On the Uhuru-Raila truce.
Now seriously, this is my take.
We needed that talk, actually before the elections and people didn’t have to die for the two to meet. Raila always called for that dialogue since 2013 and UhuRuto always dismissed him.
I have written on various platforms that the Luo-Kikuyu rivalry is one of the most unnecessary beefs a country can have. The two don’t share a border, hardly have any competing economic interests, hence no basis for the bad blood.
Besides, anytime the two communities come and work together, the country moves to a higher ground. 1963, 2002, 2010, and even now, while skeptical something good can come out of this.
I love Kenya. I will never wish to have been born anywhere else. My family and my friends from across the country are still the best. I love my travels within the country and this year I hope I will finish the Northern Circuit that I have already started with Turkana, where I will go, once again, soon.
To be in a country where we share the language, food, and culture, where you can live and work anywhere is one of the best and unique things about us.
My beef has always been the selfish ruling elite who can’t see something bigger other than their selfish business interests. If they became reasonable and modest in their greed (pardon the oxymoron), there will be enough for everyone.
President Kenyatta is probably the richest man in Africa. If he is serious about his legacy, he can stop corruption, start making appointments that reflect all the 70 or more communities that live in Kenya and start a genuine conversation on how we can live together.
We were tinkering precipitously towards a disaster and I don’t expect the president and his deputy to do much, going by their first term.
What makes me nervous about the cosmetic truce is that, now, Kenyans now are so militarized, that the politicians can only ‘carry us fools” for a very short while.
So, lets enjoy the short-lived truce, and sure as tomorrow will be Tuesday, it won’t be long before the hatred and ethnic jingoism surfaces.
Raila and Uhuru can take us to a higher ground if they are willing to erect a mirror for us and we look at ourselves and our souls and take a different path. But that mirror is too heavy for the two to drag in front of us.
In the meantime, carry on. Love your brother.
It was business, never personal.
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