Kenya is an angry nation. We are angry and hurting. We are hurting because no one seems to care about the state of the
nation. We, including those who voted for Jubilee, have all
become survivors, living hand to mouth, praying for some
relief.
Being Kenyan is painful. Painful! When it rains, many homes get flooded yet with all that rain, our taps still run dry. I know President Uhuru has asked for forgiveness. But forgiveness is only meaningful when it is followed with atonement. In Luke 19:8, the Bible tells us that when Zacchaeus, the tax collector, was visited by Jesus, he said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” We are waiting, Mr President.
There are Kenyans who have lost loved ones to extra-judicial
killings, or were deliberately targeted by police after the August 8 elections. Does forgiveness mean they will be compensated? That justice will be served? We are waiting, Mr President. Will the President now, in the spirit of forgiveness, order his Cabinet Secretaries to obey court orders and allow Miguna Miguna back home? This question of forgiveness reminds me of a village drunk nicknamed Kazi Bure. Great chap, makes people laugh and occasionally, when sober, during village meetings, or at funerals, he promises to change his ways. Once the crowd disperses,
Kazi Bure checks into his local bar and continues drinking like he has no promises to keep.
In the last five years, President Uhuru Kenyatta has made
many promises, but just like Kazi Bure, he has broken most of them. He promised to fight corruption but big people are still stealing like there is no tomorrow. He swore to protect and uphold the Constitution, but his Cabinet is illegally constituted as it doesn’t even meet the two-thirds gender law. Article 81(b) of the Constitution states that, “Not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender,”. Court orders were issued to stop the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway
through Nairobi National Park, but he defied them and hammered the last nail in a park that is dying,
Our police still hunt people like wild animals. They extort
poor Kenyans and the ones who can’t pay are thrown in jail. The rich own the Judiciary. Our politicians are still stealing from us and electoral losers just got a golden handshake of Sh1.7 billion after MPs passed a 700 percent increase in their pension benefit.
Every day, your average Kenyan will either be harassed by
criminals, a tout, a police officer, county askaris or a boda boda rider. An average citizen’s encounter with government is, more often than not, a traumatic one.
These shenanigans are driving Kenyans, majority of them
poor and jobless, crazy. We have nowhere to turn. We are angry and this anger is causing people to drink themselves silly and kill their children and spouses. It is causing police officers to turn guns on themselves. We have become zombies; angry zombies.
This is President Uhuru’s last term, but he needs to remember that his actions will be felt for generations to come. He has already burdened our children, and us, with huge loans from China. He has borrowed more money than all the past three presidents combined and truth be told, we are stone broke.
So now has the president become the healer-in-chief? If
yes, the place to begin is to finally make justice our shield and defender.
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