You have probably heard a thing or two about UDA— the United Democratic Alliance.
This is a party allied with Deputy President William Ruto. Its chairman is the former Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama. Perhaps you have heard about its recent win in the Kiambaa by-election. It is the party of the hustler movement and closely linked with ensuring that Ruto contests the presidency.
UDA is a machine serviced by political angst brought about by the perceived political debt owed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to Ruto.
This has seen those allied to the principal assistant to the President venture to ensure that they assist him to secure power.
There is also the fact that many of them have been released of their responsibilities by the Jubilee administration. But, hey, party discipline doesn’t echo in their minds.
This opportunistic stance was arrived out of the convenience caused by the handshake.
This would then be followed by a targeted bad-faith campaign of disinformation and misinformation about the process and the handshake itself. These were punctuated by a belief that their leader was best suited to succeed the current President.
But their animus has its self-sustaining mechanism in misinformation and disinformation. It is fuelled by outright partisan politicking designed to create caricatured realities that are removed from the truth.
If this is not checked then it will contribute to unforeseen consequences like we witnessed in the US with former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Therefore, it requires thorough and rigorous fact-checking and especially by the media as a gatekeeper of democracy in Kenya. There seems to be an inherent problem rising from the prevalence of lies and dishonesty from their pronouncements to statements. They are also spinning facts to suit and serve certain agendas.
Their rhetoric is hell-bent on political manoeuvring; shifting goalposts for political mileage.
It is a brigade that has been normalising political dishonesty, ridding themselves of political hygiene, as PLO Lumumba defines it.
Thus, they have ventured into politics of denial marred by the constant escapism ensuring that they will not take responsibility or accept to be held accountable for the failures of an administration that they have been a part of. There is political capitalisation of every inconvenience whether by design or otherwise.
The source of influence amongst the group is their leader. This is why they gather every often, disguised as a Parliamentary Group, to listen to their leader. This is then followed by an almost choreographed rhetoric that is then traded to the masses.
This rhetoric is synonymous with people with an inkling of authoritarian tendencies given how vicious it is, dishonest and with a touch of personal enchantment. This rhetoric is then mainstreamed and its existence projected through social media. This has amounted to online misinformation as this information is then disseminated majorly through social media spaces.
READ :How to become a member of UDA Youth Wing
Our leaders are known to have a problematic relationship with Chapter Six of the Constitution which spells out leadership integrity requirements. A culture of impunity and disregard of playing by the rules permeates the political class.
Their leader has Trumpian manners including but not limited to his vicious use of Twitter specifically and social media generally, often telling lies and exhibiting a lack of foresight.
There seems to be no tolerance for other opinions. However, the seeming failure to keep a campaign promise made by the now UDA leader has to be acknowledged. It speaks to the persona of our current president. How it ended up here is all too familiar and is in the public.
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