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Friday, March 29, 2024

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Just days to the August 9 General Election, candidates for various elective positions are on the charm offensive as they seek to woo voters in markets and villages.

Across the country, tactical campaign messages have been meticulously designed and are being used, as vote-hunting hits a fever pitch.

One strategy, in particular, seems to be playing out more and more – the mastery of local dialects is giving a number of candidates a head start.

From the use of traditional metaphors to sayings and proverbs, political bigwigs are displaying their splendid mastery of local dialects in their bid to appeal to ordinary folks and simplify political statements that would appear complex when explained in the national languages – English and Kiswahili.

Political analysts say those who have mastered the art of using local languages to connect with ordinary people are getting the upper hand.

They say local dialects deliver the most hard-hitting messages that would spark uproar when spoken in any of the national languages.

There are also those politicians who are good speakers of the national languages and not avid in vernacular.

Presidential candidates William Ruto and Raila Odinga have proved their incontrovertible abilities in addressing supporters in their backyards using Kalenjin and Dholuo languages, respectively.

For instance, Raila, the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya flag bearer, has been resorting to his native language when delivering what he considers as the most crucial message to supporters in his Nyanza backyard. 

He says: “Jothurwa, wasea mabor gi chama ni omiyo akwayou ni kik ukuod wiya e yiero ni (My people, we have come a long way with this party (Orange Democratic Movement), hence I appeal to you not to embarrass me at the ballot).”

President Uhuru Kenyatta has also proved to be an enthusiastic speaker of the Kikuyu language, which he resorts to whenever he visits the Mt Kenya region.

In Uasin Gishu, Governor Jackson Mandago is a fluent speaker of the Nandi language. 

For instance, while campaigning recently in Kapseret, Mandago told locals how he had to adjust his Swahili while speaking to Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa.

Mandago, who is serving his second term as governor, is UDA’s Senate candidate for Uasin Gishu County.

The governor’s explanation of how he responded to the Malindi MP’s greetings on the telephone was hilarious. 

“Jumwa called and greeted and when I heard her voice, I decided to switch from poor Kaprobu (the governor’s village in Uasin Gishu) Swahili to coastal Swahili,” Mandago said.

Mr Mandago likes referring to Ruto as ‘ne kuru tiendo’ (the soloist who gives leadership). He uses it to mean that the DP is the topmost national leader from the community.

When he is addressing rallies in counties predominantly dominated by the Kalenjin community, DP Ruto uses, among others, the saying, makitorkotoi tich che iyogonu muren, which loosely translates to “you can’t teach an expert how to do what he knows best.” He uses the saying to assure his supporters that all is well in his quest to become the fifth president.

Baringo Senator Gideon Moi often succinctly expresses his promise to ascend to power using an analogy that is loosely translated as “we are following the cow’s footprints. When we finally get the cow, we will milk it and bring the milk home for all of us to enjoy.”

The cow, in Gideon’s Kalenjin analogy, symbolises the presidency.

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen of UDA and Governor Alex Tolgos of Jubilee Party, who are both gunning for the Senate seat, have learnt to address supporters using two different Kalenjin dialects – Keiyo and Marakwet. The two communities are dominant in the county.

Whenever Senator Murkomen explains how powerful politicians allied to Ruto were dealt a blow following the handshake between President Uhuru and Raila in 2018, he shifts to either Marakwet or Keiyo, depending on his audience, and unleashes an analogy using either of the two languages.

“We were in the kitchen (the highest echelons of power in the Jubilee administration) and were busy cooking when someone else (Raila) sneaked into the kitchen through the window. The kitchen started becoming irritatingly smoky and chaotic and eventually we were thrown out. The stranger (Raila) who sneaked through the window is now in charge of the kitchen,” Murkomen often says in his campaign rallies. Instead of his supporters sympathising with him, they start laughing.

Elgeyo Marakwet Deputy Governor Wisley Rotich, a governorship candidate, attributes his mastery of both Keiyo and Marakwet dialects to frequent interaction with ordinary people.

Mr Rotich was the county’s director of cooperatives before he was elevated to the position of deputy governor by Tolgos in 2017.

“Since my days as a director and later as the deputy governor, I have interacted with the common mwananchi on a daily basis and we connected well by speaking the local languages. Their issues come out clearly when we speak the local language,” he says.

Kesses MP Swarup Mishra starts his campaign speeches with ‘Oamune’ (how are you?) before amunee tuga (how are the cows?) before reminding his audiences that his Kalenjin name is Kiprop (a boy born when it’s raining).

Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, Senator Samson Cherargei, his Kericho counterpart Aaron Cheruiyot and Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi are among other leaders who are masters of vernacular languages in political campaigns.

Stanley Baliach, a political commentator, says politicians use the local language to send strong messages in a way that can easily be understood by the ordinary person.

According to Mr Baliach, local sayings and metaphors carry hidden meanings that leave audiences remembering the message long after it is made.

“When delivered in vernacular, the message sinks well. It enhances a leader’s confidence, connection with the masses and encourages debate because the message put across will be discussed by locals for a long time. One word can mean a lot of things,” says Baliach.

Eldoret-based political analyst Jonathan Lagat says voters identify with politicians who fluently speak the local language.

“A number of locals are not literate and they want leaders to communicate in a language they understand best,” says Mr Lagat.

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