A Political Play from Lari
Characters
Narrator – Calm, piercing, unimpressed by noise.
Gichuka Waithera – Born of the soil, armed with patience.
Waiganjo wa Kamburu – Master of crowds, ceremonies, and confusion.
Chorus of Lari Voters – Loud in groups, silent alone.
Church Elder – Blesses generously.
Mourner – Cries professionally.
The Gardener – Listens quietly.
The Ballot Box – Sees everything, says nothing.
ACT I – “To Know Lari”
Kamûcege village morning. Dew on tea leaves. The sound of hoes striking soil.
Narrator: To understand Lari voters, you do not need to be a professor. You need dust on your shoes. Mud on your trousers. And silence enough to listen.
Gichuka Waithera walks slowly between homesteads.
Narrator: He was not imported. He was not introduced. He was born here. Raised here. And unlike other aspirants, he did not study Lari from podiums.
ACT II – Doors, Not Dais
A door creaks open. A woman weeds her garden.
Gichuka: Mother, how is the soil this season?
Gardener: Tired. Like us.
Narrator: He did not shout promises. He spoke person to person. Garden to garden. Shop to shop.
Gichuka: Lari needs change. But change begins with you and me. Not with crowds. Not with noise. We need to press its RESET button together.
Gardener (after a pause): At least you are from around. You have a clear picture of my life.
ACT III – Waiganjo Enters Loudly
Drums. Microphones. A church compound fills.
Waiganjo wa Kamburu (raising hands): Praise the Lord!
Church Elder: This is mûrû wa ithe witû! Our own brother! Our Messiah!
Narrator: Waiganjo believed in numbers. In gatherings. In applause that echoes and disappears.
Money changes hands.
Church Elder: May God remember you on election day!
Narrator (dry): God remembered. The voters forgot him.
ACT IV – The Professional Mourner
A funeral at Mûng’ere. Waiganjo wipes tears dramatically.
Mourner: He cried with us.
Waiganjo: I feel your pain.
Narrator: Pain was felt. Envelopes were received. But memory is selective in Lari.
ACT V – Things Were Bought
Self-help group meetings. Chairs, tents, irûrí stacked.
Chorus: He bought us chairs! He bought us tents! Leadership is generosity!
Narrator: But chairs do not vote. Tents do not mark ballots. And gratitude has a short lifespan.
ACT VI – Silence Campaign
Back to Gichuka. No crowds. Just footsteps.
Narrator: They never saw him in churches. Never heard him cry at funerals. Never watched him throw money like seed on rocks.
Gichuka: I will not buy your voice. I ask you to use it.
Voters nod politely.
ACT VII – Election Day
Nyamûthanga primary school polling Station. The Ballot Box stands center stage.
Narrator: On election day, noise stayed home. Crowds vanished. Promises evaporated.
ACT VIII – Aftermath
Lari secondary School Tallying centre. Results announced.
Narrator: Waiganjo returned to Nairobi. Not defeated— But confused.
Waiganjo (broken): They called me their Messiah.
Narrator: Yes. In public. Not in private.
He exits slowly, never to return to Lari politics.
FINAL ACT – The Lesson That Refuses to Die
Gichuka stands alone at dusk.
Gichuka: Lari is not moved by spectacle. It is moved by presence.
Narrator (final words): Those who shout to Lari often lose it. Those who knock, understand it. And those who confuse praise with commitment always return to the city empty-handed.
Curtain falls.
Characters
Narrator – Calm, piercing, unimpressed by noise.
Gichuka Waithera – Born of the soil, armed with patience.
Waiganjo wa Kamburu – Master of crowds, ceremonies, and confusion.
Chorus of Lari Voters – Loud in groups, silent alone.
Church Elder – Blesses generously.
Mourner – Cries professionally.
The Gardener – Listens quietly.
The Ballot Box – Sees everything, says nothing.
ACT I – “To Know Lari”
Kamûcege village morning. Dew on tea leaves. The sound of hoes striking soil.
Narrator: To understand Lari voters, you do not need to be a professor. You need dust on your shoes. Mud on your trousers. And silence enough to listen.
Gichuka Waithera walks slowly between homesteads.
Narrator: He was not imported. He was not introduced. He was born here. Raised here. And unlike other aspirants, he did not study Lari from podiums.
ACT II – Doors, Not Dais
A door creaks open. A woman weeds her garden.
Gichuka: Mother, how is the soil this season?
Gardener: Tired. Like us.
Narrator: He did not shout promises. He spoke person to person. Garden to garden. Shop to shop.
Gichuka: Lari needs change. But change begins with you and me. Not with crowds. Not with noise. We need to press its RESET button together.
Gardener (after a pause): At least you are from around. You have a clear picture of my life.
ACT III – Waiganjo Enters Loudly
Drums. Microphones. A church compound fills.
Waiganjo wa Kamburu (raising hands): Praise the Lord!
Church Elder: This is mûrû wa ithe witû! Our own brother! Our Messiah!
Narrator: Waiganjo believed in numbers. In gatherings. In applause that echoes and disappears.
Money changes hands.
Church Elder: May God remember you on election day!
Narrator (dry): God remembered. The voters forgot him.
ACT IV – The Professional Mourner
A funeral at Mûng’ere. Waiganjo wipes tears dramatically.
Mourner: He cried with us.
Waiganjo: I feel your pain.
Narrator: Pain was felt. Envelopes were received. But memory is selective in Lari.
ACT V – Things Were Bought
Self-help group meetings. Chairs, tents, irûrí stacked.
Chorus: He bought us chairs! He bought us tents! Leadership is generosity!
Narrator: But chairs do not vote. Tents do not mark ballots. And gratitude has a short lifespan.
ACT VI – Silence Campaign
Back to Gichuka. No crowds. Just footsteps.
Narrator: They never saw him in churches. Never heard him cry at funerals. Never watched him throw money like seed on rocks.
Gichuka: I will not buy your voice. I ask you to use it.
Voters nod politely.
ACT VII – Election Day
Nyamûthanga primary school polling Station. The Ballot Box stands center stage.
Narrator: On election day, noise stayed home. Crowds vanished. Promises evaporated.
Ballots drop.
Ballot Box (silent):
Ballot Box (silent):
ACT VIII – Aftermath
Lari secondary School Tallying centre. Results announced.
Narrator: Waiganjo returned to Nairobi. Not defeated— But confused.
Waiganjo (broken): They called me their Messiah.
Narrator: Yes. In public. Not in private.
He exits slowly, never to return to Lari politics.
FINAL ACT – The Lesson That Refuses to Die
Gichuka stands alone at dusk.
Gichuka: Lari is not moved by spectacle. It is moved by presence.
Narrator (final words): Those who shout to Lari often lose it. Those who knock, understand it. And those who confuse praise with commitment always return to the city empty-handed.
Curtain falls.
