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DIARY BY SIMIYU BARASA
When you find yourself talking with several guests of the morbid situation of your country during the wedding of one of your friends, you quickly realize there is something wrong with your country. When your National broadcasters show men being dragged out of public service vehicles and hacked to death by a mob of young men who do not even hide their faces from the police a few metres away, and such scenes are repeated more than the advertisements and commercials, then your country is doomed. When you hear that people are chased from their homes into a church for belonging to a particular tribe, and then followed into the church where women and children are locked inside and then burnt alive, my friends, you are no longer in a country, you are living inside hell on earth.
The Swahili (oh, that language that was supposed to unite us and now has been rendered impotent in its intended super-glue powers) – the Swahili say that when you see your friend being shaved with a razor, start wetting your hair in preparation for your shave too.
I do not intend to go gently into that dark beyond without saying a word of goodbye. Friends, (and those who consider me an enemy because of my tribe or lack of it), being of sane mind and in charge of my mental faculties, I bid you goodbye. I chose to write you an orbituary, which you should read as a love letter to my country that has died in that critical moment when its dreams were giving birth to a beautiful bouncing future.
I know not the hour of my death, for no one knows the hour of their death in this country anymore. That man on Naivasha, who was dragged from the car and his speech as he answered questions betrayed him as belonging to a tribe the highway blockers were hunting down, he did not know his death. I have seen myself trying to run from the mob the way he desperately tried, machetes raining on his back, and yet he ran on, three desperate steps, before his body disintegrated into huge chunks of human flesh and fell down. Upon which they cubed him. I too, my friend, am about to face the same death. My tongue, when I try to speak, shall definitely betray me as a targeted tribesman when the mob does come to me. For I do not belong to any tribe.
My sister, Rozi, called me yesterday trembling with fear. She lives in Western Kenya, on the Eldoret/Kakamega border. They had taken a patient to Moi Referral Hospital Eldoret. On their way back, the ambulance was stopped by youths bearing all forms of crude weapons. They demanded to know which tribes everyone in the ambulance belonged to. The driver was of the local tribe, so he was told to step aside. As the others showed their National Identity cards, my sister realized that all around them were corpses of human beings freshly chopped to death. Her turn came and she said she was Luhya. They told her to speak in Luhya, but my Sister doesn’t know Luhya. “I really can’t speak it because my mother is a Taita!†she pleaded. She had to desperately show a photocopy of my mother’s National Identity card which she had in her purse, a photocopy my mother had given to her the previous week to use as a referee for the bank account she was switching to. That photocopy saved my sister. The only language my sister can speak, apart from English and the National Swahili, is Gikuyu. The tribe the youths were targeting.
My friend, I know no tribe. I only know languages. My mother is Taita, my Father is Luhya, and we were raised in Kiambu among the Gikuyu. It has never been important in our family to know which tribe we should belong to, my sisters and brothers have names from both sides of our parents communities. In this chaos, if the hunters of fellow humans were to find us in our house, would they really believe we are brothers and sisters from our names?
If I say am Luhya, the Gikuyu with whom I have lived and now am engaged to one of their daughters would kill me as they have gone on a mission to revenge the deaths of their kinsmen in Western Kenya. If I flee to my parent’s home in Luhyaland, the neighbours will barbecue me alive for I can’t speak their language and of course my mom is from a foreign tribe. Not to forget that the guy who sold us that piece of land where my mom and Dad saved so hard to buy is known to come and insist on grazing his cow on our compound claiming “my cows used to feed here, buying the land doesn’t mean I don’t own it!â€
Now in this Nairobi where I stay, I am wary of my neighbours. The guy opposite my flat is a Luo with whom we argued amicably during the pre-election period on which party we supported. Maybe now, given that friendly neighbours have been the ones killing each other, he might remember our political chats over my litres of coffee and come chop me up?
That is why friends, I have decided to write this obituary. I know not my tribe, I have only known myself as Kenyan, and others as fellow Kenyans. In these times, belonging or not belonging means not being dead or being seriously dead. What chances does a person like me have?
My friends have their tribes mates to protect them. The cosmopolitan Nairobi has now been balkanized with residential estates being exclusive reserves of certain tribes. Complete with murderous gangs imported from up-country to protect their own. Mungiki for the Gikuyu, Chingororo for the Gusii, and the Baghdad Boys and Taliban for the Luo. Where, pray I, is the estate Balkanised for those of us of mixed heritage who know not their war cry of their tribal warriors? The only two tribes I can run to don’t have such armies. And claiming my Dad’s Luhya identity, and a Bukusu at that, is problematic in itself. The Gikuyus are hunting them down claiming they voted ODM together with the Luos, and the Luos are hunting them down too claiming they voted for Kibaki together with the Gikuyus. So such is my fate for my father belonging to this tribe that voted 50-50!
My friends, I have prepared myself for my death. I don’t know how it will be, but since as a Film and TV drama person I believe in rehearsals, I have rehearsed all possible scenarios so that when my moment comes, it won’t be so hard to take it. Chekhov’s method acting manuals are no longer needed. I just turn the TV on during news time or read the papers, and from the several images of people who have been killed in various ways, I choose one to dream and perfect that night. I have dreamt of being locked into a church or building with several others and torched alive. I have smelt the petrol fumes as its being splattered through the window onto our bodies and then round the building. I have seen the flash of the matchstick being lit, and smelled my flesh burning to ashes.
I have rehearsed how I will smile when I am dragged out of a public vehicle and hacked to pieces by the marauding youths who pop up in our numerous roads. I want to die smiling bravely, but just like the guys I see on Al Jazeera and other International TV channels, the moment I get to that part where a red eyed bearded man pokes his head into the bus and shouts “everyone wave your ID cards in the air!†I wet myself and start screaming for mercy, instantly easing their work of identifying foreigners for the blades to work on.
I have rehearsed how best to gasp when a barbed arrow strikes my chest. Or a club smashes my brain out of my skull. Or a spiked plank of wood is driven through my mouth. I have died so many times, my friends, that now I must be immune to the real death when it comes.
I used to laugh at tourists buying maps of Nairobi. I bought one recently. It is stuck in the wall of my bedroom where small pencil marks indicate all the escape routes I will try to walk in to get out of town once the mayhem knocks on my door. Unfortunately, to the west are roadblocks where my Luhya name will mean instant death. If I go Mombasa Road I might run into a roadblock where Kamba’s and all coast people are being cubed. To the North I can’t even dare. To the south I might pass, coz I can speak Gikuyu, but my name would be my passport to the grave yard. That map, my friend, directed me to writing this obituary.
Maybe if I was a famous poet I would go down in history alongside Chris Okigbo, the Nigerian poet who went to Biafra seeking to actualize his poetry but found bullets instead. My friends abroad are asking me if I am safe. Maybe if I had been bright of mind like they were I would have faked a bank account statement immediately I cleared my o-levels and fled to the United States to wash toilets in between my degree courses, but no. When they told me America is the land of dreams, I swore to them I am an Africanist, a believer in the African dream. When they filled scholarship forms to get away from this dark continent, I laughed at them. Now my faith in my country has faded faster than the newness of the news year.
So, friends, some of us never really thought that our tribe was that important. Simply because we were from the tribes that make up Kenya. Some of us have lived in every province of this once great nation and learnt the local languages, drank the local brews, danced the local songs-so well that the locals even gave us the names of their tribes to fondly call us by. I have been called Kamau, Mwanganyi, Wambua, and even Bayelsa in Nigeria. (I should have known, when Dudun told me that Bayelsa is the troublesome state of Nigeria where the Delta is, that it was a premonition of the war in my country.)
I have nowhere to go. No tribe to run to. No tribes men to protect me. Except the grave. Which is what my fellow country men are intent on sending all those who don’t belong to their tribe. Goodbye, friends.. Seeing that all fast food restaurants have a notice ‘pay in advance’, let me take the cue and say Goodbye in advance. When you see a pulp of human flesh in the tarmac with youths dancing round it waving their bloody matchetes, look closely. That ear might be mine. That grinning upper lip might be mine. I loved you, my fellow countrymen. I loved without thinking of your parental lineage. I loved Kenya. But look what this country has done to me: sodomised my sense of humanity and pride.
– Some vivid on the ground reporting and pictures on the situation in Kenya.
– The humor might not work for everyone but I like this guy’s perspective on what’s going on in Kenya.
VUMA KENYA! Initiative is a new and exciting non-profit initiative that is the brain-child of a group of talented, resourceful and socially connected young professional Kenyans based in the US who have decided to pool their resources together in response to the recent post-election violence following the disputed December 27th Kenyan General Elections, to rally fellow Kenyans and concerned global citizens together to bring an end to the violence and strife currently tearing our nation apart.
VUMA KENYA! Initiative not only strives to highlight the plight of the internally displaced, but also strives to rally and mobilize Kenyans both in the Diaspora and in Kenya to be more proactive and socially conscious in addressing this humanitarian crisis. VUMA KENYA! Initiative seeks to encourage productive peace-centered initiatives to evoke change.
To achieve this ambitious goal we are planning to raise awareness using pop culture and the Internet as our main tools. We are therefore planning a benefit concert on behalf of the Kenya Red Cross for next Saturday February 2nd 2008 at the premier concert venue, “THE ROXYâ€, located in downtown Boston. This concert will feature the best of Kenyan artistes including Eric Wainaina, a Berklee College of Music alumnus. In addition we will have Peter Kithene, honoree of CNN’s 2007 “CNN HEROS award†as our keynote speaker.
As a follow up to this benefit concert we are also planning a media campaign similar to “Save Darfur†campaign that will feature international celebrities who command great respect and a large Kenyan following, to appeal for an end to the tribal and political violence.
I’M POSTING THIS SUMMARY WRITTEN BY SHALINI – THINKS IT GIVES A GOOD SENSE OF INITIATIVES BEING UNDERTAKEN BY THOSE LOOKING FOR A THIRD WAY AS WELL AS DISTURBING REPORTS FROM THE GROUND E.G. OF PATIENTS BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.
General update
* The night vigil went off successfully. About 250 people attended, speeches made, songs sung.
* Flower Power will take place on Wednesday 30th January at 10am with flowers being placed at Freedom Corner, Uhuru Park
* Received advice, information and expertise from religious leaders in Sierra Leone, Sudan and elsewhere on how to find a way out. Want faith based leaders to help find solutions
* Patients at Kenyatta Hospital are being discriminated against. A women’s delegation meeting today at Silver Springs Hotel at 3pm will discuss, fact find and report back
* Nation printed a disclaimer on Saturday over sms messages circulating that said their CEO, along with Kirubi and Uhuru have been involved in mobilizing guns in newspaper vans around the country. Lot of concern that unless these rumours are being properly exposed to scrutiny, they will continue to circulate within the system and be believed.
* Is also apparent that this information was spread widely through word of mouth on the street a fortnight ago, and that CCP and others such groups are actually 2 weeks behind as regards what people on the ground are hearing and reacting to.
* More analysis is required on what is actually happening, and how and where thugs are moving to. Problem of misinformation as a tool in a power game means that the population cant separate right from wrong
* Prayers are being conducted in Tanzania (1000 people vigil) and in other parts of the world that our situation may heal
AU summit
* AU meeting in Addis. CCP representative went. Countries under discussion were Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. Was met there by a group from Peace with Justice and Truth, who didn’t have invitation but who CCP rep invited to meeting. Summit was critical of what was happening in Kenya. A communiqué – which reflected the views of Peace with Justice and Truth was created for distribution to various councils. Points included:
AU must seek justice. Current situation is unconstitutional
Investigation of human rights violations
Sanctions against unconstitutional change of government
Advice with Peace and Security councils to promote a peaceful and just solution.
* However AU are saying they don’t want to see a coalition of ODM and PNU. This stance is not viewed favourably here in Kenya, where coalition may be a necessary short-term option, pending constitutional adjustments. On plus side, there was much admiration for the way civic society had taken the initiative to work together.
It was stressed that, regardless of emphasis, the various civil groups working for restoration of order and peace need to ensure they speak with one voice. Message is essentially the same, even if approaches vary.
MP’s
· MP’s should be asked to go back to their constituencies to talk to them and prevail upon people to stay calm. There is silence all round from Parliamentarians. Former MP’s also critical of government for not taking a stronger stand earlier to quell violence. In two weeks the unrest countrywide has reached appalling levels – with no signs that citizens intend to settle down.
· A rep from CCP also going to see the Speaker to ask what plans he has to use his chair to activate peace initiatives through Parliament
· New MP’s must be encouraged to work in a different way to change the current political game playing. They need to be clear about halting current fighting.
Kepsa
· Kepsa briefed Kofi Annan on the situation, and made him aware of the deaths and rapes as well as the economic catastrophe growing in the country. Private sector provides 95% of Kenya’s budget, but won’t be able to in coming months. Kepsa stressed the extreme PNU and ODM positions to ensure Annan was aware of the size of the divide – and that the protagonists are hardening their stance
· With top level so polarized, new effort is being made to target mid level MP’s. Meeting organized to meet and pressurize them to pressure those above them to insist on cessation violence.
· Must move towards constitutional reform
Nairobi Peace Forum
· Mungiki in Dandora and Githurai have asked Luos to leave the area. Violence felt in Kangemi over the weekend
· Street talks – want to diffuse tensions, but youth very excited about idea of war and hot blooded. Many think that Annan, like the others, won’t be able to do anything and are waiting for him to leave before acting. Threat of more trouble imminent. Much hinging on the mediation talks
· People are no longer being forced to move out of IDP camps
Rift Valley
* Religious leaders met and condemned the looting and stealing. They have requested people to repent and change to save the nation from calamity. This coming Sunday has been earmarked as a day of prayer and repentance
* A committee has been set up to investigate and document the cost of violence. Training people to record, interview and write stories would be welcomed
* There is a need to initiate positive dialogue with the Kikuyu in Rift Valley and Central.
Mathare
· Many stories and compilations of information coming out of Mathare from Groots. Many meetings of different tribes split into women and youth meetings at village level to discus the numerous problems in Huruma and Mathare North. Kosovo is now largely Kikuyu and Mathare 4A is Luo, while Dubai and Kijiji have been razed. Landlords evicted from their areas were organizing to violently take back their property. But committees are being formed – there are heated meetings, and clearly a lot of misinformation, but 6 points of agreement have been reached at a meeting of OCD, Elders, DO’s etc. Decision is to not allow segregation and that tribes have to find way to live in mixed communities. This happening in Mabati.
· Ability International has been touring Mathare to contribute food and clothes. Were overwhelmed by the level of need, which is also due to problems present before the election chaos. They are arranging a gospel concert to involve national stars including Jua Cali and Nameless, international singers from Rwanda and Congo, Muslims and Asians. Plan to tour the country, singing and preaching messages of peace and raising funds. All help welcomed.
Mombasa
· There has been a more holistic response to the problem. Religious leaders, DC’s, Business and community leaders meet and work together. As a result 4 camps have been closed and only one remains. People given money to either rent alternative accommodation or to travel to relatives. Goods have been returned to shops. Information as to unrest or trouble arrives immediately through network on the ground and is acted upon in coast wide initiatives. Idea is to implement same in Nairobi and other towns across Kenya
Eldoret.
· Problem is not going away. Major Siaia (sp) has been involved in peace discussions in the area since 1992. He spoke to Kibaki in 1997 about the need for apology to allow the community to own their problems and try to move on. Nothing happened. This current bloodletting is manifestation of larger issue. Most concerning is that young people defy authority directly, in front of TV cameras. They block roads and ignore police. Situation is not in control of authorities but those ruling on the ground. Murder of church minister in full garb is one example of what can occur when this happens.
· Press – a comprehensive press strategy needs to be formed. People have taken positions in the media also
Nakuru
· There is relative calm, but it is not peaceful with much undercurrent. Many killed in Freehold area in the centre. When George Gachara called Mohammed Bakuli at the police station to get some of his friends and their family out, he was first asked which community he came from and then was told the police where overstretched.
Limuru
· People in camps not going absolutely unwilling to go back to their homes. The chiefs are very aggrieved – and it is important to reach out to them. Oathing ceremonies are taking place among the Kikuyu in the camps.
· There is tremendous emotional pain and a desperate need for counseling
· Great concern that Kikuyu are being isolated as a community and that even liberals struggling to remain impartial.
Laikipia
· Stories of unrest emerging in a previously peaceful area. Need to bring elders together to stave off explosions seen in other parts of Kenya
Youth
· Youth leaders Forum met with UNDP and Kofi Annan on Saturday and agreed on a 10 point agenda.
· It was clear in meeting that many young leaders don’t consider that Kibaki stole the vote from Raila. They consider only that their vote was stolen. Raila is only a disposable symbol. Actual issue is theft of right to express through voting.
· Universities due to open and there is much concern as to how students will live in dorms, deal with each other in class and on campus. Many of them are the same young people out on the streets at the moment.
· Christian Union has 40 groups among different campuses. A total of 115,000 people are committed within these groups to bible study, prayer and working for peace.
· There is much concern that youth have nothing to fear, nothing to protect, nothing to lose. Therefore violence is a focal point and a cause. A solution must include providing for jobless young or it won’t work
· Worrying mutterings about creation of a long term plan for all Kikuyu and Kikuyu sympathizers and friends to be removed.
· TV, Newspapers and traditional communication forms not reaching the groups of marauding young. A new strategy for communication has to be found to access them and diffuse the violence.
* Weekend violence and killing took place in Eldoret, Molo, Nakuru, Naivasha, Nyahururu and Kangemi
I’ve deleted a comment made by someone about the hate speech on Mashada, not because I disagree with the concerns raised but because I know the links included would have been bait for guys to respond with their own hateful comments.
I have recently had a conversation with David about the kinds of inciteful and hateful speech that people are putting up on Mashada, and what he was doing about it – beyond my disgust with what people are putting up there… I was/am concerned that it would undermine the wonderful work that he is doing with Ushahidi. David says he’s swamped and the moderators are burning out fast. He tried to shut down the website for a week, but that didn’t help. He is considering paying moderators, but is also welcoming ideas from others (any willing to help him with moderating).
UPDATE: Mashada’s forums have been shut down. David, I’m sure this was a difficult step, but very much a necessary one. For those who are defending the right to free speech or to be aware of “situations” (please read this, I draw the line when that kind of speech is fueling the killings we are seeing in Kenya. No apologies. I don’t see any of those columnists advocating for open season comments and blogging, writing from an environment where people are hacking and burning each other to death with no end in sight.
I can’t speak for everyone who is blogging or hosting a chat room, but here’s my two cents…while opinions and emotions are heated and people need an outlet to voice their opinions; while it is sometimes difficult to know where to draw the line; while it is difficult to balance what we do on a voluntary basis and provide the forums that we provide vs. trying to pay the bills, it is our responsibility to do everything we can to make sure that when people are called to account for what has happened in Kenya (and I do hope there will be accounting one day), blogs and chatrooms are not high on the list of forums that were propagating hate.
First, a couple of people responded to my rant on the coverage by Kenyan journalists by making a point that I should have acknowledged – beyond the government clamp down, the journalists are also inhibited by the positions taken by whoever owns the media houses, there are reports of journalists already being fired for taking a different editorial stance than what is dictated “from above.” [An aside: Is an independent radio station carrying mostly news and NPR type interest stories feasible in Kenya?]
I spent the day away from the news and the computer so I’m just now catching up on the terrible events in Nakuru. Johnny Brooks, a missionary who is living and working in Nakuru has some good accounts from the ground. It seem that efforts to end the impasse have not amounted to much. The worry now is that if what is going on in Nakuru is not contained, other urban areas will flare up again. At least the military has been brought in to restore security (one month too late!). The whole country is still waiting for either Raila or Kibaki (or preferably both of them) to be the bigger person and see that this is about way more than a won or lost election. The country is literally being torn apart. Raila, you can’t call for peace on one hand, while implying that it is OK to kill Kikuyus. Kibaki, you can’t let the violence go on in the hopes of gaining mileage against ODM. But I’m just repeating what many have said. I don’t know what else to say.
I had a conversation last night with someone who was traveling to Western Kenya on Dec 29th. It was a harrowing tale and there were tears in his eyes as he was narrating it. I’m only blogging about it because it was so disturbing, yet this is just ONE example of what is happening. And I think I’m just tired of having the conversation running through my mind and I need to off-load…how did we come to this? The guy is a Luhya, and was driving to Western Kenya with his brother and his sister-in-law who is a Kikuyu and their two kids. They encountered at least 13 roadblocks in Eldoret. This was before the presidential results were announced. In his opinion the violence in Rift Valley was definitely pre-planned, echoing an initial report published by Human Rights Watch. At each roadblock they were stopped by armed gangs threatening to kill his sister-in-law and the kids. The kids were crying the whole way. The only way they survived was by bribing at each roadblock. He said that if they didn’t have cash with them they would have been dead. At one point his brother just got out of the car and asked the gang to kill them all…he was tired of bargaining for lives. There was no police presence at all on the day (meanwhile in Kisumu???). They finally made it to Kisa in Western Kenya in one piece. The results were announced the next day. The brother and a cousin who’s also married to a Kikuyu happened to be in town, a mob caught up with them, beat them to a pulp and burnt their car – their crime – being married to outsiders. The mob, their neighbours and friends. They made it through the roadblocks only to almost die in their “home.” This is just a summary of what happened. The guy giving me the story was a die-hard ODM supporter before the election, but in his words – “no presidency is worth what has happened.”
I’m beginning to think that the only way out of this is for the moderates to begin to get a stronger voice and more prominence. One can only hope right? For more info. on initiatives to bring a “third force” to the fore, check out Peace in Kenya.
On a lighter note (in a bizarre kind of way), check out this great picture by Rob.
EDIT: Links have been fixed. The Raila quote I refer to is as follows: Raila asked the Luo to live peacefully with their Kisii neighbours, saying the Abagusii community had overwhelmingly voted for him, but their votes “had been stolen by President Kibaki”. “We should have seven of the 10 parliamentary seats in Kisii, but Kibaki men stole the votes and we only got four. The Kisii are our people. We must not touch them,” he said. Does that mean that it is OK to go after everyone else who didn’t vote for him?
DIARY WRITTEN BY A MUDACHI
Part of the Kenya I want is a Kenya where politicians will
not run rough shod over the law & the will of the people to serve
their own ends. Part of the Kenya I want is a Kenya where my
consititutional RIGHT to elect my representatives in the Government is
not stolen away from me. Part of the Kenya I want is a Kenya where
there are consequences for one’s action and people are held
accountable for what they do.
It was my first time to vote too. In 1997 I was a bit too young, in
2002 I was out of the country so in 2007 I was all bright eyed and
bushy tailed and rearing to go. Without making a political statement,
I’ll say I did not vote for Kibaki. Part of my reason for not doing so
is that I do not feel he has delivered as much as he could have. And
back to the previous paragraph I believe that our leaders NEED TO BE
HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHEN THEY DO NOT DELIVER!!!
My intention as I cast the ballot was that if the next guy didn’t
deliver than he too would have to go. You see it at your place of work
– you’re given your targets. If you do not meet them, with great
aplomb, then it’s not very likely that the company will keep you on
for much longer. We accept this simple truth in our corporate lives,
why are we prepared to settle for less in our country???
I agree with you when you say we should not forget who we are. We are
KENYANS and God has blessed us with much. It is said that to whom much
is given, much shall be expected. Why then do we settle for
mediocrity? I feel that there is one group of people that is to blame
for the current state of things – they are called Politicians. We know
that our politicians (from both sides of the political divide) are
bunch of lying, cheating, back-stabbing, greedy
I’ll-selll-your-mother-for-a-vote b@stards. Here’s the thing though –
And there’s no escaping this one – WE ARE RESPONSIBLE for them!!!!
They lie to us, embezzle our hard earned and hard paid taxes and we
shrug our shoulders and move on. When are we going to wake up and
realize that THEY WORK FOR US!!!! NOT the other way round? Why don’t
we DEMAND more from them? If you had an employee working for you who
operates in the same way that they do, would sit back and let him
continue or would you fire his @ss?
So what am I saying? In my long winded, apologetically verbose way?
It’s simply this.
Yes, the violence needs to stop – we’re only hurting ourselves while
they are protected in their ivory towers (which we are paying for by
the way).
Yes, we need to pool together our resources (money, time, ideas) to
pick our beloved country up from the whole they have dug for us
Yes, we need to continue with our jobs so that the country doesn’t
grind to a halt (and so that we actually have those resources to help
our brethren in need)
BUT
As we do all this,
We need to make a stand for the Kenya that we love.
We need to ‘fight’ for our rights – and by fight I DO NOT mean physically.
We need to bring our politicians in line so that they can learn that
we, the people, are the ones who hold the power and they should work
to serve our interests rather than their own.
We need to understand that this country is a great nation with great
potential AND it will only achieve that potential WHEN we take the
steps to make it do so.
The responsibility is ours!!
DIARY WRITTEN BY RAY N.
I refuse to fight for so-called leaders who clearly care nothing about me, the common mwananchi. As we speak, they’ve already been sworn into parliament, which guarantees that they are on their way to becoming Kenyan millionaires (at our expense). In effect, we the voters, put them in that position, hence giving them the power to walk all over us now and for the next five years. My question is; what are we gonna do about it? What can we do for ourselves?
Many Kenyans have lost their lives or those of their loved ones, their homes and/or properties, their livelihoods, …., and they continue to suffer as they fight battles for leaders who seem indifferent to their plight. Why should innocent Kenyans, who did their civic (and only) duty by voting peacefully now have to suffer in the name of politics? Politics aside, who will pay for the loss of lives and the damage to private property? Is it all going to be labelled ‘collateral damage’ in the quest for justice and democracy? It seems very unfair to me and I see no justice in it whatsoever.
We keep hearing about justice, but justice for whom? Everyone is entitled to this justice, regardless of their political (or other) affiliations. I say that we, the wananchi, must stand up and demand justice for ourselves. For those who have incurred losses (physical or material), who will compensate them? If I lost my livelihood or my home as a result of the post-election violence, should I just take it lying down? Why should I have to become a refugee or a beggar in my own country through no fault of my own? If my property or my business was destroyed by hooligans who took advantage of the so-called ‘peace rallies’, should I just accept that we have to make some sacrifices for democracy? NO! NO! NO! Even football clubs are fined and made to pay for any damage caused by the hooliganism of their fans and this compels the clubs to reign in the destructive actions of their fans. Political parties and their leaders must be held accountable for all the damage and losses caused by their supporters. The government must also be held accountable for the damage and losses caused by the state machinery.
My ideas of peaceful protests against injustice do not include getting killed or maimed by bullets or batons. They would, among other things, involve filing lawsuits against the ‘giants’ who have put us in the situation we are right now. Many thought that giants like ‘Big Tobacco’ companies could never be successfully taken on by ‘common wananchi’. But it happened. Even colonial powers have been successfully taken on by small communities that were oppressed by them. We Kenyans have to stand up for themselves if we’re ever going to break the pattern of impunity by our so-called leaders. A lot has been said about the inefficiency of our judiciary system but they are not the only courts in the world. Serious crimes against humanity have been committed against Kenyans in the recent past and we would not be short of courts that would be willing to justly hear and try such cases. I’m sure there’s a lot that we can do for ourselves but we’ve got to stop being victims and pawns in a game that we’ll always lose in. We’ve got to start thinking of ways to help ourselves because it’s nonsensical to continue dying and suffering for so-called leaders who don’t even know (or care) that we exist.
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Kenyan Blogs
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