A Political Tragedy in Lari
Characters
Gichuka Waithera — Calm, logical, issue-driven candidate. Believes voters must reason, not pity.
Mungai — Incumbent MP. Emotional populist. Masters sympathy, mercy, and handouts.
Mburu — Campaigns on being an orphan. Emotion over substance.
Karanja — Disabled candidate from a single-mother family. Uses pain as political capital.
Mwangi — From extreme poverty. Turns suffering into a campaign slogan.
Larians — Voters; compassionate, emotional, conflicted.
Narrator — Voice of reflection and conscience.
Elders, Youth, Vendors, Women
ACT I — The Language of the People
Scene 1: Soko Mjinga Market, Early Morning
(Noise. Vendors selling vegetables. People laughing. The Narrator steps forward.)
Narrator: Lari is a good land. A kind land. Here, mercy is a language spoken fluently. Here, tears are understood faster than ideas. And elections? Elections are decided by the heart… not the head.
(Enter Gichuka Waithera, neatly dressed, holding papers.)
Gichuka: Good people of Lari. I stand before you not to ask for mercy— but to ask for thought.
(Vendors pause briefly.)
Gichuka: Our schools lack books. Our roads die in the rain. Our water walks farther than our children. Our youth have no jobs. Garbage piles higher than our hopes.
(Vendors nod slowly.)
Woman Vendor: You speak well, Waithera. But tell us—what pain do you carry?
Gichuka (confused): Pain? I carry plans.
(Silence.)
Man: Eh… plans don’t cry.
(The crowd resumes trading.)
Gichuka (softly): Reason is lonely in a crowd trained to feel.
Scene 2: Mburu’s Rally
Characters
Gichuka Waithera — Calm, logical, issue-driven candidate. Believes voters must reason, not pity.
Mungai — Incumbent MP. Emotional populist. Masters sympathy, mercy, and handouts.
Mburu — Campaigns on being an orphan. Emotion over substance.
Karanja — Disabled candidate from a single-mother family. Uses pain as political capital.
Mwangi — From extreme poverty. Turns suffering into a campaign slogan.
Larians — Voters; compassionate, emotional, conflicted.
Narrator — Voice of reflection and conscience.
Elders, Youth, Vendors, Women
ACT I — The Language of the People
Scene 1: Soko Mjinga Market, Early Morning
(Noise. Vendors selling vegetables. People laughing. The Narrator steps forward.)
Narrator: Lari is a good land. A kind land. Here, mercy is a language spoken fluently. Here, tears are understood faster than ideas. And elections? Elections are decided by the heart… not the head.
(Enter Gichuka Waithera, neatly dressed, holding papers.)
Gichuka: Good people of Lari. I stand before you not to ask for mercy— but to ask for thought.
(Vendors pause briefly.)
Gichuka: Our schools lack books. Our roads die in the rain. Our water walks farther than our children. Our youth have no jobs. Garbage piles higher than our hopes.
(Vendors nod slowly.)
Woman Vendor: You speak well, Waithera. But tell us—what pain do you carry?
Gichuka (confused): Pain? I carry plans.
(Silence.)
Man: Eh… plans don’t cry.
(The crowd resumes trading.)
Gichuka (softly): Reason is lonely in a crowd trained to feel.
Scene 2: Mburu’s Rally
(Mburu stands dramatically. Women wipe tears.)
Mburu: I am an orphan! No father. No mother. Only struggle!
Crowd: Eeh! Pole sana!
Mburu: Vote for me so my pain may finally mean something!
Narrator: And so the ballot becomes a condolence card.
Scene 3: Karanja’s Gathering
Mburu: I am an orphan! No father. No mother. Only struggle!
Crowd: Eeh! Pole sana!
Mburu: Vote for me so my pain may finally mean something!
Narrator: And so the ballot becomes a condolence card.
Scene 3: Karanja’s Gathering
(Karanja sits on a wheelchair.)
Karanja: I am saved and disabled. Raised by a single mother. If I can rise, so can Lari!
Crowd: Amen! Amen!
Youth (whispering): But what is his plan for jobs?
Old Woman: Shhh. Let him finish suffering first.
Scene 4: Mwangi’s Story
(Mwangi holds torn shoes.)
Mwangi: I grew up hungry. I slept without blankets. Vote for me—I know poverty personally!
Narrator: In Lari, biography has replaced policy.
ACT II — Logic in a Land of Mercy
Karanja: I am saved and disabled. Raised by a single mother. If I can rise, so can Lari!
Crowd: Amen! Amen!
Youth (whispering): But what is his plan for jobs?
Old Woman: Shhh. Let him finish suffering first.
Scene 4: Mwangi’s Story
(Mwangi holds torn shoes.)
Mwangi: I grew up hungry. I slept without blankets. Vote for me—I know poverty personally!
Narrator: In Lari, biography has replaced policy.
ACT II — Logic in a Land of Mercy
Scene 1: Gichuka’s Final Rally
(Small crowd. Mostly youth.)
Gichuka: I could tell you I am poor. I could invent a tragedy. But Lari does not need my tears. It needs solutions.
Youth: Why don’t you tell them something painful? It helps.
Gichuka: Leadership is not therapy. It is responsibility.
Elder: Waithera, you deserve mercy.
Gichuka: I do not want mercy. I want reasoning.
(The elder sighs.)
Elder: That may be your mistake.
Scene 2: Mungai’s Grand Rally
(Drums. Ululation. Mungai enters waving.)
Mungai: My people! I feel your pain! I understand your suffering!
Crowd: He understands us!
Mungai: Have I not walked with you? Have I not given you small something?
(Handouts distributed.)
Woman: He is compassionate!
Youth: But he has done nothing.
Man: At least he feels for us.
Narrator: In Lari, feeling has defeated doing many times.
ACT III — The Choice
Scene 1: Voting Day
(Queue at polling station.)
Voter 1: Gichuka speaks sense… but he is cold.
Voter 2: Mungai feels our pain.
Voter 3: Yes. Even if nothing changes.
Scene 2: Results Announcement
(Drums.)
Announcer: Gichuka Waithera… defeated.
(Gichuka closes his eyes.)
Announcer: Mungai… re-elected!
(Cheers.)
Scene 3: After the Election
(Gichuka stands alone.)
Narrator: Lari chose mercy over logic. Compassion over competence. Emotion over reason.
Gichuka (calm): They are kind people. But kindness without thinking is generosity to failure.
(Enter Mungai, smiling.)
Mungai: Waithera, don’t be bitter. People vote with the heart not mind.
Gichuka: Yes. And they suffer with the both mind and body.
Final Monologue
(Small crowd. Mostly youth.)
Gichuka: I could tell you I am poor. I could invent a tragedy. But Lari does not need my tears. It needs solutions.
Youth: Why don’t you tell them something painful? It helps.
Gichuka: Leadership is not therapy. It is responsibility.
Elder: Waithera, you deserve mercy.
Gichuka: I do not want mercy. I want reasoning.
(The elder sighs.)
Elder: That may be your mistake.
Scene 2: Mungai’s Grand Rally
(Drums. Ululation. Mungai enters waving.)
Mungai: My people! I feel your pain! I understand your suffering!
Crowd: He understands us!
Mungai: Have I not walked with you? Have I not given you small something?
(Handouts distributed.)
Woman: He is compassionate!
Youth: But he has done nothing.
Man: At least he feels for us.
Narrator: In Lari, feeling has defeated doing many times.
ACT III — The Choice
Scene 1: Voting Day
(Queue at polling station.)
Voter 1: Gichuka speaks sense… but he is cold.
Voter 2: Mungai feels our pain.
Voter 3: Yes. Even if nothing changes.
Scene 2: Results Announcement
(Drums.)
Announcer: Gichuka Waithera… defeated.
(Gichuka closes his eyes.)
Announcer: Mungai… re-elected!
(Cheers.)
Scene 3: After the Election
(Gichuka stands alone.)
Narrator: Lari chose mercy over logic. Compassion over competence. Emotion over reason.
Gichuka (calm): They are kind people. But kindness without thinking is generosity to failure.
(Enter Mungai, smiling.)
Mungai: Waithera, don’t be bitter. People vote with the heart not mind.
Gichuka: Yes. And they suffer with the both mind and body.
Final Monologue
Narrator (to audience): Lari voters are compassionate. That is their strength. But compassion without reasoning is a bridge built halfway across a river. Gichuka Waithera deserved mercy. But he asked for minds. And until voters learn that leadership is not a charity case— the future will always lose to the past.
Curtain falls.
Curtain falls.
