Audio By Vocalize
Voters at a polling station. [File, Standard]
One of the names political leaders increasingly use to cheapen one another is mafala or wanjinga—words for fools, people without sense or wisdom. Rivals throw these words to ridicule and diminish. We hear them, laugh, cheer and move on. But perhaps we should pause before we laugh.
There is an uncomfortable truth behind the insult: the people being called fools did not appoint themselves. We elected them. If the leader we chose turns out incompetent, reckless or dishonest, we must ask what happened to our own judgment.
The insult is aimed at the politician, but part of its shadow falls back on the electorate. Do not laugh when the people you elected are called mafala. The joke may be on you too.
