Please don’t take us back to the see no evil, hear no evil days.

By Angela Ambitho

“Prince of peace”; “messiah”; mighty lion; undefeated warrior; undisputed champion of the poor; shield and defender of the weak; father of all the little children; the rain that yields food; the sun that radiates smiles; the water that revitalizes thirst; the oxygen that breathes life; “the alpha and omega”.

These are some of the fanatical phrases that court poets, and sycophants use when waxing lyrical with the powers that be.

Indeed before the multiparty era, these phrases were common place in our politics. Anyone who wished to remain politically correct understood that success was attained through bootlicking, flattery and hero worship. Ordinary citizens knew that any constructive criticism of government discussed in broad daylight was nothing short of suicidal. Kenya before the 90’s adopted a see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil and do no evil policy. It was kosher to turn a blind eye despite obvious discomfort with the status quo.

This background serves a useful purpose for two reasons. One, to remind those born before the 80’s of where we must never ever return and two, to sensitise our Generation Y of how far we have come as a country and what they must never take for granted.

You see, we understand just how important freedom is to a flourishing democracy. This is why we allowed some to and fight tooth and nail for it and eventually embedded it in our Constitution cognisant that all the money and glory was nothing without freedom.

That freedom is essential is perhaps a no brainer. Great thinkers and institutions appreciate the importance of freedom. Ford Foundation advocates that the free flow of information and ideas is essential to healthy, progressive societies. Voltaire cleverly stated that it’s better to disagree with what another says but defend to your death their right to say it. Above all things freedom protects us from the retardation that sycophancy and fanaticism breed. Both ills are extremist and founded on the notion that leadership mustn’t ever be criticised or corrected.

Neither their showering of praise nor their unreasonable defence of their leaders serve any useful purpose toward enhancing democracy and good governance. Quite to the contrary they only serve to seduce and mask the objectivity of even the sanest of leaders luring them to absolute despotism. I lay this extensive background to help you reflect on the recent happenings, which smack of our past ills. When citizens are threatened with arrest for expressing dissenting opinion or punished for standing their ground it’s extremely worrying.

 When arbitrary sackings of senior executives are conducted through mass media, it sends shivers through the spine. When young women are ruthlessly dealt with by the state for non-compliance, it’s flabbergasting. When any differing opinion is met with group retaliation, intimidation and threats of expulsion it’s disturbing. Frankly, it raises questions of how bad things could or will get.

Our leadership must exercise absolute tolerance as we exercise our freedom.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable.” I’m sure you agree. Gone must be the “see no evil, hear no evil days.