CRY MY BELOVED COUNTRY

In the midst of the innumerable scandals flying all over involving gazillions of shillings is a fast closing window that has been neglected if not rejected that may hold the key to our freedom.

The general elections which we Kenyans are defined by are approaching faster and faster as if someone is spinning the globe while we are sleep. The world media is watching with fingers crossed wondering which amongst the already prepared headlines will suit Kenya best in the election aftermath.

 Will it be ‘Kenya burns again’, ‘Kenya is no more’, ‘Who killed Kenya’ or ‘Close shave as Kenya settles polls’, ‘ Expected chaos quelled’ etc. The world doesn’t care much whether we perish or not, their worry is the cheap source of horticulture, labour, market and the occasional cheap holiday.

Taking a quick glance at the mire of misery that spells doom every morning we wake up, one may wonder is there no good story that comes out of Kenya? Well, thank you cabinet secretary Fred Matiangi for breaking the haggard chain-link of misery that has become our newspaper and TV headlines.

 For a long time now, we had begun thinking that newspaper editors have a sinister agenda against our beautiful country. Roadside-newspaper-vending-point-analysts even suggested that possibly Kenyans are hooked to negativity so much that if you fed them anything positive they would not believe it.

Eight months to the elections, political grandiloquence is at an all-time high, seeds of discord are being sown, divisions are appearing real every day, ‘we’ versus ‘them’ is the talk of the day. Where are we headed? The country’s economic-social agenda will now be conveniently shelved so that we can ‘concentrate’ on the political agenda.

The level of looting in both public and private sectors deserves a gold medal. The truth is, a large percentage of this looters are eyeing political seats to better their chances at looting some more. Question begs, if this is the inspiration behind seeking public leadership when then shall service delivery ever be a priority?

The ongoing spat between Jubilee and CORD in regards to whose players have ‘stolen’ more is a disgrace to our country. Credit to the president for repeatedly saying there is no sacred cow in Kenya and anyone found guilty of corruption shall be dealt with accordingly.

 Sadly due to previous lack of action against public funds looters, stealing has become a career, a hobby and a national identifier. Very soon when a foreigner is asked what he knows about Kenya, three items shall come to mind. Running, running from political violence and running from prosecution for corruption.

With this background, we stand at our most fragile place as a country. Having terribly failed at striving towards nationhood, we now fight to abuse resources and criminalize each other when one group doesn’t get a chance to steal like the other.

Runaway Corruption is one of the indicators of a country heading towards internal strife. Runaway inflation is another. Citizen disenfranchisement is the strongest indicator of things not being rosy.

Empty stomachs turn otherwise noble men and women into voracious vagrants who would do anything including killing and maiming for sustenance. When you add ethnic incitement, illiteracy, and political division, you have just brewed the perfect storm.

Where is the civic education that we see prior to the elections? Where are the songs for peace and unity? Where are the victims and testimonies of 2007? Where is Boniface Mwangi’s stories of courage and picha mitaani? Where is Kofi Annan? Where is the international effort and what happened to the school peace club initiatives?

Stop worrying! That is what we tell ourselves, there are systems in place now unlike 2007-how we fool ourselves. 2017 will be an election like no other. The political stakes are high, the economic stakes even higher. Open threats have already been made; the case of the last remaining bullet, open declarations have been cast; the case off until 2032. Why are we leaving to chance our children’s future?