Sacrificing National Integrity at the Altar Of Tribal Pettiness

Guest Post by Peter Ngugi.

This is an open letter to Messrs Mwai Kibaki, the President of the Republic of Kenya and Raila Odinga, the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement.

Sirs, I know that you must be too busy to get time to read this letter but I am very sure that one of your many lieutenants will read it in your stead and convey the message to you.

Sirs, I – like millions other Kenyans – am very angry with you for plunging our country into an abyss of tribal turmoil. I hold you solely responsible for all the mayhem engulfing our beloved country. If this country goes to the dogs, your names and those of your progenies will forever be associated with tribal tyranny and downright barbarism.

I am really saddened by your role in the creation of value systems that have blatantly divided us along tribal lines and thus made us slaves and refugees in the land of our birth. It is high time that you understood that the fundamental tenets of true Kenyanness lie not in tribes and empty political talk but in the ability to spiritedly strive to invalidate schemes whose principal aim is to cause ethnic animosity.

Sirs, it is upon you to start the healing process for, we the citizenry, are sick and tired of your political bickering, empty rhetoric and chest thumping. The Nation hurts- nay it is bleeding profusely and is almost in its deathbed. Sirs, is this the Second Liberation we so intently fought for? Did we strive to kick out the draconian leaders of yester years so that you can set the stage for sacrificing the integrity of our country at the altar of pettiness and outright demagoguery? How much more innocent blood do you want spilt so that you can see the graveness of the matter?

Sirs, you must not allow our country to sink lower than it has already sunk. You have held our country to ransom for far too long as the humanitarian situation deteriorates by the minute.

I beseech thee to put the interests of Kenya before your own. You have got to act swiftly to restore our national integrity.

Faithfully,

Mwalimu Peter N Ngugi

Sunday Doodles: My Kenya

I am hurting inside. I am in mental and emotional pain. What I feel cannot possibly be put into words even by the most prolific wordsmith in town. The pain, the anguish, the distress, the confusion, the desolation… (A concoction of insalubrious feelings)!

The killings, the murders, the lootings, the torchings, the lashings, the perfidy, the larceny, the … (my mind is going round and round in circles). Someone please do help bring sanity to my being.

I have seen it: my dear Kenyan brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and children cut down by the machete; shot to death and left to rot in the streets; burnt in their houses and in the churches; thousands of men, women and children bounding, with whatever belonging they could salvage, to God knows where; the hopelessness and despondency pasted on the faces of my country men.

I have heard it: the wails of terror made by the children; the screams of horror made by the women; the sighs and stifled screams made by the men; the shouting, screaming and struggle of the women who are being raped and left for dead.

Someone please do tell me that I am just dreaming. Please tell me that this is just a bad dream and were it not for the long night, then, it would be over.

This is not the Kenya I knew; and, optimistically, is not the Kenya I‘ll wake up in tomorrow.

And before I pen off, please don’t ask my tribe; I am a Kenyan.

Mid-night Brawl

An analogy depicting the present situation in Kenya

Prevailing altercation,
A string of expletives,
A dash of angry shouting,
Rent the warm night air.

The faithful night breeze,
Carried the commotion far and wide,
Rats stopped their activities to listen,
Crickets stopped their innocuous sounds.

The man could be heard quite distinctly,
Effing and blinding strenuously,
Barking, screaming and shouting,
As he pulled his wife by her hair.

Finally, the two were outside,
And the whole world with them;
The world watched as they rolled and turned,
Clutched, clawed and hit each other.

The man shouted:
You have betrayed our love,
You did confidently sleep,
With my friend, under my very roof!

The neighbours very well remembered,
The tall, lanky fellow,
Who had discreetly left the man's house,
Early that evening.

The woman heatedly rejoined:
You slept with the chief's wife last week,
You moved around with my best friend,
And I did not raise as much as an eyebrow.

The bandying was sustained for as long as it could hold,
With either party venting their heart's contents on the other,
The man was the first one to have enough of it all,
As he slammed his burning fist against her face.


A sorry state indeed, isn’t it?
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If Raila Were the President

A Christian newspaper in Tanzania, Mwamini Mungu, yesterday alleged that Kenya would be ruled by Sharia Law if Raila were the president. In fact, this was the lead story in the newspaper.

It continued to say that the arsonists who torched churches in some parts of the country were in fact venting their hatred and ire for failing to achieve their goal of turning Kenya into a Muslim state. The nitty gritty of how this would have been accomplished was set in a secret meeting that was held on 29th August, 2007 in Mombasa between Raila and a cross section of Muslim leaders.

The fact that only churches, and not Mosques, were targeted is reason enough to believe the crisis in Kenya is not only fuelled by political reasons but also by religious fanaticism.

One of the reasons that was tendered to prove this claim was the secret MOU which was signed between ODM‘s Raila Odinga and the chairman of the board of Islamic leaders in Kenya Sheikh Abdullah Abdi.

This MOU said in part that once Raila took the helm he would acknowledge Islam and accord it special treatment.

Another politician who is believed to be party to the secret MOU, which the paper claims to have a copy of, was Najib Balala (a Muslim and a leader who is very popular at the Coast especially in Mombasa).

Among the ‘demands’ tabled by the Muslims in the event that ODM won the presidency was a change to the laws of the land to set apart Coast and North Eastern Provinces for Muslims. Muslims would have complete control of the regions’ religious matters.

The Council of Muslims would be responsible to go through requests to start religions other than Islam in these regions. They would have the final say whether to accept or reject the requests. This would be for the purposes of rooting out any “imani potofu” and Satan worship.

Within six months of the ODM in power, a new constitution would be drawn. This new constitution would embrace Islamic laws (Sharia Law) to be at work in the regions set apart for Muslims.

The ODM government would sack the Police Commissioner with immediate effect. It would also ‘break’ the special Force that deals with terrorism (ATPU) which is believed to be ferrying some Kenyans( mostly Muslims) who are suspected to be terrorists to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Raila, it is said, agreed to the creation of Kadhi Courts in each and every District in the republic when he ascended to the highest office in the land. Madrasa classes (classes where Islam is taught to children) would also be incorporated in the school system. Each and every primary school would have Madrasa for the Muslim students. Religious open air meetings (such as crusades) would not be allowed in the Coast and North Eastern Provinces.

The MOU also stipulated that all areas where 40% of the people are Muslims, alcohol would not be allowed to be sold. Also preaching that is accompanied by signs and wonders of miraculous healing would be illegal in such areas.

Kenyans’ Blood is Crying Out

Mungiki-related murders; beheadings,
Violence, chaos, lawlessness,
Rivers of tears wept,
Hundreds of hearts wounded, punctured, frayed.

Parentless children,
Widowers, widows on the increase,
Dreams, aspirations, shattered;
The stark aftermath.

Extra-judicial executions,
The Force hauled over the coals,
Lambasted, cornered, quizzed
Denial came just naturally.

Mt Elgon, Kuresoi,
Pre-election violence, machetes at the ready,
Blood spilled, hundreds dead,
Homes fled, despair looms.

Post-election, Pandora’s Box’s yanked open,
Mayhem, anarchy, chaos, conflict,
Tribalistic chauvinism at its best,
Senseless killings reign supreme.

Innocent children, men and women,
At the mercy of unruly youths,
Nay, the Police with a tall order,
An order to shoot and kill.

Churches, not a safe haven,
Refuge seekers’ lives ‘strangulated’,
Burnt to ashes, they are,
Men, women, children.

Bullet-ridden bodies lie in morgues,
Hungry citizens await respite,
To start living again;
A murderous resolve solidifies.

Charred stumps,
Dot the hollowness in our hearts;
Smoldering embers,
Keep our latent emotions alive.

Sirs, Messrs Kibaki and Raila, save us from a possible full scale tribal conflict. Kenya is much larger than the political differences of its people.