Animal kingdom fairy tale has become our reality today

By Otuma Ongalo

When the mischief of the fairy tale animal world creeps into our modern world, it is time to retrace our footsteps back to sanity or be doomed.

George Orwell’s classic fable, Animal Farm, has been retold several times but a good story never bores regardless of the many times it is recounted. It even becomes better when you can relate it with events around you. I recall the story following the recent attempt by some mischievous fellows to tamper with a clause in the Proposed Constitution to suit their (or their masters’) interests, the Animal Farm way.

After overthrowing Mr Jones from his farm, the animals, led by the pigs under Napoleon’s command, came up with an impressive constitution, which they called Seven Commandments: One: Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Two: Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. Three: No animal shall wear clothes. Four: No animal shall sleep in a bed. Five: No animal shall drink alcohol. Six: No animal shall kill any other animal. Seven: All animals are equal.

Just like our Proposed Constitution before it was sent to the Government Printer, the Seven Commandments were described as "unalterable rules". The animals even did better than us. They published the rules (they were actually written on the store’s wall) without changing commas here and there, the Attorney General Amos Wako way.

Later Napoleon and "Government Spokesman" Squealer kept changing the rules secretly to suit the ruling cliques’ thirst for power and privileges that come with it. To ensure the pigs’ superiority, Commandment Seven was altered to read: All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. In order to enjoy Mr Jones liquor, they altered Commandment Five to read: No animal should drink alcohol to excess. And to enjoy the comfort of his bed, they changed Commandment Three to read: No animal should sleep in bed with sheets.

Eventually they became worse than master Jones they had kicked out and attempted to imitate human beings by trying to walk on two (hind) legs. To justify their peculiar habit, the pigs modified commandments One and Two to one maxim that read: Four legs good, two legs better!

That is George Orwell’s (Eric Blair) Animal Farm. The fable aptly captures the recent attempt to change a clause of the Proposed Constitution to benefit our modern day pigs, who however cannot fool millions of Kenyans the way their mythical counterparts fooled other animals. The "pigs" at the Government Press or Attorney General’s office — or wherever — are not a new phenomenon.

They are merely treading on the path levelled and trodden on before. Some of the individuals baying for their blood are beneficiaries of rules bent or created to suit specific circumstances. The Grand Coalition Government is the product of the laws of the land gone awry. We have a bloated Cabinet because some individuals are considered too precious to be excluded from the high table of goodies. This week, the Interim Independent Electoral Commission deliberately misinterpreted its own rule on referendum campaigns to let the big boys have their way and hit the road before the scheduled time.

The game of rules bending and altering is not just at constitution level. Many job descriptions in private and public institutions are tailored to fit specific individuals and rule out others. So desperate is the scenario that even office messengers’ job descriptions are tailored to suit some individuals.

As the noose gradually tightens around the necks of the " pigs" that attempted to alter the Proposed Constitution, we should not delude ourselves that they are creatures who recently landed from planet mars with unprecedented innovation. The malaise is deeply entrenched in our society and thrives on a fertile ground of impunity. In a nation where the rule of law is sacrosanct, the audacity to change laws the Napoleon and Squealer way would remain simply a fairy tale.

—The writer is The Standard Senior Editor, Production and Quality