The ninth edition of the Louis Otieno Road Show made a pitch on the subject of Inclusion and Nationhood at the Narok Teachers'; College in the South Rift. A panel of five made up of representatives from the three main political parties' ODM, ODM-K and PNU; fielded questions from the moderator and studio audience.

There was broad consensus that the question of nationhood underlined one of Kenya's key challenges. The need to consciously reach out and include all communities in decision-making and safeguarding their rights in sharing out resources was considered important in fostering nationhood.

It was felt that where communities failed to see themselves as part of the nation due to perceptions of marginalization, strong sentiments on self-determination could override their commitment to nationhood.

Inequality in Kenya was seen as one of the factors which had created exclusion from development processes to the disadvantage of certain communities. However, development could only be meaningful if it reinforced inclusion in terms of access to resources.

The role of leadership in fostering nationhood was emphasized. Leadership must be based on fairness and inclusion. In Kenya's case, centralization of decision-making had limited the significance of decision-making at the local levels and in cases where the center was dominant, development prospects were affected by the weakening of decision-making at the local level. There was unanimity that visionary leadership was best placed to foster inclusion and safeguard the rights of women and other marginalized groups.