THE HISTORIC POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE THAT IS DONALD TRUMP: 45TH US PRESIDENT

Donald Trump after his victory speech.

Someone once said, "expect the unexpected. A personality who brands himself as a racist, misogynist, and a sexist, is now fortified to be the 45th president of the free world, USA. Many right now would argue that US is not so free anymore.

Donald Trump during the primaries.

Donald Trump it is!
A president known to have character defects and one who champions positions viewed as offensive to many,of course no one could take him seriously in this day and age, but guess what, our worst fears have been confirmed.
The mainstream media around the world called him a clown, other movers and shakers called him the biggest joke of the year, hence there was no need to give him an ear. The media message was: Donald Trump cannot win,Clinton represents the America that we need.

As projected by the media

Well, all that was turned upside down, call it a slap in the face. Larry King revealed that Donald Trump had told him that he wanted to run for presidency, since 1980. Well 2016 was set to be his year to battle against all odds.
For the first time in history, the mainstream media, political establishment, wall street and the polls projections couldn't be more inaccurate and wrong. The Clinton propagators seemed to be thriving on wishful thinking and were completely disconnected from the reality that was happening on the ground. It seems that the american people misled the pollsters by either giving them incorrect information about who is the more popular candidate. It's also clear that the political establishment is disconnected to the electorate's thoughts and feelings.

The polls Trump / Clinton

A lot of questions remain as this upset has come to pass, not to mention that the stock market has been behaving in an interesting way since the announcement of Trump's triumph.

Americans are angry. This vote demonstrates anger against the elite and the establishment and people are tired of it. Donald Trump will go down in history as the most controversial and flamboyant president in history.
Now you must be asking the million dollar question, why on earth did the american electorate vote for this so called "sociopath" ? Well according to his supporters, during his campaigns, he would voice the thoughts of many the Americans of which they would not voice out in public.

The Trump supporters

51% of the american voters supported the rhetoric of Muslim ban. He also appealed to the voters because of the way he spoke - he talked of issues that people talk about in the privacy of their homes. He is known to hate political correctness of which the Obama administration stood for in the last 8 years.According to the Breibart Website, he is known to "make the unsayable sayable."

Donald Trump also influenced most of the american people by leveraging more on social media. Since the mainstream media had decided to brand him as an 'inappropriate presidential candidate' he chose to communicate directly to the people and tried to navigate his message around the media, though it was not easy.

As much as he appealed to his supporters, Trump was a magnet for racism, misogyny and he managed to front his rhetoric.He struck a cord, hit a nerve with many of electorate who seem to be rubbed off the wrong way.

Clinton and Trump face off

The Russian media fell in love with Trump simply because for once, they had someone who wanted to create a relationship with them, not declare hate upon them, not like Hillary who was anti-russia.

Hillary did not deliver her concession speech as it's customary of a candidate who has lost the election.

Well, what can i say?This is a historic political earthquake and Donald Trump is now in to shake things up.
Despite being unpopular with the media, wall street, Hollywood  and donors, he managed to confound pollsters at every turn.

Clearly this has been the most divisive campaign in history and as they say, things will never be the same again.

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP IN AN UNEQUAL SOCIETY

A young woman vied for a political seat in the last year’s general elections. Possessed with zeal and passion to go after what she wanted, she knew that the road ahead would be plagued with nothing but challenges of intimidation by the male opponents, insults, not to mention, to the very point of extreme, physical violence. This did not deter her though, for she had the nerves of steel as she was prepared, armed and ready to take on anyone who tried to put her down. She calls for a meeting to sell her brand and manifestos, only to have someone try to pull down her skirt. 

She postponed the meeting to be held in the next 2 weeks. As a young, unmarried woman, she faced verbal abuse from her male opponents in public. As if that was not enough, She faced harassment and hooliganism at the polling stations. Honestly, someone else would not have gone that far. There are many like her who are pursuing the dream of sitting with policy makers to affect change in the country by averting the status quo, brought in by political heavyweights who have overstayed their term.

The past political leadership in Kenya has been characterized by none other than graft, status quo and tribalism. In the current dispensation, the same crop of political leadership are campaigning on the platform of change, which is outdated since that was what Jubilee government advocated for. Youth and women, who make up the special interest groups have made up their minds that it’s about time that they take the bull by the horns, if they want to see visible and transparent economic development in the country. 

The road to ascension of leadership for the special interest groups has not been easy for it seems to the veterans that these special interest groups need a form of tough and ugly initiation in order to “fit in” or “join the club.”The dominant political parties in the region are making it hard for the special interest groups to engage hence the need for lobby groups to push forth the agenda of increasing participation for the special interest groups in the mainstream parties for effective representation.

Key obstacle that the special interests groups face is the financial bit. The veteran opponents are well moneyed and networked to the grassroots level while the youth and women still have to figure out how to raise millions just to affect their campaign strategies. These special interest groups have been met with violence for expressing their desire to be political representatives. It’s clear that the veteran opponents are ready to outline the battle of supremacy by cowing them into silence lest they be brutally ‘punished.’ 

This experience thereby creates apathy among the youth and women citing that no idle threats were made but a promise to create chaos and confusion during their campaign period. Others have resulted to selling their vote for meager returns due to the pounded ‘status quo’ belief system that youth and women are simply not ready for political leadership, whereas the opposite is true. There’s also lack of motivation among the special interest groups or there are individuals who may have the answers to the ongoing problems plaguing the country in terms of leadership, but they chose not to bat an eyelid.

It’s not exactly front page news that young women (18-27yrs) are not interested in voting, attending political rallies, protesting, blogging or speaking and debating on political issues that affect the country. In young women’s minds, issues to do with politics is mainly associated with men. They don’t want to be seen as loud mouthed or politically incorrect.

The VoteADada initiative courtesy of the Youth agenda, Oxfam and FIDA couldn’t have come at a better time. Its main focus is to address the reluctance of women to put themselves forward as candidates let alone consider a political career. The initiative also vouches for equal representation in positions of leadership. One must be persistent, passionate and possess the nerves of steel if he or she feels the call to a political office hence the need to train aspirants on importance of equal representation and how to wade off or not to be shaken by the challenges that comes with vying for a political position.

WOMEN ASPIRANTS EMBRACE THE VOTEADADA MOVEMENT

Women aspirants in the VoteaDada Launch in Kisii.  Photo: Kevin Wabungo

By Kevin Wabungo - AMPRSK

‘Some leaders are born women.” This quote by Geraldine Ferraro resonate greatly with women aspiring for elective positions in Kisii County following the Women in Leadership campaign dubbed VOTEADADA.

The campaign launched on October 13, 2016 attracted over 75 women aspirants in various posts ranging from Deputy Governor, Member of Parliament, Women representative and Member of County Assembly. The group were informed on the areas of personal branding as well as best practice in manifesto formulation.

women aspirants in the VoteaDada launch in Kisii. Photo: Kevin Wabungo

The workshop also served as an avenue for women to highlight some of the challenges they were facing at a peer-to-peer level. Some of these included the financial inability of the candidate to support their campaigns over and above the late entry into the political arena. It was noted that most women contenders ventured into the political realm way too late and at the point where party nominations had already been done. This put them at a great disadvantage despite their popularity with the electorate.

Additionally, there has also been a stereotype among the general public that women are perceived to belong in the kitchen. You may recall the recent utterance by the Nigerian President MuhammaduBuhari with remarks to his wife that, “I don't know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.” Read more here. Such statements are used against women especially during the campaign period that leaves them limping even before the real battle has begun.

training session in the VoteaDada initiative at Kisii. Photo by Kevin Wabungo

Among the challenges highlighted were also self-inflicting. Case in point is where women mistreat their own kind either at work, home or even business premises. Later on they present themselves to these very people as hopefuls for elective positions. More over the lack of understanding of the electoral process is also a major hindrance in bidding for these political posts.

Through the two day workshop the women candidates had their skills sharpened on how best to craft their manifestos with a primary focus on issues facing their constituents and what solutions they intend to offer. More importantly, the aspect of dressing for political rallies and communicating policies was greatly emphasized. 

Young aspirant participates in VoteADada initiative. Photo: Kevin Wabungo

The journey to having more women in elective posts has begun in Kisii County. Youth Agenda will keep you updated via this blog with the most recent happenings on the #VoteADada caravan. 

Kisii women contenders at the VoteADada initiative. Photo: Kevin Wabungo

THE MEMORABLE TRIP TO KISII: THE HIGHLIGHTS

The VoteADada initiative staff during the Kisii trip.

The trip to Kisii was indeed a memorable one. Through the VoteADada initiative, we had gone to train Kisii women aspirants on Manifesto development and personal branding. After the training we got into sightseeing and interacting with the locals.

We indulged ourselves into buying of accessories, vitenges and other products created by the locals.

Traditional necklaces sold in Kisii

It is notable that Kisii is a place of beauty. The place was pretty cool and we were happy to be away from all the hustle and bustle that describes the city in the sun. The environment was refreshing, a good place to just rest and take stall of everything that you want to do. A place where you can simply gather your thoughts and come out rejuvenated. This is definitely a break that we needed. 

call it window shopping if you may!

THE MEMORABLE TRIP TO KISII: THE HIGHLIGHTS

The VoteADada initiative staff during the Kisii trip.

The trip to Kisii was indeed a memorable one. Through the VoteADada initiative, we had gone to train Kisii women aspirants on Manifesto development and personal branding. After the training we got into sightseeing and interacting with the locals.

We indulged ourselves into buying of accessories, vitenges and other products created by the locals.

Traditional necklaces sold in Kisii

It is notable that Kisii is a place of beauty. The place was pretty cool and we were happy to be away from all the hustle and bustle that describes the city in the sun. The environment was refreshing, a good place to just rest and take stall of everything that you want to do. A place where you can simply gather your thoughts and come out rejuvenated. This is definitely a break that we needed. 

call it window shopping if you may!