Let’s put politics aside for a moment. It is heartbreaking when an election campaign becomes associated with fear instead of hope. Whether the tension is caused by a party, its supporters, its opponents, or a combination of factors, ordinary citizens are the ones who pay the price.
If people begin to believe that every time a particular political campaign comes to town there will be tension, businesses closing early, parents worrying about their children’s safety, and traders counting losses, then something has gone terribly wrong. Democracy should never make citizens afraid of campaign season.
The saddest part is watching mama mbogas, boda boda riders, shopkeepers, and small traders become unwilling participants in political battles. They close their businesses not because they support one side or another, but because they fear what might happen. Their livelihoods become collateral damage in a contest for power.
What makes it even more ironic is that the party’s slogan is “Skiza Ground” (Listen to the Ground). But who is listening to the cries of the business owners forced to shut their shops because of tension? Who is listening to the mama mboga who goes home without making a sale? Who is listening to the trader who loses an entire day’s income simply because politics has become a source of fear instead of hope?
Politics should inspire people. It should leave communities with hope, ideas, and confidence about tomorrow. It should not leave them feeling anxious, angry, or abandoned.
Leaders should spend their time explaining how they will create jobs, improve roads, strengthen healthcare, support farmers, and educate children. Instead, too often, campaigns become competitions over who can generate the biggest confrontation or the loudest grievance.
When a political message revolves entirely around victimhood, resentment, and hopelessness, people may be mobilized for a moment, but they are not empowered for the future. Communities deserve more than being told why they are suffering. They deserve to hear how their lives will improve.
Listening to the ground means listening to the people—not just to the applause at political rallies, but also to the silence of closed shops, empty markets, and frightened families.
The purpose of politics is not to manufacture fear. It is to build confidence. The purpose of leadership is not to convince people that they are permanently abandoned. It is to show them that a better future is possible.
At the end of every election, politicians move on to the next contest. The people remain. They are the ones who reopen their shops, rebuild their businesses, and live with the consequences. They deserve campaigns that bring hope instead of anxiety, unity instead of division, and solutions instead of endless confrontation.
