Former Nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura has admitted that they as Kenyan politicians hire crowds to events, including burials, for political reasons.
He has admitted that after realising that most youth are broke, jobless and desperate, they use this situation to their advantage.
The politician says that they, as a result, mobilise them to attend events with the promise of money at the end of the functions.
He has revealed that the amount rages from Sh500 to Sh1000, an amount equal to what the hired individuals would have made at work for the day.
Mwaura, who was at some point a Nominated Member of Parliament, says that this is why attendees of events organised by politicians never get tired even after long hours of sitting down.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) politician from Ruiru adds that it is in the busses used to carry the mobilised crowd that the payments are made, but only after the event, apparently to ensure nobody fails to attend the event or tries to leave early.
“Recently, we were at a funeral that lasted eight hours, but the audience was patient as they had been fed in the morning. ‘Sorting out’ ferried crowds in buses after a political function is a common feature of our politics,” he writes in The Star.
“The ‘fare-earnings’ range from Sh100 to Sh500, to close to a daily wage (kibarua),” he adds.
He notes that the plan is to make one appear influential and celebrated, which can only be determined by the crowds in their events.
“Personality cults and ‘movements’ play a key role here as matters of the heart are deep and there is no single reason for them,” he adds, adding that they try to avoid one on one meetups with voters.
“Personal one-on-one interaction is minimal as it’s the most daunting mentally, with endless debates,” he says.
Content created and supplied by: Curtis-Otieno (via Opera
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