Sonko vs. Fox
on It began in Africa (Kenya), 06/Feb/2012 06:59, 34 days ago
Kenyan MPs are the best paid in the world: with salaries totalling around£84,000 a year they get £250 a day just for turning up in Parliament and do not even pay taxes. It might not sound so bad in comparison to the banking grands fromages and their ilk but the average Kenyan earns £490 a year. Kenyan MPs also have a reputation for corruption of staggering proportionsand three of them are currently facing charges for crimes against humanity at the ICC. Of course politicians all around the world are generally reviled as slimy and self-serving so I thought a comparison might be interesting.This man isGideon Mbuviand he is the MP for the area where we live in Nairobi (Makadara constituency).He is 37 and is nicknamed "Sonko", meaning rich guy. He made his fortune running matatu routes in Nairobi and, as you can see from the photo, he looks more like a rapper/gangster than a politician. Major scandals include beingaccused of dealing drugs by the US Ambassadorallegedlyassaulting a police officerat the Nairobi airport then causing a riot at Kibera Law Courts,punching a walland gettingchucked out of Parliament for wearing an earring(yes, really).His supporters love him. The youth, in particular, say he is one of them and that he remembers the "wananchi" (ordinary people). If you can't pay your school fees or medical bills, you can talk to Sonko. They love that he gets angry with authority, makes headlines and refuses to behave himself.This man isLiam Fox, Conservative MP for North Somerset, the constituency where Eddie and I were most recently living in the UK.Rememberhim? He is 50 years old and has no nicknames I am aware of (apart from maybe "weirdo"). He does not dress like a rapper (at least not on TV - at home, who knows) and is not beloved by the youth. Major scandals? I shouldn't need to tell you that he was Defence Secretary until October last year when he wasforced to resignafter details of his oddly fiscal relationship with Adam Werrity emerged, who he took on diplomatic junkets.Now this comparison certainly shows that generalisations are dangerous: after all, the MPs expenses scandal took place in the UK, not Kenya, and politicians all over the world are held in low-esteem, often with good reason. The fact remains that the MPs expenses scandaldidtake place in the UK: in Kenya it is just accepted that they line their own pockets and can run for election while facing trial at The Hague. Still, would I vote for Fox? Not in a gazillion years! His pro-war, euro-sceptic and anti-abortion positions are too much for this tree-hugging liberal. Would I vote for Sonko? If I were allowed, I just might.