A Political Play
Characters
Mungai – The unseen gatekeeper of Lari politics; calculating, confident, patron-like
Aspirants – Men and women seeking nominations, jobs, tenders
The People of Lari (Chorus) – Farmers, traders, youth, elders
Mama Kaburu – Elder woman, blunt and observant
Kijabe Aspirant – Ambitious, anxious
Kinale Aspirant – Wealthy, desperate
Nyanduma Youth – Sharp, questioning
The Ranch – A silent but growing presence (symbolic)
ACT I – The Road to Kwamûnene
(Early morning. A dusty road leading a rural posh home. Sounds of cowbells, bleating goats. Aspirants walk in single file, carrying gifts.)
Chorus (softly): To win in Lari, you must pass here. Not through the people. Not through ideas. But through one gate.
(Kwamûnene appears in the distance: a large homestead, fenced, quiet.)
Kijabe Aspirant (whispering): Is this the place?
Kinale Aspirant: This is it. Kwamûnene. Where votes are weighed before ballots.
(Mama Kaburu enters, leaning on a stick.)
Mama Kaburu: Long ago, this was just a home. Now it is an office without files, a court without law, a ballot box without paper.
(They knock. Silence. Then a voice from inside.)
Mungai (offstage): Enter.
(Lights fade.)
ACT II – The Offerings
(Inside Kwamûnene. Cows tied. Goats bleating. Envelopes exchanged quietly.)
Mungai (smiling): You have come early. Lari likes seriousness.
Kinale Aspirant (pushing envelope): I seek the nomination.
Mungai: Thirikari ni nene. Government is big. There is space… somewhere.
(Kijabe Aspirant brings goats.)
Kijabe Aspirant: From Kijabe. With respect.
Mungai: Good breed. Very loyal.
(He gestures. The Ranch silently grows—more animals appear.)
Chorus (chanting): Cows from Kaburu. Goats from Kijabe. Sheep from Kinale. Votes from everywhere.
Nyanduma Youth (aside): Is leadership now livestock? Is democracy measured in hooves?
ACT III – Promises Without Dates
(Aspirants sit, waiting. Mungai moves slowly, thoughtfully.)
Aspirant: What of my people?
Mungai: They will vote correctly. Correctly means you.
Aspirant: And if they don’t?
Mungai (smiles): Lari people know the way. They follow the path I show them.
Chorus: Some were promised nominations. Some were promised jobs. Some tenders. Some only hope.
(Mama Kaburu steps forward.)
Mama Kaburu: And what do the people get?
(Silence.)
Mungai: Stability.
Nyanduma Youth: Or silence?
(Mungai looks away.)
ACT IV – The Ranch
(The Ranch now dominates the stage: cattle, goats, sheep. Aspirants leave empty-handed.)
Chorus: Kwamûnene has grown. Fields of animals. But Lari villages shrink.
Nyanduma Youth: Schools remain stories. Roads remain speeches. Hospitals remain prayers.
Mama Kaburu: This ranch eats better than our children.
(The Ranch stands tall, unmoving, powerful.)
ACT V – Election Day
(Posters everywhere. Voters line up.)
Chorus: They ask, “Who are you voting for?”
Answer: “The one from Kwamûnene.”
Nyanduma Youth (firm): But what if we choose differently? What if we try Gichuka Waithera?
(Murmur. Fear. Silence.)
Chorus (softly): Lari ni mataha ma mukimo. And it is served by Mungai.
(Mungai stands at the edge, confident, watching.)
Epilogue – After the Votes
(Kwamûnene at dusk. Quiet. Animals chewing. Villages dark.)
Chorus (final): When power becomes a gate, citizens become visitors. When leaders trade favors for loyalty, the future is mortgaged. Beware of Lari where votes pass through one home, and democracy waits outside.
(Lights fade on the Ranch.)
Curtain.
Characters
Mungai – The unseen gatekeeper of Lari politics; calculating, confident, patron-like
Aspirants – Men and women seeking nominations, jobs, tenders
The People of Lari (Chorus) – Farmers, traders, youth, elders
Mama Kaburu – Elder woman, blunt and observant
Kijabe Aspirant – Ambitious, anxious
Kinale Aspirant – Wealthy, desperate
Nyanduma Youth – Sharp, questioning
The Ranch – A silent but growing presence (symbolic)
ACT I – The Road to Kwamûnene
(Early morning. A dusty road leading a rural posh home. Sounds of cowbells, bleating goats. Aspirants walk in single file, carrying gifts.)
Chorus (softly): To win in Lari, you must pass here. Not through the people. Not through ideas. But through one gate.
(Kwamûnene appears in the distance: a large homestead, fenced, quiet.)
Kijabe Aspirant (whispering): Is this the place?
Kinale Aspirant: This is it. Kwamûnene. Where votes are weighed before ballots.
(Mama Kaburu enters, leaning on a stick.)
Mama Kaburu: Long ago, this was just a home. Now it is an office without files, a court without law, a ballot box without paper.
(They knock. Silence. Then a voice from inside.)
Mungai (offstage): Enter.
(Lights fade.)
ACT II – The Offerings
(Inside Kwamûnene. Cows tied. Goats bleating. Envelopes exchanged quietly.)
Mungai (smiling): You have come early. Lari likes seriousness.
Kinale Aspirant (pushing envelope): I seek the nomination.
Mungai: Thirikari ni nene. Government is big. There is space… somewhere.
(Kijabe Aspirant brings goats.)
Kijabe Aspirant: From Kijabe. With respect.
Mungai: Good breed. Very loyal.
(He gestures. The Ranch silently grows—more animals appear.)
Chorus (chanting): Cows from Kaburu. Goats from Kijabe. Sheep from Kinale. Votes from everywhere.
Nyanduma Youth (aside): Is leadership now livestock? Is democracy measured in hooves?
ACT III – Promises Without Dates
(Aspirants sit, waiting. Mungai moves slowly, thoughtfully.)
Aspirant: What of my people?
Mungai: They will vote correctly. Correctly means you.
Aspirant: And if they don’t?
Mungai (smiles): Lari people know the way. They follow the path I show them.
Chorus: Some were promised nominations. Some were promised jobs. Some tenders. Some only hope.
(Mama Kaburu steps forward.)
Mama Kaburu: And what do the people get?
(Silence.)
Mungai: Stability.
Nyanduma Youth: Or silence?
(Mungai looks away.)
ACT IV – The Ranch
(The Ranch now dominates the stage: cattle, goats, sheep. Aspirants leave empty-handed.)
Chorus: Kwamûnene has grown. Fields of animals. But Lari villages shrink.
Nyanduma Youth: Schools remain stories. Roads remain speeches. Hospitals remain prayers.
Mama Kaburu: This ranch eats better than our children.
(The Ranch stands tall, unmoving, powerful.)
ACT V – Election Day
(Posters everywhere. Voters line up.)
Chorus: They ask, “Who are you voting for?”
Answer: “The one from Kwamûnene.”
Nyanduma Youth (firm): But what if we choose differently? What if we try Gichuka Waithera?
(Murmur. Fear. Silence.)
Chorus (softly): Lari ni mataha ma mukimo. And it is served by Mungai.
(Mungai stands at the edge, confident, watching.)
Epilogue – After the Votes
(Kwamûnene at dusk. Quiet. Animals chewing. Villages dark.)
Chorus (final): When power becomes a gate, citizens become visitors. When leaders trade favors for loyalty, the future is mortgaged. Beware of Lari where votes pass through one home, and democracy waits outside.
(Lights fade on the Ranch.)
Curtain.
