A ruling last Monday afternoon by an elections tribunal of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission had more implications than may have been immediately evident.

Kethi Diana Kilonzo, the star daughter of late Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo, was the subject of public attention in her quest to succeed her father. Kethi, as she is fondly known, came to fame when she represented the African Centre for Open Governance (Africog) during election petitions challenging IEBC's declaration of Uhuru Kenyatta as the validly elected fourth president of Kenya.

All indications were that Kethi - who went for a ticket of the opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) - would be the candidate to beat in the ensuing by-election.

The Jubilee Coalition opposed her candidature vigorously, arguing that Kethi was not a registered voter. The Disputes Resolution Tribunal agreed, saying the acknowledgement slip in Kethi's possession had been stolen and that she did not feature in any of the IEBC's voter registers.

If indeed Kethi presented herself as a candidate for election knowing full well that she had not been registered as a voter, this obviously presents questions of integrity. The IEBC may also wish to pursue a criminal investigation of how the acknowledgement slip was stolen and ended up in Kethi's possession. But there is another more fundamental problem that arises from this case and that has afflicted Kenyans and East Africans as a whole.

There is an attitude among many people in the region's middle class that participation in public matters is something best left for the riff-raff, the suffering masses that readily flock public rallies. Obviously, part of the reason is to be found in economic deprivation - poverty-stricken villagers need very little inducement to move into the public space, whether for peaceful political rallies or to physically beat up opponents of their paymasters.

With their superior education and income, it is understandable that the middle class have largely kept off the dirty brand of politics that is so prevalent in our midst. In the absence of a culture of "civilized" politics and respect for the rule of law, the middle class has sought to distance itself from direct involvement in the political sphere. Whenever we hear of protests in Uganda as a result of opposition leader Kizza Besigye's arrest, or in Kenya to oppose salary increases for Members of Parliament - the participants are no doubt from the lower echelons of society.

By and large, the middle class at such times of civil strife is normally preoccupied with protecting their little earthly property from possible looting - a car or two, a budding business, and maybe a matrimonial home.

Sadly, this apathy has extended to the performance of important civil responsibilities such as voter registration and actual voting. While low-cadre workers and jobless youth endure long queues to vote, many among the middle class find it inconvenient to stand in line.

The participation of the middle class, if any, has revolved around complaining in newspapers and at conferences - where they draw handsome allowances. The few who actually go to street protests are NGO activists with connections to donor funders.

This sort of apathy is a tragedy for regional integration. The political and economic leadership of the region is moving, with varied speed, on the road to regional integration. So are truck drivers and petty traders. But middle class managers and bureaucrats, seated in their comfortable air-conditioned offices in the region's capitals, are missing out.

For democracy to take root and the dragon of impunity to be slain in our countries, all citizens must play their part in bringing about the desired change. This truth applies to regional integration as well. No segment of society - whether a social class, ethnic community or religious group - should shun its social responsibility. The middle class must come out of the closet and fully participate in all the affairs of the region, not just when it is convenient to do so. If nothing else, may Kethi's nightmare serve as a lesson to the middle class and nouveau riche to discard their indifference and join all other categories of citizens in determining our common destiny.