State's persecution of Gachagua adds muscle to his political stature

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has endured the brunt of the police service. [File, Standard]

Across the spectrum of coloUrful individuals, history is replete with leaders who deliberately targeted the church to intimidate Christians. The motivation for such attacks was to either break resistance or impose ideological control. From 14th century Governor of Wallachia (South Eastern Romania) Vlad III, to Chinese Mao Zedong, Russian Joseph Stalin and North Korean Kim Jong Un, there is a central theme of persecution, intimidation, harassment and terror designed to weaken citizen support of opponents. Stalin was obsessed with eliminating alternative sources of loyalty, and so is Jong Un today.

Closer home, we are experiencing a similar phenomenon. Church attendance is being unobtrusively demonised by state operatives. Going to church can result in either of two things: communion with God, or confrontation with armed police officers who throw tear gas and fire live bullets into the packed churches for sport.

What happened to our collective conscience, the 'fear of the lord", and respect for the sanctity of the church? There was a time, not too long ago, when armed robbers could run into a church and be safe, and the police would wait outside out of respect until the criminals surrendered.

A tad too many times, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has endured the brunt of a police service serving at the behest of the executive. He has been harassed and tear-gassed on several occasions, many of which were as harmless as attending a church service.

A few people in places of influence view Gachagua as a rabble-rouser, hence the desperate need to intimidate and silence him while fully aware that putting the muzzle on him infringes on his right to free speech. Worse, these attacks infringe on the believers' constitutional right to worship. They create fear around some politicians in such a way that people avoid proximity with them for fear of attacks. This is targeted alienation of popular leaders, which is anathema in a country that prophesses democratic ideals.

Gachagua’s motorcade has on many occasions been shot at, pelted with stones and teargassed, just because the ‘truthful man’ says things that go against the grain of the executive. Rather than trigger reflection, Gachagua’s taunts keep bringing out the worst in the government, painting it as intolerant to alternative views, a violator of human rights, autocratic and the butcher of the sacred cow we call democracy.

These unprovoked attacks are achieving the opposite of what they are intended to achieve. They are adding muscle to Gachagua's political stature and by the time their architects realise the futility of their efforts, he will have become another Raila. Gachagua is following in the footsteps of individuals who endured state persecution to later become presidents themselves. Among them are Lech Walesa (Poland), Jose Mujica (Uruguay), Kim Dae-Jung (South Korea), Mitchelle Bachelet (Chile) and Vaclav Havel (Czechoslovania)

No matter our biases, Gachagua is building a dedicated following countrywide. His claims now resonate with a lot of people as he pulls the rug from under deceitful leaders. His take on how schools should admit Grade 10 students and the mechanical reaction by leaders from Northern Kenya has opened a can of worms that the latter wishes remained sealed. It is becoming increasingly evident that leaders in Northern Kenya have systematically been fleecing their own people, emasculating them, denying them services by hiding behind the facade of marginalisation.

Most leaders rarely care about the indigent  in society. They think about themselves and how best to feather their own nests because leadership and theft are siamese twins. The commoner who often sleeps hungry, walks around in tatters because he can't afford new clothes, whose children do not go to school, will be taxed more to finance the lifestyles of individuals who steal from them while they are in leadership. It is against this backdrop that the proposal to put MCAs, Speakers and their deputies on pension is repulsive. The executive believes in its potency and power of appeal, which should comfort it enough to let Gachagua and the Opposition sell their ideas unmolested. Let us campaign on the platform of ideology.