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Kenyans in the diaspora should buy their own president

In 2016, Kenyans in the diaspora sent home USD $1.6 billion (about KSh. 160 billion). In 2013, Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta each spent an equivalent of about USD $100 million (KSh. 10 billion) vying for the presidency. This year, numbers are projected to rise beyond USD $200 million (KSh. 20 billion) in a "rematch" of the 2013 contest. And just as in the past, most Kenyans in the diaspora will be unable to cast absentee votes, even though the law says that every eligible Kenyan should be availed to vote.

And that is where I think the diasporans [sic] should agitate for greater representation. Kenyans in the diaspora control enough remittances to be one of Kenya's top foreign exchange earners. If they wanted, they could form a movement to pool funds and finances a political party (KSh. 15 billion spending cap), presidential (KSh. 5.25 billion spending cap), and other county-level representatives (KSh. 433 million spending cap). In politics, in Kenya and beyond, money talks. The candidates and parties that spend their money most efficiently and effectively win. We should not underestimate this power.

Image courtesy of http://media.salon.com
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Secondly, diasporans can assume that the rest of Kenyans don’t know how to choose a good president. They have had multiple chances in 2007 & 2013 to choose "better" candidates, but they chose to go with tribe. Further diasporans are exposed to new ideas, ways of life and arguably higher standards of living elsewhere. Assuming they can translate this knowledge into usable form, they are in a good position to bring much-needed economic development to the country.

Whilst buying a president, diasporans can also capitalize their own bank to go head-to-head with the current banking cartel that is holding the Kenyan credit market at ransom. Current commercial bank capital requirements are just USD $10 million (KSh. 1 billion), less than 1 percent of the diaspora remittances. Small informal businesses, which are the backbone of the Kenyan economy could really benefit from such a bank. Of course running a commercial bank is a non-trivial affair and I will leave the matter there.


Between now and 2022 when we will have the next general elections, such an organized movement would prove a formidable "third force". The one thing that Kenyans in the diaspora need to do is to drop their tribal alliances and think of the bigger picture, transforming Kenya. This is a challenge that not even the most seasoned political families could withstand. A united, well-moneyed and insightful movement could be the decisive disruption the current tribal aristocracy requires.
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