OPINION: Why Kenyans' response to Matiba's death appears hypocritical

Kenneth Matiba's death has removed the lid on our hypocrisy towards national heroes.

For a man who sacrificed his life for the sake of Kenyans' freedom to die a dejected person is an indictment on us all as a people. 

Why are we behaving as if Matiba died a sudden death? If we were concerned about his plight we should have acted while he was alive.

But true to our character, Matiba was a threat to the powers that be and so he was shunned in life.

A dead Matiba is harmless to the establishment, hence a darling who deserves a State burial.

As we mourn him, many other heroes continue to suffer.

They are branded enemies of the State. As soon as they breathe their last, we give them a lavish send-off.

Can this hypocrisy end with Matiba?

Rest in peace, my hero.