More than half a century on, the poor Kenyan is on his own

By Henry Munene

Kenya celebrates the golden jubilee in just about a fortnight. And I’m told there are elaborate plans to relive the ecstatic mood of 1963 when the Union Jack was lowered and the Kenyan flag hoisted.

Of course I will solemnly and proudly watch President Uhuru Kenyatta hoist the national flag in a bold symbolic act that is meant to celebrate 50 years of self-rule.

For truth be told, though we are still yet to fully fix basics such as disease, poverty and ignorance, we have made quite some strides these many years, the  crowning evidence being the expanded freedoms now fiercely and unapologetically immortalised for posterity in the 2010 Constitution.

I will be there to pay tribute to the founding fathers of the land and the latter-day heroes whose heads were bludgeoned, whose faces were bloodied and whose backs never bent even as they were shunted into dank dungeons or exile trying to safeguard the rights and freedoms without which Kenyans would by now be having what my university professor used to call the empty ‘independence of the flag’.

That said, we would be lying to ourselves if we did not admit we have major challenges going forward. First, ethnic divisions have widened. We live at a time when even the most educated people in the country have suspended all logic and support and oppose arguments on the basis of what their party leader says. 

We seem to have sunk so low that you can predict what an analyst will say on TV just by looking at their names. After the shameful death of intellectual vibrancy, many opinion leaders have become predictable after we established which side of this parochial political dichotomy they stand.

Thus, the Jubilee government can rest assured of support on anything it does from the bulk of its supporters mainly from the ethnic backgrounds of its two leaders. The opposition, on its part, is sure to get backing on any position it takes to lash out at the Jubilee government in knee-jerk fashion from the regions where it draws its followers. So as a country we are almost incapable of having a healthy discussion on virtually anything, as our positions have already been predetermined by the insecurities and self-interest of our long-suffering party leaders.

It is, however, the treatment of the poorest of the poor that gets my goat as we move to splash Sh500 million public cash and more than Sh2 billion from the private sector to mark the jubilee fete. One would have thought, given our history of wealth gaps, we would come up with measures to enable those who are trapped in poverty to work hard and wriggle out of their misery.

Instead, we have continued to make the country a haven for the rich. When we discovered that many of our people were dying in road accidents – mainly the poor who rely on matatus – we hiked the fines. So now, only those who can pay up have the monopoly of killing the poor!

Our public schools, hospitals and other social amenities through which we should have safety nets for the poor have over the years gone without resources.

Why bother when the children of top education officials fly abroad for education and health services?

And opposition MPs are complaining that they are being influenced through big cash.

And just when we thought county governments would do better, they are now taxing even the dead. I am told in some places executives had to part with cash to get into office, which they are recouping through county tenders. 

The youth, who should get 30 per cent of business and jobs in the counties, have first to clear Helb loans and show proof that they can finance tenders even though they have never been employed before. It is these things that tell you that as we celebrate the Golden Jubilee, we need to rekindle our efforts to help everyone enjoy our independence.

The writer is Revise Editor for ‘The Counties’