The Party's Over: Why Africans Must Abolish Political Parties

By the dawn of the 20th century, Koitalel and his Nandi resistance were effectively neutralized by British smart tactics, with him paying the ultimate price. The East was greatly subdued, and the theatrics of Mekatilili or Kinjekitile were ultimately crushed. More than half a century later, Dedan Kimathi of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army rebellion was dismantled, but it was Ugandan-born John Okello in Zanzibar who paved the way to self-determination, but how far?

What followed was an era of autocrats. Swapping one for another left the region far behind its Asian equals by independence. It again took almost half a century for veteran politicians in Kenya, aided by a new generation of reformers, to introduce widespread change in the region, and as the dust of the 21st century settled, it was only Kenya that could decide its president. This was a result of the progressive constitution passed, which allowed multi-party elections and sweeping constitutional reforms.

The Democratic Lie

Political parties are now so deeply entrenched that alternatives seem unthinkable. We're now being ruled by a system, not the leaders we choose. However, midway through our 50-year cycle of change, I argue that parties are the root cause of today's evil. A systemic failure in the social fabric has seen the degradation of leadership, the rise of kingpins, and blatant corruption that can't be tamed.

Here is the mechanism: Tribal kingpins, adored by their people, handpick complacent representatives. These kingpins form coalitions—not of ideology, but of interest. A winning coalition wields absolute power, choosing, vetting, and implementing laws without meaningful opposition—a system that often incorporates the opposition into the looting, as seen in political handshakes. The result? The people's representative is reduced to a puppet, whipped into line to follow decisions they had no part in making.

The very term 'independent' has been rendered as meaningless as calling a toddler self-sufficient. Any institution—the judiciary, electoral bodies, or the police—that dares to counter the executive will find itself defunded, dissolved, or threatened into submission. Explaining to a layman how an 'independent organization' whose leaders, funds, and operations are defined by an outsider can call itself independent is a monumental task.

The future

We're not without a glimpse of an alternative. Busia's Senator Omtatah has proved there's an exception and a perfect model for our future. Rising by his proven principles, he's a towering national figure and defies the current model of loyalists and tribal games. He answers to his conscience and his constituents and cannot be whipped into any conclusion.

This system cannot be dismantled with the tools that built it. I call for the abolition of political parties.  A parliament of Omtatahs—a parliament of free thinkers—is the only way out of this rathole.

As I write this, our continent is on its knees. Leeched upon by foreign powers and milked dry by their corporations. Absurd borders, drafted in distant European capitals, slice through tribes and families, fragmenting societies and livelihoods. Our minerals are exported for a pittance, and our infrastructure is built to serve this extraction—like the mysteriously long train in West Africa that runs from mine to port, never stopping for the people whose land it crosses. 

Until when? Until when, kinsmen?