Why hustlers have their own list of heroes

A road trip last week took me through Narok, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Vihiga and Kisumu counties, all the way to my cherished home county of Homa Bay.

It was my first visit upcountry since a party official and a failed lawyer unleashed terror in Homa Bay town at a rally on August 16. Indeed, peace can be shattered when political passions boil over into violence. At the weekend far from the lakeside, I pitched camp in Nandi, the land of champions, where thousands gathered not to fight over ‘one term’ or ‘two term’ but to celebrate a life well lived. In Kimwenge village, I joined a sea of mourners in bidding farewell to my in-law, Mzee Esbon Kiprotich.

He was a people’s person who earned a name through many firsts and selfless contributions to society.  Those in his circles, including the many professionals he mentored at Kenya Breweries, simply called him their hero. When men were lost in the haze of ‘busaa’ and saw formal education as the white man’s thing, Mzee Kiprotich was the first in his area to buy a car and send his kids to university.

His son, Mr Elly Chepkwony, who’s the chairman of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce, Nandi chapter, remembers a patriarch who brook no nonsense. Fascinatingly as we buried Mzee Kiprotich just two days before Mashujaa Day, I recalled a list of other modest heroes I encountered earlier at the National Heroes Council’s exhibition booth during the Mashujaa thematic week held in Eldoret.

The Council had erected a whiteboard on which ordinary Kenyans could write names of their heroes. Each day I visited the stand, enigma Raila Odinga’s name topped the list. But beyond this predictable tribute were many surprises that offered a glimpse into how ‘hustlers’ have come define heroism. 

There were novel names like Imelda Khamala, Aron Yegon, Sabina Chebichi, Zubeida Sheikh, Purity Ndwiga, Joel Kendagor, Tabitha Ochieng, Macrina Kigen, Jackline Saleiyan, Beatrice Chebet, Robert Bedan among others. Hustlers are tired of the ‘usual suspects’ in our political inanity like ‘Githeri’ man! The list was a rather subtle indictment to how the State defines a hero.

It was thrilling to see Kenyans appreciate that a hero need not be a cheerleader, a big investor, scientist, innovator or sporting guru. Don’t look far. A hero is anybody who positively impacts others’ lives. But even for the so-called national heroes, much must be done to honour them beyond medals, titles and speeches.

Usually, a country is judged by how it treats vulnerable citizens as well as its achievers. Six decades after Kenya’s independence, no shujaa should be fighting on their own, alive or dead, to feel appreciated. But as they say, every day is a learning opportunity.

Kenya Heroes Act, enacted in 2014 and last amended in 2022, needs some panel beating so that it can speak to the realities of all heroes and heroines. It should also expand the parameters of determining who shujaas are, and how they should be supported.

We’ve done poorly in the past. Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima waited until 2023 to receive recognition and support. Tired of promises by the State, she shaved her hair and donated the strands to the National Museums of Kenya as a final statement on a nation’s failure to honour her role in the independence struggle.

Then there was Lemma Ayanu, an Ethiopian who enjoyed the trappings of fame after being mistaken for freedom fighter Stanley Mathenge. In May 2003 when doubts about his identity exploded, the State ordered a DNA test that established he was not General Mathenge.

In 2022, everyone was outraged by reports that Mukami Kimathi, widow of freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi, had been detained over a Sh1.3 million hospital bill. Remember football legend Joe Kadenge’s tribulations? These cases are a reminder that honouring shujaas goes beyond speeches and medals.

In our personal spaces, we must do what we can to thank our own ‘little’ heroes and heroines for their extraordinary deeds in our lives. Afterall, your shujaa might just be next door. Rest well Mzee Kiprotich.

-The writer is a communications practitioner.