JAMILA'S MEMO: Of misplaced energies and priorities

There are moments when a country must pause and ask itself a simple, uncomfortable question: What exactly are our priorities? Take a look at our key sectors. Education is under pressure. Healthcare is stretched, and the cost of living continues to weigh heavily on wananchi.

These are not abstract issues; they are the everyday realities of millions of Kenyans. And yet, at the same time, we are witnessing a surge in political activity — early campaigns, rallies, mobilisation — all centred around the 2027 elections, an election that is still 15 months away.

Now, politics is not the problem. The opposition will politic; that is their role. But government is different because it carries responsibility to the people for many things, including education, healthcare and the economy.

So when those in power begin to operate in campaign mode this early, it raises a deeper concern: at what point is the governing going to happen? Because, as it stands, what we are seeing is campaigning every single day.

And I am not saying that government officials should not campaign. They will need to at some point if they want to be re-elected. But that is not the priority now. If the government has done a good job, then its actions will speak for it when the time for campaigns comes.

Priorities are not declared in speeches, but in budgets and decisions. While critical sectors like education and health struggle for resources, we are seeing billions allocated to operations at State House, even as those budgets continue to grow. At the same time, there are reports of millions of shillings being spent daily on movement and logistics for politics.

And the question many Kenyans are asking is a simple one: are these the most urgent needs of the country at this moment? Because every shilling spent is a choice, and every choice reflects what we value most.

Then you look at the reality on the ground — hospitals struggling, schools stretched, and families having to adjust. You begin to see a disconnect between where resources are going and where they are most needed. You begin to see a pattern where urgency at the top does not always match urgency on the ground.

So again, we ask: what are our priorities? What are we thinking about the future? Because a nation’s future is not built in rallies. It is built in classrooms, hospitals and stable households. And if those foundations are under strain while politics accelerates, then we must ask honestly: are we focusing on what is urgent or what is convenient?

In the end, leadership is not judged by how early it campaigns, but by how well it governs and what it chooses to prioritise.