A Political Play from Lari
Characters
Narrator – Sharp, restrained, unforgiving to hypocrisy
Gichuka Waithera – The groom’s maid who saw the wedding before it began
Mungai – The groom, loud and confident
The Kingpin – Invisible, omnipresent, never named
Chorus of Lari Voters – Wise in hindsight, careless in the moment
The Handout – A tempting voice
The Idea – Soft-spoken, often ignored
Time – Walks slowly, speaks last
ACT I – Before the Wedding
Morning in Lari. Smoke rises from kitchens. Radios argue politics.
Narrator: Every election in Lari is a wedding. There is a groom. There is a crowd. There is food. There is noise. And somewhere at the edge— there is always a groom’s maid.
(Gichuka Waithera stands apart, observing.)
Narrator: Gichuka Waithera knew. He knew this was not an ideas election. He knew mouths would be bigger than plans. He knew handouts would shout louder than reason. He also knew the Kingpin had already chosen wedding music.
ACT II – Counsel Without Power
(Gichuka walks beside Mungai.)
Gichuka: The people want bread today, not harvest tomorrow. They will clap, but they will not think.
Mungai (laughing): Let them clap. Let them eat. A win is a win.
Narrator: The groom’s maid is not there to lead the wedding. Only to warn it.
Gichuka (quietly): Win like this, and you will rule alone.
ACT III – The Feast of Noise
Drums. Campaign trucks. T-shirts flying.
The Handout (seductive): Take me. I am quick. I do not ask questions.
The Idea (barely heard): I am slow. I demand patience.
Chorus of Lari Voters: We are hungry! We are tired! We will decide tomorrow!
Narrator: Tomorrow never votes. Only today does.
ACT IV – The Invisible Hand
(The Kingpin’s shadow crosses the stage.)
Narrator: No one saw him. But everyone obeyed him. Votes shifted before ballots were cast. Freedom postponed again.
Gichuka (to himself): They are not choosing a leader. They are renewing a cage.
ACT V – Election Night
Celebration. Mungai lifted on shoulders.
Mungai: The people have spoken!
Narrator: They had shouted. That is not the same thing.
(Gichuka steps back into darkness.)
ACT VI – The Vanishing
Five years pass in silence.
Narrator: After the wedding, the groom’s maid disappears. No one asks where he went. His work was never celebrated.
(Projects fail. Roads remain dusty.)
Chorus of Lari Voters (monthly, regretful): Kaba tûngíathurire Gichuka Waithera… If only we had listened.
ACT VII – Calling the Absent
Markets. Schools. Roads. Water Points. Tea lines.
Chorus: Where is Gichuka? Why doesn’t he speak now?
Narrator: They called him after the feast was eaten. After the music stopped. After the groom forgot the vows.
ACT VIII – Oblivion
(An empty stage.)
Narrator: He vanished like a groom’s maid after the wedding. No scandal. No praise. No statue. Only memory— late, useless memory.
FINAL ACT – Time Speaks
(Time enters, leaning on a stick.)
Time: Lari does not punish ignorance. It punishes delay. Those who ignore truth when it whispers will beg for it when it is gone.
Narrator (final words): Gichuka Waithera did not lose. Lari did. And history wrote his name
not on a ballot— but in regret.
Curtain.
Characters
Narrator – Sharp, restrained, unforgiving to hypocrisy
Gichuka Waithera – The groom’s maid who saw the wedding before it began
Mungai – The groom, loud and confident
The Kingpin – Invisible, omnipresent, never named
Chorus of Lari Voters – Wise in hindsight, careless in the moment
The Handout – A tempting voice
The Idea – Soft-spoken, often ignored
Time – Walks slowly, speaks last
ACT I – Before the Wedding
Morning in Lari. Smoke rises from kitchens. Radios argue politics.
Narrator: Every election in Lari is a wedding. There is a groom. There is a crowd. There is food. There is noise. And somewhere at the edge— there is always a groom’s maid.
(Gichuka Waithera stands apart, observing.)
Narrator: Gichuka Waithera knew. He knew this was not an ideas election. He knew mouths would be bigger than plans. He knew handouts would shout louder than reason. He also knew the Kingpin had already chosen wedding music.
ACT II – Counsel Without Power
(Gichuka walks beside Mungai.)
Gichuka: The people want bread today, not harvest tomorrow. They will clap, but they will not think.
Mungai (laughing): Let them clap. Let them eat. A win is a win.
Narrator: The groom’s maid is not there to lead the wedding. Only to warn it.
Gichuka (quietly): Win like this, and you will rule alone.
ACT III – The Feast of Noise
Drums. Campaign trucks. T-shirts flying.
The Handout (seductive): Take me. I am quick. I do not ask questions.
The Idea (barely heard): I am slow. I demand patience.
Chorus of Lari Voters: We are hungry! We are tired! We will decide tomorrow!
Narrator: Tomorrow never votes. Only today does.
ACT IV – The Invisible Hand
(The Kingpin’s shadow crosses the stage.)
Narrator: No one saw him. But everyone obeyed him. Votes shifted before ballots were cast. Freedom postponed again.
Gichuka (to himself): They are not choosing a leader. They are renewing a cage.
ACT V – Election Night
Celebration. Mungai lifted on shoulders.
Mungai: The people have spoken!
Narrator: They had shouted. That is not the same thing.
(Gichuka steps back into darkness.)
ACT VI – The Vanishing
Five years pass in silence.
Narrator: After the wedding, the groom’s maid disappears. No one asks where he went. His work was never celebrated.
(Projects fail. Roads remain dusty.)
Chorus of Lari Voters (monthly, regretful): Kaba tûngíathurire Gichuka Waithera… If only we had listened.
ACT VII – Calling the Absent
Markets. Schools. Roads. Water Points. Tea lines.
Chorus: Where is Gichuka? Why doesn’t he speak now?
Narrator: They called him after the feast was eaten. After the music stopped. After the groom forgot the vows.
ACT VIII – Oblivion
(An empty stage.)
Narrator: He vanished like a groom’s maid after the wedding. No scandal. No praise. No statue. Only memory— late, useless memory.
FINAL ACT – Time Speaks
(Time enters, leaning on a stick.)
Time: Lari does not punish ignorance. It punishes delay. Those who ignore truth when it whispers will beg for it when it is gone.
Narrator (final words): Gichuka Waithera did not lose. Lari did. And history wrote his name
not on a ballot— but in regret.
Curtain.
