The State

I have a libertarian and capitalist mindset, so I naturally believe people should have as much freedom as possible to build, trade, create and live their lives without unnecessary government interference. But I also think there is a point where being too idealistic about freedom can become dangerous. Kenya is not America. We have our own history, our own problems and our own geographical reality.

Take surveillance, for example. The word itself sounds scary, and there are very good reasons to be careful with it. But I don't think all surveillance is automatically bad. Kenya has experienced major terrorist attacks in the last few decades. We live in a difficult neighbourhood, surrounded by countries with their own political and security problems. Some level of intelligence gathering and surveillance is therefore necessary if the state is going to protect its people.

I think of it almost like having a strict mathematics teacher. When you are young, you may hate the teacher because they keep forcing you to do the work and correcting you when you are wrong. Years later, you may realise that the discipline helped you. The problem is not having a strict teacher. The problem is having a teacher who can beat you whenever they want without anyone being able to stop them.

That is how I think about government power. Kenya may need a strong state, but that state must itself be controlled by the law.

This is where I think we sometimes copy Western political ideas without asking whether they were designed for our circumstances. America built many of its institutions around a fear of government becoming too powerful. That fear makes sense given American history. The American system was deliberately designed with many checks and balances because an efficient dictator was considered more dangerous than an inefficient government.

Kenya has a different problem. We sometimes have the opposite problem: rules exist, but enforcing them is another story. We are still a relatively young country trying to build strong institutions while dealing with corruption, insecurity, poverty and a complicated region around us.

So I don't think Kenya needs a weak government. I think we need a strong government with limited powers.

Those two things are not contradictory.

The government should be extremely strong at protecting property, enforcing contracts, protecting borders, maintaining security and making sure the law actually means something. But it should be extremely limited when it comes to telling people how to live, what businesses they can create or what they can do with their own property.

In other words, I don't want a government that controls everything.

I want a government that is very good at the few things it is supposed to do.

And above the government should be one thing: the law.

Not the president. Not wealthy people. Not politicians. Not tribes. Not mobs.

The law.

Because if Kenya ever becomes a country where the rules apply equally to everyone, we will have solved one of our biggest problems.

Kenya and the Neighbourhood

There is another uncomfortable reality we have to accept: geography matters.

Kenya is surrounded by countries with their own political and economic problems. We cannot choose our neighbours. We can cooperate with them, trade with them and help them, but we cannot forget that Kenya has to protect its own interests first.

I like the idea of African cooperation. I like trade between African countries. I like Africans being able to travel, work and do business across borders. But I don't believe that saying "One Africa" automatically makes a policy good.

Integration should benefit ordinary Kenyans, not become an ideology that we follow simply because it sounds nice.

If cooperation makes Kenya richer, safer and more connected, then do it.

If free trade helps Kenyan businesses sell to millions of new customers, do it.

If intelligence sharing makes Kenya safer, do it.

But Kenya should never forget one simple principle:

If we fall, nobody else is responsible for getting us back up.

We have to build a country strong enough to stand on its own first. Then we can help build a stronger region around us.