Mr. Igathe, who is vying for the prestigious position of Nairobi governor, has also been seen performing DJ sets and pouring drinks at nightclubs.
While campaigning, some Kenyan politicians have given up their opulent lifestyles and taken to slicing vegetables, pouring tea, and cleaning bathrooms in an effort to win over voters ahead of the general election on August 9.
Polycarp Igathe is one of the politicians who has most amused Kenyans. He put on a brand-new overall, boots, and gloves before grabbing a mop and a bucket to clean public restrooms in Nairobi, the country’s capital.
In front of amused cleaners, he took less than 20 seconds to mop a toilet.
“For a long time it has been considered dirty work but this is responsible work,” the bespectacled Mr Igathe said.
City toilet cleaners frequently clean the frequently stench-filled facilities with outdated mops and buckets.
Mr. Igathe, who is vying for the esteemed position of Nairobi’s governor, has also been seen vehicle cleaning, DJing, and pouring drinks at nightclubs.
Some joked that he ought to come over and watch their children and take care of the housework because of his antics.
Mike Sonko appointed Mr. Igathe as the county’s deputy governor; however, he resigned less than a year later on the grounds that he had not gained the governor’s confidence in his ability to manage.
These public relations gimmicks, according to political analysts, are well known to the electorate and are not likely to sway voters.
Johnson Sakaja, a senator from Nairobi, is Mr. Igathe’s main rival. He, too, has not shied away from gimmicks, posting pictures of himself purchasing tomatoes and onions from the market rather than a supermarket and fish from roadside vendors.
IMAGE SOURCE,JOHNSON SAKAJA
Since 2017, Mr. Sakaja has served as the senator for Nairobi, and this is his maiden race for governor.
Anne Wambui, a resident of Nairobi, made the comment that politicians don’t find out where the markets are until the campaigns start.
“We are struggling to survive in this city yet someone who shops in expensive places comes to pretend to understand us when they want our vote,” she told the BBC.
Didmus Barasa, a Kimilili MP, has started riding in motorbike taxis instead of his opulent vehicle in an effort to win over voters.
In addition, he entered a wheelbarrow that had been set up on top of his car. His party’s emblem, a wheelbarrow, has been utilized to draw in young, entrepreneurial Kenyans.
IMAGE SOURCE,DIDMUS BARASA
Additionally, Mr. Barasa has been seen having tea with residents in a motel with mud walls.
In other pictures, he can be seen preparing tea for a 67-year-old widow using a three-stone fireplace while still sporting his expensive leather shoes.
IMAGE SOURCE,DIDMUS BARASA
With these personal situations, he did not win over everyone and received some foul remarks on social media.
In order to demonstrate his street cred, former senator Boni Khalwale, who is running for office once more in Kakamega, western Kenya, chose to have his shoes polished on the side of the road.
While he waited for them to be cleaned, he sat eating roasted corn.
IMAGE SOURCE,BONI KHALWALE
He used the Swahili phrase “Kazi ni Kazi,” which means “Every hustle matters,” as the photo’s caption.
Additionally, Mr. Khalwale’s ploy angered other users on social media, demonstrating once more that such stunts do not always succeed.
George Theuri, an MP for Embakasi West, uploaded pictures of himself strolling barefoot around the streets with the caption: “Loving every moment in my neighbourhood”.
IMAGE SOURCE,GEORGE THEURI
One of Mr. Theuri’s supporters remarked, “It takes an advanced form of ignorance to trust such politicians,” after noticing that Mr. Theuri was also sporting shorts in the pictures.
Five months ago, senator Isaac Mwaura went to considerable lengths to secure his party’s nomination to run for Nairobi’s city council by chopping vegetables for vendors.
SOURCE,ISAAC MWAURA
Mr. Mwaura claimed that he was attempting to comprehend the difficulties faced by small enterprises in the capital’s Ruiru seat.
Sadly, you weren’t aware of the existence of mama and baba mboga [vegetable vendors] until now. It took the beginning of an election year for this reality to become apparent, one user wrote on social media.
In the end, the politician did not benefit because he was not nominated and would not be on the ballot on Tuesday.
