By now it sounds cliche to use this phrase, but I believe politics is not dirty, the game played by those in power is dirty.
When people refer to politics as dirty, they mean that politics are morally unclean due to the issues and extent reached while running the government and the political game. Politics has been made dirty by the players, those who play the dirtiest win more times than not, and when the good genuine politicians lose it's fair to say it's their fault they didn't play well.
Unfortunately, if they don't play in an "established" manner, then the journey to failure is guaranteed.
Historically there are a lot of political occurrences that support the phrase. In some situations, politicians themselves admitted to some truth in the concept.
In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC, the 65-year-old, Botswana former president, Ian Khama who resigned after 10 years, affirmed the cliché but insisted on separating the concept of governance and politics that came with the office. " Happy, as in enjoying the job? politics I found enjoyable but I divide politics and government work because most of the time was taken by government work; the policies you come up with, programs, and implementing them for the benefit of the people. Politics is party politics and all the nonsense. You must have heard the expression about how dirty politics are, it's dirty in any country where you go the amount of negativity that is generated and self-interest that drives a lot of people." He added. That is just one case of an African president proving the point.
Why is political thought of his dirty?
The statement refers to all those many political undertakings that reflect on the nature of the game. What politicians do to get into power, the amount of resources wasted during political campaigns and aspirations is enough to educate all children in a country. The betrayals and backstabbing in the chase for personal, selfish interests. The level of lies, dishonesty, and manipulation that goes on is outstanding.
These are the same smiles received every day on TV and in public places, people who promised a lot of lies directly to the people, who will do anything including murder directly or indirectly (I mean stealing money meant for hospitals or building bridges is an indirect intentional mass murder) just to secure a position of power.
A case of Nigeria during the campaign where a lot of money was disposed at Abuja, the capital during the PDP presidential primaries, begs s the question of poverty levels and financial crisis in Nigeria.
People no longer hide under the pretense of good morals based on character, agender, or manifestos. It's a competition who can dash out the most money. How then can we defend the image of politics and politicians?
Some countries in Africa, have the crown as the dirtiest when it comes to political activities. South Africa is one to behold, it never fails when it comes to corruption. The level of hypocrisy is bewildering with an exceptional system already in place to ensure the smooth execution of these immoral acts tainting politics leaving it with barely any hope.
Zuma's time in office has been marked by controversy and accusations of corruption. Zuma's resignation on February 14th, 2018, came after months of pressure from the ANC. In 2018 April, it was announced that Zuma would be prosecuted on twelve accounts of fabrication and racketeering, two of corruption, and one of money laundering. Zuma faced corruption charges involving a 2.5 billion US dollar South African arms deal.
Although South Africa is subject to various political misconducts, wasteful expenditure, corruption, and state capture are more notable. Civil Society Group Corruption Watch, published its annual report for 2021 highlighting the types of corruption that have continued to affect the country post-pandemic. Over 3,200 whistleblowers across South Africa reported allegations of experiences of corruption and other forms of misconduct to corruption watch, over the reporting period bringing the total number to 36,224.
According to the corruption percentage index PPI, which is a respected leading global indicator of public sector corruption that scores and ranks 180 countries and territories across the globe, South Africa has a CPI of 44/100.
In East Africa, particularly Kenya, political patronage keeps reigning, especially during the ongoing election periods and the political realigning of allegiance intensifies and everyone is resorting to all manner of tactics including well-coordinated propaganda, intimidation, and dirty exchange of words in public.
All of these approaches aimed at gaining the mass's approval in their quest for power. The political scene is dominated by threats of violence and the use of obscene language against opponents that hurt the overall perception of politics and prove the cliche. Politics in Kenya is closely linked to violence across tribal lines, we preach equality and unity but the moment elections are around the corner, that's when reason is replaced by misguided self-interest. No one supports the agendas, characters, or manifestos of the aspirants. The true lure of power will never allow them to respect themselves. How will the narrative change if those instruments put in places like the anticorruption commission, the police, and all other government structures are all victims and puppets to the dirty political
