How to make the Karua campaign different

What sort of campaign should Martha Karua run? In Kenya, politics has nothing to do with substance, policies or manifestos. It is all about the ethnic group and the money. Ms. Karua, who has launched her campaign, is yet to announce what strategy she intends to pursue outside of the rhetoric and platitudes that were made during her launch at the National Museums of Kenya. Talk about the rule of law and the economy are par for the course and until Ms Karua informs her supporters and the public how she intends to address these issues, she will have trodden a path that has been beaten by politicians from Kenyatta to Kibaki over the past 4 decades.

Back to the question: what sort of campaign should she run? In America, that paragon of political action, a candidate for any office would begin by putting together an exploratory committee that would be converted into a campaign-to-elect committee. Then she will get her supporters to establish political action committees (PACs) to either raise money for the campaign or prepare policy briefs on the issues being articulated in the campaign. At this stage, it is not clear whether Ms Karua has any form of committee to assist in running her campaign, address the issues that will be raised or raise money. If she intends to run a creditable campaign, then Ms Karua must take the necessary steps to ensure that she is not tarred with the same brush that is likely to tar the other candidates.

It is clear that Ms Karua does not have the same financial muscle that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga have, or the networking skills of Mr Musyoka or Mr Ruto, the other so-called front-runners. Therefore, she must establish a fund-raising staff to generate the millions that she will need to traverse the country and to articulate her policies. She must put a think tank together to advice her on the issues that she intends to articulate. She has raised the question of rule of law and the fight against corruption. Whom will she turn to to advice her on these issues? She may have been an ex-magistrate and a legal eagle, and a Minister of Justice, and a three-term Member of Parliament, but this does not mean that she is an expert on law and order, or corruption. If she intends to address the question of youth unemployment, then she must find an expert on economics who will be able to assist her in formulating a strategy to stimulate the economy in order to generate private-sector jobs for the unemployed youth of Kenya.

She has fired the first salvo of her campaign, but now the hard work begins. She has pledged transparency in a Karua administration, but in order for this pledge to be taken seriously by the voters, she must ensure that she runs as transparent a campaign as a possible. If she puts together a campaign staff and if she somehow manages to persuade egg-heads to join her advisory committees, she must announce their appointment or engagement. She doesn't have to tell us what they do or what they advise her, but it is imperative for Kenyans to know what sort of advice she is receiving. If she intends to win, she must get the best people to help her in her campaign. Sitting politicians can only offer her a limited perspective of the political playing field; she needs experts in various aspects of politics, including the nitty-gritty of political campaigning.