Let’s embrace the spirit of reconciliation to heal the nation

It is amazing that of all the things that President Uhuru spoke about in his State of the Nation address, what has stood out for a majority Kenyans is his public apology for the negatives experienced during and after the 2017 presidential elections.

The President has received praises from across the political divide, starting right from Parliament where MPs and senators readily reached out to one another with hugs and handshakes during the President’s speech. Citizens have equally applauded the President for taking the courage to apologise to the nation. It was indeed unique and historic, especially with the Deputy President offering a similar apology.

The response to this otherwise simple act reveals the age-old truth that human beings are first and foremost social beings and therefore value relationships more than silver or gold.

When relationships are strained, it does not matter how lavish a dinner a friend or relative may lay before you. Similarly, a spouse will hardly appreciate expensive gifts if given amidst tension, or worse, if meant to cover unconfessed wrong. Yet, where there is comradery, friends or relatives will share fun and laughter over “ugali na chumvi.”

A husband and wife, children and parents, will together endure the greatest hardships as long as they share a positive bond devoid of strife. It does appear therefore that as a nation, we do not mind being poor together as long as we share healthy relationships one with another. In contrast, when our leaders pit us against each other, it matters little how well the economy may be doing.

Sadly, few of us find it easy to apologise. Politicians are especially averse to offering public apology. Instead, they will offer lame excuses that at times only add insult to injury. In January, President Donald Trump offered to apologise for retweeting inflammatory anti-Muslim videos by far-right group Britain First.

Speaking in a TV interview, the US President said he would apologise “if you’d like me to do that.” Such cannot qualify for a legitimate apology that satisfies those injured by one’s words or actions. Apology must of necessity be sincere and unconditional for it to have the intended effect.

In February 2008, Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made history when he reached out to amend relations with the indigenous peoples – the Aborigines – with a comprehensive and moving apology for past wrongs. “Parliament is today here assembled to deal with this unfinished business of the nation, to remove a great stain from the nation’s soul, and in a true spirit of reconciliation, to open a new chapter in the history of this great land, Australia,” the PM told Parliament as crowds watched across Australia. As the Prime Minister spoke of the wrongs successive governments had inflicted on indigenous peoples across Australia, a huge wave of tears, relief and applause flowed when he finished speaking. That is the power of a sincere apology.

Apology is not always an admission of personal wrong. At times it is simply a recognition and acceptance that my attitude, words, or actions may have caused someone pain or hurt – sometimes quite unintentionally.

In other situations, the person offering apology may not be the direct culprit of the wrong committed. In 1997, President Bill Clinton issued a formal apology for the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male – considered the longest non-therapeutic experiment on human beings in the history of medicine and public health, spanning a period of over 40 years from 1932 to 1972.

Though the purpose of the study was to determine the effect of untreated syphilis in black men, the men in the study were never told that they had the sexually transmitted disease. Instead, government doctors told them they had “bad blood,” a term that was commonly used to describe a wide range of unspecified maladies.

This was a clear violation of ethical practice in research. Hence President Clinton offered apology on behalf of the government.

Considering where we are and have been as a nation, it is clear that we carry a lot of baggage that consistently and persistently come to the fore every election season.

The only remedy appears to be to take courage, like President Kenyatta did, and deal with these past wrongs once and for all, so that the nation may be healed. The President has shown the way, let’s carry it through, in a true spirit of reconciliation, to open a new chapter in the history of this great land, Kenya.