volatility and risk. Fair enough.
My Kenya needs funds to get its powerful inspirational messages across.

It’is a great initiative, deserving all our support (pledges can be made via KEPSA). So watch out for the voice of the ordinary Kenyan people, as they reach out to one another with confidence and hope, determined to make our next election one we can be proud of, and the years thereafter filled with prosperity.
meldon@symphony.co.ke