A Play About Democracy Gone to the Dogs and the People Who Fed It
Characters
Villager – Narrator, truth-teller, carrier of uncomfortable realities.
Gichuka Waithera – Son of Lari, hardworking, hopeful, betrayed.
Mûngai – Stranger-turned-MP, nobody knows his home, but everyone knows his money.
Karoki wa Matathia – Village philosopher, part-time gossip distributor.
Nyawira – Youth leader who accepted campaign t-shirts in all colors.
Ndungi the Boda Man – Voter who asked for fuel money “just to listen.”
Chorus of Lari Voters – They clap for anyone with money.
ACT I – The Homecoming of Hope
Scene 1: Gitithia Village, Late Sunday Afternoon
(Lights up. Villagers gather around Gichuka Waithera, clapping his back proudly.)
Villager: (steps forward) Behold Gichuka Waithera, son of the soil. He was born here… right next to the Karera Forest. He herded goats with these very voters. He borrowed chalk from the same teachers. He even fetched water from their rivers—before they dried up from broken promises.
Nyawira: (hugging him) Gichuka, you are one of us! If anyone deserves the Lari MP seat, it is you.
Ndungi: (excited) My brother, go for it! We are behind you.
Karoki: (raising a finger wisely) Behind him… but not too far. We must still remain close to the parade of handouts.
(They laugh. Gichuka smiles humbly.)
Gichuka: I want to serve. I want to change Lari. I want our children to dream again.
Crowd: (cheering) Tunakupea! We shall support you!
Villager: (to audience) Ah, yes. Sweet words. Warm smiles. Empty promises— from the voters this time.
(Lights fade as Gichuka begins campaigning with excitement.)
ACT II – The Other Man with Money
Scene 1: The Arrival of Mûngai
(Lights up. A convoy of sleek cars enters. Mûngai steps out wearing sunglasses at night.)
Chorus of Voters: (gasping) Wooooi! Money has arrived!
Mûngai: (spreading arms) My people of Lari, I may not know exactly where I come from… but I know where money comes from. (He throws bundles of notes in the air.)
Nyawira: (catching a note mid-air) Leadership! This is what leadership looks like!
Ndungi: Mheshimiwa, even if we don’t know your village, your money knows our pockets.
Karoki: (whispering) Let me tell you, the devil is not powerful… he’s just well-funded.
Villager: (steps forward) And so, ladies and gentlemen, the election was no longer a contest of ideas. It became a supermarket— and votes were on sale. No receipts. No refunds.
(Lights dim.)
ACT III – Election Day: The Three Votes
Scene 1: Gitithia Primary Polling Station
(Gichuka stands anxiously. Ballot boxes are counted. Silence.)
Official: (reading results) For Hon. Mûngai – 3,689 votes. For Gichuka Waithera – … (long pause) … 3 votes.
Gichuka: (confused) Three? Three?
Nyawira: (avoiding eye contact) Eeeh… people were… busy.
Ndungi: (scratching head) Maybe the pen was not writing?
Karoki: (philosophically) My friend, don’t be shocked. Even Jesus fed five thousand people, but only one returned to say thank you.
Villager: (to audience) And there it was. The tragedy of Lari. A man born among them received the votes of a small family gathering. And, ironically, even his own relatives were looking suspicious.
Lights fade as Gichuka stands alone—heartbroken.
ACT IV – The MP Who Came from Nowhere
Scene 1: One Month Later, Mûngai’s New Office
(A shiny office labeled: “Hon. Mûngai: Development Later, Reimbursement First.”)
Mûngai: (counting cash) Politics is arithmetic. Campaigns subtract money. Leadership adds it back.
Assistant: Sir, the people of Lari are asking for your home village.
Mûngai: Why? Are they planning to fix my road?
Assistant: They want to know where you grew up and live.
Mûngai: (laughs) I grew up in opportunity. That is enough biography.
Villager: (to audience) And still, the people clapped for him. Because when you’re hungry, even confusion tastes like food.
ACT V – The Great Realization
Scene 1: Muddy Roads of Gitithia
(Gichuka walks past villagers stuck in mud. Children jump over puddles.)
Gichuka: (quietly) These were the roads I wanted to fix.
Nyawira: (embarrassed) We thought… Mûngai would do it.
Ndungi: He will! Maybe after he finishes… recovering… whatever he is recovering.
Karoki: (leaning on a stick) You know, a wise man once said: “When voters sell their vote, they also sell their right to complain. You cannot eat your future and expect it to grow!”
Villager: (stepping forward) And now, the same voters who mocked Gichuka are searching for him quietly… hoping he will run again. But hope weakens when eaten too often.
ACT VI – The Confession at the Shopping Centre
Scene 1: Public Meeting at Gitithia
(Mûngai arrives with bodyguards. Villagers gather.)
Crowd: Mheshimiwa… life is becoming tough.
Mûngai: (confident) Did I promise life would be easy?
Nyawira: The roads are bad.
Mûngai: Then walk carefully.
Ndungi: The dispensary lacks medicine.
Mûngai: Drink water. Hydration cures many things. Also use Wanjirû wa rûrií and other traditional herbs.
Karoki: (steps forward, furious) Mheshimiwa, this is not what you promised!
Mûngai: (proudly) I promised money— and I gave it. Development was never part of the deal.
(Crowd gasps.)
Villager: (slowly) And thus, the truth rose like morning sun. Painful. Bright. Blinding.
Mûngai: Anyway, I will see you next election. Bring your problems… and clean stomachs.
(He exits.)
Villagers remain speechless.
ACT VII – The Final Warning of Lari
Villager: (spotlight on him) People of Lari, hear me now. You knew Gichuka Waithera. You knew his home, his parents, his history, his footsteps in your dust. And still, you traded him for a stranger’s coins. You sold your loyalty at the kiosk. You voted your stomach instead of your future.
(pauses)
Villager: And do you know what Karoki from Matathia once said? (raises voice, quoting) “Andû a Lari no maríe mai—níguo maheo mbeca.” He shakes his head sadly.
Villager: But remember this— you can betray a candidate, but you cannot escape the consequences. Because when you vote for the highest bidder, you become the lowest priority. He turns to exit, then stops.
Villager: The problem is not Mûngai. The problem is the people who clap for him. But the solution? (stares at audience) That is also you.
(Lights fade. Curtain.)
Characters
Villager – Narrator, truth-teller, carrier of uncomfortable realities.
Gichuka Waithera – Son of Lari, hardworking, hopeful, betrayed.
Mûngai – Stranger-turned-MP, nobody knows his home, but everyone knows his money.
Karoki wa Matathia – Village philosopher, part-time gossip distributor.
Nyawira – Youth leader who accepted campaign t-shirts in all colors.
Ndungi the Boda Man – Voter who asked for fuel money “just to listen.”
Chorus of Lari Voters – They clap for anyone with money.
ACT I – The Homecoming of Hope
Scene 1: Gitithia Village, Late Sunday Afternoon
(Lights up. Villagers gather around Gichuka Waithera, clapping his back proudly.)
Villager: (steps forward) Behold Gichuka Waithera, son of the soil. He was born here… right next to the Karera Forest. He herded goats with these very voters. He borrowed chalk from the same teachers. He even fetched water from their rivers—before they dried up from broken promises.
Nyawira: (hugging him) Gichuka, you are one of us! If anyone deserves the Lari MP seat, it is you.
Ndungi: (excited) My brother, go for it! We are behind you.
Karoki: (raising a finger wisely) Behind him… but not too far. We must still remain close to the parade of handouts.
(They laugh. Gichuka smiles humbly.)
Gichuka: I want to serve. I want to change Lari. I want our children to dream again.
Crowd: (cheering) Tunakupea! We shall support you!
Villager: (to audience) Ah, yes. Sweet words. Warm smiles. Empty promises— from the voters this time.
(Lights fade as Gichuka begins campaigning with excitement.)
ACT II – The Other Man with Money
Scene 1: The Arrival of Mûngai
(Lights up. A convoy of sleek cars enters. Mûngai steps out wearing sunglasses at night.)
Chorus of Voters: (gasping) Wooooi! Money has arrived!
Mûngai: (spreading arms) My people of Lari, I may not know exactly where I come from… but I know where money comes from. (He throws bundles of notes in the air.)
Nyawira: (catching a note mid-air) Leadership! This is what leadership looks like!
Ndungi: Mheshimiwa, even if we don’t know your village, your money knows our pockets.
Karoki: (whispering) Let me tell you, the devil is not powerful… he’s just well-funded.
Villager: (steps forward) And so, ladies and gentlemen, the election was no longer a contest of ideas. It became a supermarket— and votes were on sale. No receipts. No refunds.
(Lights dim.)
ACT III – Election Day: The Three Votes
Scene 1: Gitithia Primary Polling Station
(Gichuka stands anxiously. Ballot boxes are counted. Silence.)
Official: (reading results) For Hon. Mûngai – 3,689 votes. For Gichuka Waithera – … (long pause) … 3 votes.
Gichuka: (confused) Three? Three?
Nyawira: (avoiding eye contact) Eeeh… people were… busy.
Ndungi: (scratching head) Maybe the pen was not writing?
Karoki: (philosophically) My friend, don’t be shocked. Even Jesus fed five thousand people, but only one returned to say thank you.
Villager: (to audience) And there it was. The tragedy of Lari. A man born among them received the votes of a small family gathering. And, ironically, even his own relatives were looking suspicious.
Lights fade as Gichuka stands alone—heartbroken.
ACT IV – The MP Who Came from Nowhere
Scene 1: One Month Later, Mûngai’s New Office
(A shiny office labeled: “Hon. Mûngai: Development Later, Reimbursement First.”)
Mûngai: (counting cash) Politics is arithmetic. Campaigns subtract money. Leadership adds it back.
Assistant: Sir, the people of Lari are asking for your home village.
Mûngai: Why? Are they planning to fix my road?
Assistant: They want to know where you grew up and live.
Mûngai: (laughs) I grew up in opportunity. That is enough biography.
Villager: (to audience) And still, the people clapped for him. Because when you’re hungry, even confusion tastes like food.
ACT V – The Great Realization
Scene 1: Muddy Roads of Gitithia
(Gichuka walks past villagers stuck in mud. Children jump over puddles.)
Gichuka: (quietly) These were the roads I wanted to fix.
Nyawira: (embarrassed) We thought… Mûngai would do it.
Ndungi: He will! Maybe after he finishes… recovering… whatever he is recovering.
Karoki: (leaning on a stick) You know, a wise man once said: “When voters sell their vote, they also sell their right to complain. You cannot eat your future and expect it to grow!”
Villager: (stepping forward) And now, the same voters who mocked Gichuka are searching for him quietly… hoping he will run again. But hope weakens when eaten too often.
ACT VI – The Confession at the Shopping Centre
Scene 1: Public Meeting at Gitithia
(Mûngai arrives with bodyguards. Villagers gather.)
Crowd: Mheshimiwa… life is becoming tough.
Mûngai: (confident) Did I promise life would be easy?
Nyawira: The roads are bad.
Mûngai: Then walk carefully.
Ndungi: The dispensary lacks medicine.
Mûngai: Drink water. Hydration cures many things. Also use Wanjirû wa rûrií and other traditional herbs.
Karoki: (steps forward, furious) Mheshimiwa, this is not what you promised!
Mûngai: (proudly) I promised money— and I gave it. Development was never part of the deal.
(Crowd gasps.)
Villager: (slowly) And thus, the truth rose like morning sun. Painful. Bright. Blinding.
Mûngai: Anyway, I will see you next election. Bring your problems… and clean stomachs.
(He exits.)
Villagers remain speechless.
ACT VII – The Final Warning of Lari
Villager: (spotlight on him) People of Lari, hear me now. You knew Gichuka Waithera. You knew his home, his parents, his history, his footsteps in your dust. And still, you traded him for a stranger’s coins. You sold your loyalty at the kiosk. You voted your stomach instead of your future.
(pauses)
Villager: And do you know what Karoki from Matathia once said? (raises voice, quoting) “Andû a Lari no maríe mai—níguo maheo mbeca.” He shakes his head sadly.
Villager: But remember this— you can betray a candidate, but you cannot escape the consequences. Because when you vote for the highest bidder, you become the lowest priority. He turns to exit, then stops.
Villager: The problem is not Mûngai. The problem is the people who clap for him. But the solution? (stares at audience) That is also you.
(Lights fade. Curtain.)
