We should celebrate selfless high achievers like Peter Tabichi

This week on Twitter a Kenyan public intellectual asked a simple but important question: “What is it like to be a citizen of a country that actually wants you to succeed?” The question expressed most Kenyans’ profound disappointment with the governing architecture that is the Kenyan state. In every imaginable sphere of life, the Kenyan state is failing our people. Kenyan creatives cannot catch a break from the Film Classification Board. Patients escape the thieving cartels that are crippling the health sector, not to mention predatory insurance companies. The judiciary, once a beacon of hope, is increasingly being revealed to be a cesspool of corruption, no different than the Police Service.

We know that the rot is not because Kenyans, individually, are uniquely corrupt or unable to excel. Outside of the country, individual Kenyans continue to be celebrated for their achievements. For example, schools, streets, and parks have already been named after the late Professor Wangari Mathai. A nobel laureate, Prof Maathai continues to be denied official honor and recognition in Kenya. I say it is time we renamed Uhuru Park in her honor.