We suffer from selective amnesia
and just a few years down the devastating post-election violence, Kenya has
degenerated to the same divisive politics that saw the country up in flames. We
are quick to break down the competitive national politics into an ethnic
crisis, without the awareness that we are gradually but progressively flushing
our country down the toilet. How many more lives, rape cases and internal
displacements will it take for us to realize that election-related violence
makes life a constant process of adapting to basic insecurity?
Besides the men and women that
bear the brunt of violence, every aspect of human existence is threatened,
right from food security to economic progression. War has never been and will
never be a groundwork for courage and virtue because such is similar to
confusing debauchery for love. Kenya enjoyed the comfort of homogeneity at some
point in history but when it comes to the proverbial fool that never learns
from history, Kenyans are the worst of the lot.
Our leaders have doubled their
efforts to gain fame, forfeiting the aim of uniting the nation. They forget
that the love of fame is absolute vanity and a representation of immature
leadership ideologies. If you are not a targeted victim, be assured of being an
affected bystander in an instance where you are the vessel used to spread the
ethnic tensions that are already building up. If you were lucky enough in 2007,
at least learn from the neighborhood.
The political regime in South
Sudan pitted two major communities against each other and violence ensued. Massive
population displacements and gang brutality made headlines. Until today, famine
and other forms of humanitarian crises rock several parts of the country. Political
institutions literally crushed while ethnic groups became stronger. South Sudan
nationals hoped that independence would offer a new path to development and
peace but civil wars are always tragic. The people that had constantly fled minor
wars in the country once again packed to seek asylum elsewhere, Kenya included.
In the Democratic Republic of
Congo, violence surged across the entire country as militias slaughtered
innocent citizens due to political interests. Kenyans are wise enough to shun
the Kabila and Museveni antiques but it all goes to waste unless we have each
other’s backs. Maize flour shelves are empty at the moment, ask yourself what
will happen if Kenya retracts to 2007. I do not intend to open up fresh wounds
but to remind us that we are going down the wrong lane.
Spreading leaflets aimed at
sparking ethnic violence is an act of naivety and lack of purpose in life. Let our
leaders argue senselessly but have it in mind that it is the power of your vote
that will change the dynamics of national politics in this country. As one
philosopher says, happiness is the only sanction of life; where happiness
fails, existence remains a mad and lamentable experiment. Watch out, lest you
flush our country down the toilet and this is definitely a one-way road.
