A Political Play About a Promise Lari Refused.
Characters
Narrator – Chronicler of Lari’s misfortunes; speaks with the accuracy of a disappointed prophet.
Chorus of Lari Bystanders – Experts in complaining but allergic to thinking.
Gichuka Waithera – The one man who walked all of Lari with a message that required brains, not bribes.
Villagers of Kinale, Kijabe, Kamburu, Nyanduma – Curious but confused.
Villagers of Lari Kirenga Ward – His own people, equally lost, yet pretending they understand him.
Mungai the Incumbent MP – Patron saint of Shoddy Tendering; guardian of external contractors.
Ghost of Lost Opportunities – Appears whenever Lari ignores common sense.
ACT I – The Pilgrimage of One Term
A narrow, dusty footpath in Kinale. Gichuka Waithera appears with determination, hope, and absolutely no envelope of 200 shillings.
Narrator: Behold Gichuka Waithera, the man who walked more kilometres than every promise Mungai has ever fulfilled. His message was simple— painfully simple— the kind of simple that requires a functioning brain: “Entrust me with Lari for one term… and I will change how things are done.” But in Lari, simplicity is suspicious. Hope is suspicious. Anyone who doesn’t bring handouts is extra suspicious.
Enter the villagers, ready to misunderstand him.
ACT II – Questions That Cut Deeper Than a Poorly Built Road
Gichuka stands before villagers in Kijabe.
Gichuka: People of Kijabe… do you know who maintains your roads? Do you know who works on projects in your villages?Do you know when your money comes?
A wave of murmuring spreads— confused, embarrassed, irritated.
Villagers: Eh… maybe… someone… somewhere… in Nairobi? Or is it Kiambu? Or is it… whoever Mungai says?
Narrator: The silence was so loud it could have been registered as a county disaster. For years, Kijabe, and other Lari villages have been fed confusion the way cows are fed napier grass— generously, daily, and without question.
ACT III – The Diagnosis of Rot
Gichuka sighs, then unleashes the truth.
Gichuka: “That… right there… is why your roads look like they were designed by angry potholes. That is why your schools are refurbished like someone applied plaster with a cooking spoon. That is why your projects are not worth even half the money stolen— I mean, spent.”
Chorus of Bystanders: (In unison, proudly clueless) But why are you blaming us? We voted for “experience!”
Characters
Narrator – Chronicler of Lari’s misfortunes; speaks with the accuracy of a disappointed prophet.
Chorus of Lari Bystanders – Experts in complaining but allergic to thinking.
Gichuka Waithera – The one man who walked all of Lari with a message that required brains, not bribes.
Villagers of Kinale, Kijabe, Kamburu, Nyanduma – Curious but confused.
Villagers of Lari Kirenga Ward – His own people, equally lost, yet pretending they understand him.
Mungai the Incumbent MP – Patron saint of Shoddy Tendering; guardian of external contractors.
Ghost of Lost Opportunities – Appears whenever Lari ignores common sense.
ACT I – The Pilgrimage of One Term
A narrow, dusty footpath in Kinale. Gichuka Waithera appears with determination, hope, and absolutely no envelope of 200 shillings.
Narrator: Behold Gichuka Waithera, the man who walked more kilometres than every promise Mungai has ever fulfilled. His message was simple— painfully simple— the kind of simple that requires a functioning brain: “Entrust me with Lari for one term… and I will change how things are done.” But in Lari, simplicity is suspicious. Hope is suspicious. Anyone who doesn’t bring handouts is extra suspicious.
Enter the villagers, ready to misunderstand him.
ACT II – Questions That Cut Deeper Than a Poorly Built Road
Gichuka stands before villagers in Kijabe.
Gichuka: People of Kijabe… do you know who maintains your roads? Do you know who works on projects in your villages?Do you know when your money comes?
A wave of murmuring spreads— confused, embarrassed, irritated.
Villagers: Eh… maybe… someone… somewhere… in Nairobi? Or is it Kiambu? Or is it… whoever Mungai says?
Narrator: The silence was so loud it could have been registered as a county disaster. For years, Kijabe, and other Lari villages have been fed confusion the way cows are fed napier grass— generously, daily, and without question.
ACT III – The Diagnosis of Rot
Gichuka sighs, then unleashes the truth.
Gichuka: “That… right there… is why your roads look like they were designed by angry potholes. That is why your schools are refurbished like someone applied plaster with a cooking spoon. That is why your projects are not worth even half the money stolen— I mean, spent.”
Chorus of Bystanders: (In unison, proudly clueless) But why are you blaming us? We voted for “experience!”
Experience in what? Silence! Experience is experience!
Narrator: The Chorus speaks boldly— the confidence of people who have never audited a single thought passing through their heads.
ACT IV – What Lari Could Have Been
Gichuka steps forward, the light of possibility glowing faintly.
Gichuka: If you give me a chance… Kamucege projects will be done by Kamucege people. Kwaregi by Kwaregi. Bathi by Bathi. Hato, Kamae, Ibonia, Kongothiria— each village working on its own projects. No more strangers arriving with big cars, swollen pockets, and zero accountability. If the work is shoddy— blame your own. If it is excellent— celebrate your own. Lari must be rebuilt by Lari people. The money meant for Lari… will stay in Lari.
Silence again. The idea is too sensible. Sensible things frighten Lari.
ACT V – Enter Mungai, The Patron of Suspicious Contractors
Mungai struts in, escorted by invisible contractors from lands unknown.
Narrator: Unfortunately, Lari has a long tradition; when given a choice between common sense and chaos… Lari chooses chaos with confidence. And so, they re-elected Mungai.
Chorus: We love our leader! He brings development… Eventually… Sometimes… Almost… Okay, not really— but he brings contractors with nice accents!
Narrator: And those contractors? Men who appear suddenly, build nothing, and disappear faster than Lari’s development budget.
ACT VI – The Return of Poverty and Unfinished Things
Villagers gather around a half-built road that ends abruptly in a ditch.
Villager 1 (Kamburu): Why does the road end here?
Villager 2 (Nyanduma): Contractor said money got finished.
Villager 3 (Kinale): But didn’t the money arrive last month?
Villager 4 (Kijabe): Yes… but apparently it got “finished on arriving.”
Narrator enters shaking head as if it is a national duty.
Narrator: Lari again got; poor projects, unfinished projects, corrupted budgets and no local jobs. The only thing Lari got in full? Regret.
ACT VII – The Ghost of Lost Opportunities
A cold wind blows. A ghost floats in— papers of missed chances swirling like dead leaves.
Ghost of Lost Opportunities: Lari… you were offered one term. One chance. One man with a working brain. You rejected him for familiar corruption. Now suffer your poverty quietly— you elected it democratically.
Chorus: But… but… we didn’t know!
Ghost: You didn’t want to know. You prefer suffering you understand to progress you must think about.
ACT VIII – Gichuka’s Last Stand
Gichuka stands at Rukuma viewpoint overlooking the villages that refused him.
Gichuka: I asked for one term. You chose five years of regret instead. You had a chance to build Lari with your own hands… Instead, you outsourced your destiny to strangers. But remember— broken choices produce broken results. I walked your roads. I knocked your doors. I offered a future. You chose a failure contractor you know.
FINAL ACT – The Narrator’s Verdict
Narrator: And so ends the tragedy of Lari; a people who complain loudly, think slowly, and vote carelessly. A community that asks for change with its mouth but rejects it with its ballot. A land where potential dies young because mediocrity is familiar. If you ever wonder why Lari stays behind… Look not at its leadership— Look at its choices.
Lights fade. Curtain falls. The sound of distant machinery—contractors leaving—echoes.
Narrator: The Chorus speaks boldly— the confidence of people who have never audited a single thought passing through their heads.
ACT IV – What Lari Could Have Been
Gichuka steps forward, the light of possibility glowing faintly.
Gichuka: If you give me a chance… Kamucege projects will be done by Kamucege people. Kwaregi by Kwaregi. Bathi by Bathi. Hato, Kamae, Ibonia, Kongothiria— each village working on its own projects. No more strangers arriving with big cars, swollen pockets, and zero accountability. If the work is shoddy— blame your own. If it is excellent— celebrate your own. Lari must be rebuilt by Lari people. The money meant for Lari… will stay in Lari.
Silence again. The idea is too sensible. Sensible things frighten Lari.
ACT V – Enter Mungai, The Patron of Suspicious Contractors
Mungai struts in, escorted by invisible contractors from lands unknown.
Narrator: Unfortunately, Lari has a long tradition; when given a choice between common sense and chaos… Lari chooses chaos with confidence. And so, they re-elected Mungai.
Chorus: We love our leader! He brings development… Eventually… Sometimes… Almost… Okay, not really— but he brings contractors with nice accents!
Narrator: And those contractors? Men who appear suddenly, build nothing, and disappear faster than Lari’s development budget.
ACT VI – The Return of Poverty and Unfinished Things
Villagers gather around a half-built road that ends abruptly in a ditch.
Villager 1 (Kamburu): Why does the road end here?
Villager 2 (Nyanduma): Contractor said money got finished.
Villager 3 (Kinale): But didn’t the money arrive last month?
Villager 4 (Kijabe): Yes… but apparently it got “finished on arriving.”
Narrator enters shaking head as if it is a national duty.
Narrator: Lari again got; poor projects, unfinished projects, corrupted budgets and no local jobs. The only thing Lari got in full? Regret.
ACT VII – The Ghost of Lost Opportunities
A cold wind blows. A ghost floats in— papers of missed chances swirling like dead leaves.
Ghost of Lost Opportunities: Lari… you were offered one term. One chance. One man with a working brain. You rejected him for familiar corruption. Now suffer your poverty quietly— you elected it democratically.
Chorus: But… but… we didn’t know!
Ghost: You didn’t want to know. You prefer suffering you understand to progress you must think about.
ACT VIII – Gichuka’s Last Stand
Gichuka stands at Rukuma viewpoint overlooking the villages that refused him.
Gichuka: I asked for one term. You chose five years of regret instead. You had a chance to build Lari with your own hands… Instead, you outsourced your destiny to strangers. But remember— broken choices produce broken results. I walked your roads. I knocked your doors. I offered a future. You chose a failure contractor you know.
FINAL ACT – The Narrator’s Verdict
Narrator: And so ends the tragedy of Lari; a people who complain loudly, think slowly, and vote carelessly. A community that asks for change with its mouth but rejects it with its ballot. A land where potential dies young because mediocrity is familiar. If you ever wonder why Lari stays behind… Look not at its leadership— Look at its choices.
Lights fade. Curtain falls. The sound of distant machinery—contractors leaving—echoes.
