How successive regimes have used chiefs to advance political interests

They have been at the centre of grassroots mobilisation for several decades and are a crucial plank in President William Ruto’s strategy to build grassroots support.

Yet chiefs and their assistants have been used and misused by successive regimes to shove the Government’s message down the throats of Kenyans.

During the colonial period, they were the eyes and ears of the oppressors, communicating and enforcing government directives without batting an eyelid. The trend continued under the country’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta.

During Kenyatta’s regime, chiefs were at the centre of efforts to entrench a one-party state, with families reportedly being forced to join the Kenya African National Union (KANU).

A similar trend continued during the reign of the country’s second president, Daniel arap Moi, with chiefs playing an important role in strengthening the Government’s support and maintaining political control in villages.

However, with the advent of the 2010 Constitution, chiefs have remained a key political mobilisation tool, helping presidential hopefuls campaign and complement the efforts of elected leaders at other levels.

This perhaps explains why public barazas and funerals have increasingly evolved into campaign platforms, with government officials using them to sell the President’s agenda to the public. However, some recent attempts by chiefs to market the President’s development agenda have hit a brick wall, with sections of the public rejecting the messaging.

Two months ago, Isava North Chief Evans Endesha faced a hostile crowd when he attempted to market President Ruto to mourners attending a burial in Vihiga, the backyard of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.

The chief was heckled by angry mourners after praising Ruto’s development projects in the area. Some described his address as propaganda.

He was forced to cut short his speech as a group of mourners thronged the podium and demanded that he stop speaking.

Under Ruto’s administration, the use of chiefs and their assistants to communicate the President’s Bottom-Up agenda has gained traction.

Prior to his death last year, former ODM leader Raila Odinga had warned against the reintroduction of a powerful provincial administration system, saying it risked dragging the country backwards.

He had argued that reviving powerful chiefs risked undermining devolution and reintroducing a dark past that the country had shaken off through blood, sweat and tears.