Refusal to learn from the abundance of history is one of mankind’s biggest failures. The 2008 post-election ignominy is not in the too distant past, and while there are people living in abject poverty and misery as a consequence ten years later, indications are that nothing registered.

In a few days of insanity early this week, reports emerged of riots and police atrocities in parts of the country that resulted in a large number of people getting killed. Not surprisingly, the Government acknowledged that only one person had died; that the police (you can tell that to the birds), acted with restraint.

Whether a single individual or 100 people were killed, it would do to remember life is not a statistic. Social disruptions and destruction of property are not things any rational Kenyan should countenance.

We must all look beyond the grievances we harbour and embrace the bigger picture. And even as the prospects of another five years under the vilified Jubilee administration spook some individuals, it’s no licence to kill fellow Kenyans and suffocate a battered, ailing economy.

Redemption song

Effortlessly, lyrics from Bob Marley’s Redemption song come to mind: “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds...”

It is everybody’s right to support a political consortium that appeals to them, but this should be within reasonable limits. No matter the provocation, turning suicidal to leave widows and orphans in one’s wake is an obnoxious extreme. Our constitution prescribes ways of expressing civic displeasure. For seven months, the Egyptian uprising of 2013 progressed peacefully until the police soured everything.

Like in Egypt, Kenya’s tragedy is that our police force (not yet a service) is exceptionally good at intimidating unarmed civilians, but yet to prove itself where and when it matters most; Lamu, Turkana, Kapedo and Mandera. The now stale spin about ‘criminal elements’ being shot is standard police response to prodding. Dead men tell no tales.

How do we ascertain claims those shot and killed by the police in recent skirmishes were criminals? More importantly, is there a law that gives police carte blanche to kill criminals as opposed to immobilising and arresting them? Where does the right to life stop?

It would be naive to deny there is disappointment attendant to the August 8 electoral outcome. By default, Kenya is a deeply divided country. Every election year guarantees that from their lack of substance, campaigns drive a wedge between Kenyans. It is not just a case of the 8 million who voted for Kenyatta and the near 7 million for Raila, it’s about a population of 45 million people divided down the middle by scheming politicians; the us versus them syndrome.

It is so sickening that simultaneously, while some were making merriment, others were being battered and shot by the police. For almost two months, there were protests against US President Donald Trump’s election, but the US Police did not act despicably.

Overzealousness

I am one of those Kenyans who applauded Fred Matiang’i’s exemplary performance at the Ministry of Education. I am going to be among those condemning his overzealousness in a ministry that demands a delicate balance between brawn and brains.

That Dr Matiang’i believes brawn and bluster will carry the day could be his waterloo. Many before him in the security docket carry a lot of baggage, some to their graves, and Matiang’i looks set for an encore. I was particularly incensed when he took to reassuring all and sundry of tranquillity when police were ravaging civilians in parts of the country.

It is common knowledge governments don’t advertise their shortcomings and excesses, yet for someone with his ken to be completely oblivious of the influence and reach of social media is unforgivable. People no longer depend on the State’s doctored truths.

Statements that are deliberately crafted to negate the obvious erode confidence and trust, to be replaced by fear and loathing. It was callous to sanitise extra-judicial killings amid the wails of those mourning their beloved. Not even a six-month baby was spared teargas and the police baton. She is now dead, someone must feel macho.

The police have consistently been accused of extra-judicial killings by, especially, the civil society. The Executive’s attitude to these claims is wanting. It raises fundamental questions on whether the Government truly respects the Constitution where freedoms of assembly, expression, the right to life, the right to picket and the right to information are concerned.

The subsequent part to Bob Marley’s lyrics earlier quoted is: “Have no fear of atomic energy... for none of them can stop the time.”

Yes, oppression and the violation of human rights will not stop the time. Brute force might win today, but the danger is that it drives violent emotions beneath the surface where they continue to fester. Take a look at history; there is the antidote.

Mr Chagema is a correspondent at The Standard.achagema@standardmedia.co.ke