You’re either hustler or user of hustlers; choose one struggle

It is barely two years since the last election and Kenyans are already being treated to a rather nauseating case of political hubris from people who should be fulfilling their pre-election campaign promises.

It is becoming clear that there are politicians who are not interested in changing the economic situation of suffering Kenyans; they would rather keep us in a perpetual state of poverty so that we keep inviting them to churches every weekend for our weekly portion of the begging bowl.

These politicians are not only shameless in their public utterances, but also disrespectful to the house of worship, causing fracas in holy places and exchanging insults before altars and tabernacles. The situation has become so pathetic that members of the clergy who should be protecting the sanctity of the church have joined in this primitive accumulation of wealth, even with the warning from God that he will destroy those who worship the gods of money and earthly wealth.

After the successful recruitment of the last line of civilian protection against societal ills, these politicians have gone ahead to brand themselves the saviours of the sufferer folk and representatives of the Hustler Nation. I don’t blame you for wondering when the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission held an election for suffering Kenyans to elect their president. When you're used to grabbing earthly things with little resistance, every other title is always up for grabs because old habits die hard.

If the government of Kenya were to organise an art competition for the best poster image of a hustler, there would be zero chance of someone living in Karen getting even his earlobe on the winning canvas. This is because the real Nairobi hustler lives hand-to-mouth in squalid surroundings in slums, queues half the day at Huduma Centres, and treks tens of kilometres to and from a casual job.

A true hustler cultivates the virtue of humility because, oftentimes, they're forced to beg for alms from well-wishers to make ends meet. In extreme cases, there will be a leso in a hustler's backpack, because hustling comes with constant rejection from potential employers, and he may occasionally need to find a public park to rest his weary head as he battles depression borne out of systematic government neglect.

A hustler would never promise his fellow hustlers 500,000 jobs every year if he didn’t mean it. That would be the highest level of insensitivity against those who genuinely need jobs to get their families out of rough patches. The hustler's code also prohibits a hustler from defending people who divert public money meant to improve the lives of fellow hustlers, and especially if it is done in bad taste, to seek self-aggrandisement.

Real hustlers cannot afford basic education. They are forced to take their children to architectural death traps masquerading as learning institutions. The classrooms are not even fit for a cow pen, as they are made of rusty iron sheets, chicken mesh railings and loose concrete.

A genuine hustler is the one who takes three years to save for their child's schoolbag and one year for a geometrical set. You cannot claim to be a hustler if you have never taken a loan to pay school fees for your child in Grade One. When a real hustler’s shoulder is dislocated while playing amateur football, he doesn't pose in his hand sling at a five-star hospital like a hip-hop artiste about to go on a world tour.

Last year, businessmen in downtown Nairobi closed their shops to attend a protest march addressing the rising cost of doing business and the state of the economy.

If we didn’t see you holding a placard and shouting at the top of your voice how this government is bad for business, you have no right to speak on behalf of those feeling the pain of running businesses in this country.

You also heard of the woman who gave birth in Uhuru Park after failing to raise Sh10 for toilet use. She had been fired from her job and thrown out of her house for failure to raise rent. If the women in your life cannot relate to this level of suffering, you have no moral authority to call yourself a hustler, as it is an insult to Kenyan women who suffer birth-related complications out of inability to access health services.

You cannot hold a high position in the government that has impoverished Kenyans and still claim to be the saviour of the same people you have killed with bad government policies.

You're either a hustler or you're not. You can’t have your cake and eat it.