Let’s have a little honest bonfire chat, shall we?
Recently, there has been a troubling rise in divisive rhetoric across our county. If you’ve spent more than five minutes listening to the local political grapevine lately or reading social media posts, you’d think the biggest crisis facing our county is who was born on which side of an imaginary geographical line. Much as this is the political season, it does not mean we need to start and continue entertaining this kind of rhetoric.
Conversations are increasingly attempting to divide us along tribal lines — pitting Tugen against Pokot for example — or slicing us into regional factions, with calls to exclude people based on whether they come from Baringo North or elsewhere. We are even seeing attempts to fragment us further along subtribe lines, drawing divisive lines between the Aaror, Sengwer, and Lembus.
Newsflash: This divisive politics is a distraction we can no longer afford. The socio-political and economic landscape of Baringo County is characterized by pressing challenges that do not discriminate based on your last name or your home ward.
Let’s be brutally honest for a second. When 47% of our citizens live in poverty, and only 39% have access to clean, potable water, the crisis affects us all. Poverty doesn’t ask for your ID card to check if you’re Tugen or Pokot before it empties your wallet. A stalled health dispensary in Mogotio, broken road culverts in Eldama Ravine, or missing bursary allocations in Tiaty are not tribal issues ; they are collective failures that demand unified solutions.
When your car hits a crater-sized pothole, your suspension doesn’t survive just because you happen to be from the “right” ward. We are all feeling the pinch together.
To quote David Kipkemei Yatich,
A strong, united society is built on ideas, not divisions and propaganda. Let’s choose agenda-based politics—where leaders are judged by their plans, policies, and ability to improve lives—over divisive rhetoric that separates us.
True leadership has nothing to do with your tribe, your region, or your subtribe. If we want to build a modern, forward-thinking Baringo, we need to stop rewarding backward politicking and start demanding actual results. Real leadership is defined by:
- A Great Track Record: We need leaders who possess the technocratic competence to govern, who know how to build and succeed at the highest levels, and who can transition our county from mere complaints to actionable intelligence and accountability.
- A Positive, Forward-Looking Manifesto: We need intelligent, costed roadmaps to create local economic ecosystems, robust healthcare, and modern infrastructure. Our focus must be on tangible growth, like protecting our communities from climate vulnerabilities around Lake Baringo and investing heavily in our agricultural and livestock value chains, such as our massive unexploited potential in apiculture.
- A Vision for a New Baringo: Our core mission must be to reverse the “Brain Drain”. We must build a Baringo where parents are deeply proud to raise their children, not a county where they feel forced to send them away for a better future.
It is time to move past the cluttered political noise and traditional rhetoric that relies on dividing us. Let us reject the politics of isolation and instead rally behind the vision of Baringo Mpya—a new and positive Baringo built on competence, shared prosperity, and a collective commitment to our future.
Let’s build a new Baringo. A working Baringo. Baringo Mpya.