KALI: Young and out to transform Tseikuru for good

 Tseikuru ward has attracted a number of residents who want to contest for the Member of Count Assembly (MCA) seat next year. Among them is Mr Kali Kimanzi who stands out as young and vibrant candidate in an increasingly crowded race which gets hotter each passing day, perhaps exemplifying the Far North solar.

Mwingi Times had an exclusive one-on-one conversation with Kimanzi who confirms indeed he will be on the ballot next year.

He says that unlike past talks that the youths were leaders of tomorrow, they are leaders of today. He believes he can provide an astute leadership which can solve a litany of problems bedevilling Tseikuru.

For 58 years, we have lacked clean water, he says. “Tseikuru has no clean water not only clean water but even the dirty MUTOLO from silanga is scarce”, he says.

The computer specialist says that the reason water woes persist year in, year out is due to lack of policies to address the menace.

“I refuse to believe that Tseikuru is dry. The leadership we had for the longest time had no policies to ensure we have water. Water is the biggest factor of production in any society. It doesn’t come second. It comes first” reiterates Mr Kimanzi.

Water, Water, Water

If Tseikuru has its water challenges addressed, the young MCA aspirant says that it will be a food production hub locally and nationally.

The common trend in Kenya is that politics is a retirement venture for former senior civil servants who hang their boots and enter into the political field. Another aspect is that it is a preserve of the rich. We ask him how is candidature will change this dominant narrative that has been at play since independence from British colonialists in 1963.

 He says although he is the youngest contestant, he will not base his candidature on youths alone.  He will work with women, people living with disabilities, men and his fellow youths too among others. He regrets that politics in Kenya has been turned to be a retirement benefits scheme. The MCA seat is not a pension scheme but a chance to serve wananchi at the grassroots, he says.

In Kenya, politicians bribe voters with money and other goodies to entice them to elect them. The youth have also been seen as apathetic in being slow to heed calls of voter registration and actually turning out to vote on the election day.

But Kali says that youths cover nearly three quarters of his base and he will use social media to reach out to them. He has also printed campaign merchandise such as posters and T-Shirts to reach out to all corners of Tseikuru ward to sell his election agenda.

When the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) launched countrywide voter registration drive, Kali was on the frontline calling upon the young people to go and register for a voter’s card if they have not.

He says that women are the most affected by water shortages since they are the majority who fetch water in their homes. “It pains me a lot to see our mothers go through these problems”, he says.

In the past leaderships of Mwingi North subcounty, Kali says that the youths were marginalized. Even today, most are nowhere near where their decision-making organs gather and decide about their future. They have been reduced to social media activists whose views are not factored in improving the lives of the constituents. This, he says, was devolved to MCA seats where current and past leaders did not engage the under-35s.

He tells Tseikuru Comrades to take advantage of the expansion of the town and grow their businesses. He says that they can provide professional services to colleges such as the Kenya Medical Training College, KMTC, and Tseikuru Technical Training College which recently began operations.

If Wikithuki Irrigation Scheme is developed well, Kali says that it will provide employment opportunities to many residents and non-locals throughout the production chain.

His parting shot to the young generation is this: It is your time to stand tall. Let’s come out in large numbers and get registered as voters so that we can put in place leadership that resonates well with our vision as youths. We are not back benchers.

STORY By MUSYOKA NGUI, EDITED By BONIFACE MWANIKI