Fake woke Kenyanism.
Election Day comes. What are you voting for?
There is exhaustion. The closet tribalists on our timelines are exhausting; God, they are. The electoral body IEBC, with its inability to read and comprehend the constitution, is very exhausting. Countrymen who know everything are also exhausting. The ones without political opinions, they hurt my soul. There are also the ones in our midsts who are loudly ‘more woke’ than the rest of us. They are a wonderful, picturesque and developed Switzerland and we are a devastated, barely beautiful third world republic. We are naive because we have picked what we think is the better side. Have you encountered them yet? These ones, who say both sides are the same. Uhuru and Raila the same. God, they are not the same.
July 18th marked Mandela Day. Mandela — legend, hero, overall awesome person — who is globally revered because he fought- for equality. He made the noise, got on the street, protested, told racist Whites to stop the BS, got arrested, did what revolutionaries do. Certainly he did not do it alone, but his was the face of the struggle to liberate the oppressed Black South African. A liberation struggle which, in the end, was reasonably successful.
Kenya has its own struggles. Currently, there is a struggle with Kenyans for whom, what is history? Kenyans without a grasp of history, let alone accurate history. Our own President believes that it was his tribesmen alone who fought for independence. Let me put it this way: that is fake news. But, perhaps, we shouldn’t blame the President. Perhaps his elders, who rewrite our history and who continue to teach half-truths to Kenya’s children through our curricula, are to blame. This stops. For now, let me reiterate quickly: The fight for Kenya’s independence was a multi-ethnic affair.
50 years post independence, the fight for liberation continues. Our first President won where he won and failed where he failed. A thing which he failed spectacularly at was uniting the country. More than 40 ethnicities found themselves within the borders of a country. Our country, Kenya. At least we thought it was ours. It turned out that it wasn’t.
Kenya’s independence saw the dominance of a European elite replaced by the dominance of a [tribal] elite.
We said goodbye to a White colonialist and hello to a new oppressor, an elite class comprising our own countrymen with whom we shared land. You know, a lot of land was grabbed. An elite class that has, unashamedly, ruled the country since independence. My view is that tribalism and everything bad is directly the fault of that class.
Even in the past half decade, Kenya has not felt like it has ever been ours. An infamous saying amongst us: Kenya iko na wenyewe. Kenya has its owners. Isn’t it true? Also, that although we are a sovereign country, our leaders say it but don’t act like it. What is a World Bank? What is an IMF? What is charity? And most scandalously, what is a newly built railway track and a diesel train running on our soil, masquerading as ours but that is not actually ours? It’s a scandal.
A good leader has good judgement. The SGR was not good judgement. For heaven’s sake, are laptops? Kenyans, understand that even though you did not ask for an expensive diesel train and were not once consulted, don’t think that you will not pay for it. It is strange for a poor African country to spend billions of American dollars on a thing like a diesel train when its countrymen cannot afford to live. We watch stories of men turning up at prisons or police stations begging to be arrested because life has become unbearable. At least in prison there is food and shelter.
Food, clean water, decent and affordable housing, quality healthcare and education: These are the fundamental needs of men, needs that a country should set up foremostly. But what do we have? Here, a government has supervised grand theft, tribalism, in-your-face impunity and worst of all, contempt! Has a voter ever felt so inconsequential? We have been bombarded every five minutes with ads of GOK delivers, and we have watched them and wondered, who paid for these ads? Surely not tax payers, is it? Here, a government has engaged almost strictly in diversionary and divisionary politics, dishonesty, marginalization and intentional misleading of the electorate. It breaks a person’s heart when a leader announces that the government would not implement the TJRC report because it would divide the country. Sir, truth, justice and reconciliation are exactly what we need in order for us to unite, and win. Please implement the thing.
I, as a citizen of this country, would like for us to stop doing business with China. I do not believe that China cares about our financial, physical, or emotional well being. The West may be immoral in their own ways, but at least they don’t manufacture and export toxic plastic food. I would like for Kenya to have a leader who is a leader, firstly. A leader who commands respect from his subordinates. A leader who listens to the people. One who is a team player and practices a thing called inclusivity. One who follows talk with action, and most fundamentally, one who understands and respects the law. A leader who is deserving of leading, how about that? At the very least, we deserve leaders who understand that they are not doing us a favor by doing work that we pay them to do, work that they asked for.
Recall the time when the President facilitated an anti corruption summit to tell us that there was nothing he could do about corruption? It was hilarious. Indeed nothing much has been done about corruption. Genuinely, I would go home. But not our incumbent, no. Tano tena! For what?
The government has championed calls for peace. (Never mind that people seeking reelection have sneakily met with the printers of the ballot papers; but we should remain calm. Our situation is akin to that of a couple who places more importance on looking happy for the gram as opposed to just being happy. By the way, leaders, it is not impossible for us to be happy. How to achieve that is by having a free, fair and credible election). Peace, but at the same time, tear gas and other scary looking ammunition have been procured in large amounts and transported to so called hot zones. OK.
If the election should be flawed, the IEBC Chairman and CEO should be held personally responsible. If innocent civilians should die, the police and government shall be held accountable. Kenyans, despite our being ignored by the folks who we hire to listen but don’t, ALL Kenyan voices matter. If it will be necessary, we will exercise our right to protest. Just as Mandela and all the revolutionaries of the world did, and do.
To conclude, I urge you to vote wisely. Do not vote for a person because he is your tribesman. I assure you, that is sabotage. Vote because a person has made or will make positive change in your life. If you ask me, I say we need drastic change. Fagia wote. Another 5 years of corruption coupled with 40–60% unemployment rate coupled with impunity and contempt does not appeal to me, not one bit. A change message I believe in is delivered by the most charismatic, most deserving Raila Odinga. He did not do it alone, certainly, but his is the face for the fight for democracy and devolution of power. A self made man and a patriot whose victories have been denied. A truth teller and whistle blower. An inconvenience. I myself cannot foretell the future, but I am hopeful that ours would be, at least, better under his leadership.
What are you voting for?
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*Unpaid and unsponsored. Views are a citizen’s own.
