No respite for tragedy of Kenya's madhouse

Lately, it feels as if Kenya is a movie reel spinning out of control. There are so many disturbing images flashing on the screen, it’s impossible to isolate the plot or differentiate the bad guys from the worse ones. It’s literally like having our lives flash before our eyes, then realising that the things on record were not of our own making; that we were placed in formation by an unseen hand and forced to accept a fate we did not consent to.

Some of the things that have happened recently have been truly beyond belief, like the proposal by members of Parliament to raise their pensions by 700 per cent. I mean, really? They are already among some of the highest paid legislators in the world, and now this. These people have a black, money-swallowing hole where their conscience should be. Never mind that almost half the population (somewhere between 36 and 44 per cent, depending on who you ask) is living below the poverty line. As long as their pockets are padded, while they are in office and happily ever after, they’re good. The rest of you all can figure out your own salvation.

Overburdened taxpayers

Oh, and never mind that they don’t know how to do their jobs. About 80 MPs have admitted that they don’t understand procedures in the Chamber, so Parliament is organising for them to be trained. Earlier this year, they were all inducted. Naturally, the overburdened taxpayers footed the bill, which came to an outstanding Sh20 million. Despite that induction, and the fact that normal people usually have the skills to do the job for which they apply, at least 70 per cent of the 349 MPs in the National Assembly are still unsure how to perform their legislative duties. Note, this is nine months after they were sworn into office.

And then we have the small matter of the doctors we are importing from Cuba. The Government intends to pay them anything between Sh786,810 and Sh882,180 a month. Which means that they will earn even more than our members of Parliament, who as I say are among the best paid legislators in the world. These doctors, 100 of them to start, will also have the luxury of furnished homes, paid air fares, paid utilities, and local transport costs. Nice work, if you can get it. Clearly, if you’re a Kenyan doctor working in the public health system you cannot.

It looks like our country has a lot of money to throw around. We are deeply in debt, but somehow NYS can find Sh8 billion to steal, the presidency can find Sh2.7 billion to spend on confidential expenditure that has been unaccounted over a three-year period, and the Government can find Sh1.2 billion to build a house for Kenya’s envoy to Geneva.

Current drama

Fascinating stuff, I’m telling you. The magic tricks that happen in this country are award-worthy, as is the political theatre. Whoever wrote, directed and produced the latest Sonko/Miguna episode deserves a medal. It is such enthralling stuff that it would have distracted us completely had we not known what distraction looks like. Without trivialising Miguna’s circumstances, or ignoring the fact that the State has trampled on his rights without a hint of remorse, the current drama surrounding his nomination as Nairobi’s deputy governor is an insult to residents who want the county government to spend its time on services, not Afrosinema.

But hey, these are the times we live in. Times when women get booted out of cafés for breastfeeding their children. That was one story that should have booted politics off our front pages for a minute, so that we could focus on more important things like the health and wellbeing of future generations. Since when is it inappropriate for women to breastfeed their children in public? Aren’t we the same society that uses ‘Africanness’ as an excuse for all manner of foolery?

Well, breastfeeding is as African as African can be. It is the most natural thing in the world. And if I may fall upon another trope we like to use to defend our attitudes and biases, breastfeeding is what God intended. That’s why lactating breasts produce milk. It’s as simple as that really. There is absolutely nothing offensive about a woman’s breasts, whether they are providing sustenance for her children or doing whatever else they do. If we’re going to stop women from breastfeeding in public, then we’re going to have to stop men from peeing in public. It’s way more disturbing to see a man emptying his bladder than to see a woman feeding a child.

Ms Masiga is Peace and Security editor, The Conversation Africa