Politics Vs Development: A Test of Raila Vs Tuju

Politics involves an "analysis of theories, patterns, and policies of development with emphasis on economic and cultural relationships."

Yet increasingly development itself is a contested concept and, consequently, a matter of political dispute. Despite this, development has and continues to have a powerful hold on our imagination--as aspiration, policy, and as an object of contemporary derision. Thus, we cannot take development for granted; nor can we simply reject it. We must confront the notion of development, both its problematic status and its continuing appeal.

To drive the point home, it’s easy to attest on leader’s development backgrounds. First and foremost, any layman would list down what each leader has done to his people, this could be due to the fact that such a leader owes his community by experience in management of big corporations, political office and using communities to form coalitions with others. But the result is how a leader has manipulated these qualities to bring development home or for his own selfish ambitions!

The questions therefore that arise is, How then can Luos and their leaders contribute to development through becoming involved in politics, understood as concerted reflection with a view to identifying ways and means to improve the conditions of human life?

Although in the past Luos and their leaders were categorized and treated as opposition pins due to Odingaism, it is incontrovertibly true that with social change and increased democracy, a significant improvement has come about in the status of some Luo leaders such as Tuju.

One sees today, then, that the political will of Tuju, together with his constituents own political determination, has enabled this important section of the population to gain access to economic and decision-making power and so to enjoy increased social status, Rarieda leads by example.

By Geoffrey Okelo, Via E-mail