Telling Each other the Truth is Unnecessary

Did over 1300 Kenyans Kill Themselves in 2007/8? YES!

As Kenyans, we are faced with a serious crisis of the truth. Either we are unable to face it, or we actually can never know it. If it is true what they say about the truth, that it will set you free, then we are doomed as a nation. But again, what truth are we talking about? We have been living in the realm of lies upon lies since we were told that we have gotten independence. Independence was the first lie, we have been in shackles all through – either of language, leadership, education etcetera. Like the literati would say, we are joined to our colonial masters by the umbilical cord, if we cut it, we are dead before we are born. And that is why the Mau Mau clarion call of Uhuru na Mashamba was immediately changed to Uhuru na Kazi and all of us went to work for the people Franz Fanon describes as the “new” black bosses wearing white masks.

After independence, the lie broadened and got a new meaning: we wanted peace and prosperity. What this has meant over the years is that anybody who goes against what the government wants is an enemy of progress, and idler, a civil society type that is keen on destabilising the country. And from the political assassinations, through the Mwakenya crackdown to the turbulent years of 1989 -92, the creed has been the same: crush dissent!
But now we are faced with a new reality, the reality that singular governance has been caught up by increasingly popular action by citizens and citizen groups. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 saved us from guesswork and mind games. After the ICC indictments, one and all Kenyans rose in an unprecedented wave, in the social and mainstream media, in social places and at homes, to call for accountability from those holding public office. Many Kenyans were able to see through the lie that Githu Muingai was perpetrating by constituting a committee to advise government.

Then, as if nothing had happened, we held prayers tow weeks ago for people who were indicted by the ICC so that Hague, the “lions’ den” that they have been thrown in, becomes like the biblical one where, like Daniel, Abedinego, Meshack and Shedrack of old, the Lord would protect them from any hurt. We praised these people as the God’s chosen, the Messiahs, the Moses and Aaron’s of the current Kenya who will lead us to Canaan. Perhaps the good thing was that the actual prayers lasted for about eleven minutes each. The rest was unprayerful.

Some speakers in the meetings even threatened that if some people were not allowed to run as presidential candidates, there should be no elections. There could have been other diatribes and epithets concerning the work that Mzalendo Kibunjia and company deal with, but i spared myself the hurt.
I had to draw this conclusion: that after the December 2007 elections, more than 1300 Kenyans killed themselves, scores raped themselves, and over 650,000 people willingly left their homes and decided to beg, borrow and dramatise by the roadsides. This brings to mind the Dr Robert Ouko case – it is still the official government statement at least –that he shot himself in the head, then broke his leg on something, then poured petrol on himself and lit himself up.

Indeed, it is very easy to conclude that the civil society and the generally the people we call “victims” are just self appointed spoilers for our political class. The civil society has been vocal (of course after being funded by former colonialists to destabilise Kenya), in calling for the perpetrators to be brought to book and cleared or convicted of gross violation of human rights, murder, rape and forceful evictions. On the other hand, the “victims” did all those bad things to themselves with the sole intention of ensuring that our hallowed politicians and other peace loving leaders and citizens can be implicated. It is very easy to see these evil designs of civil society and pretentious “victims”.
I am therefore inviting you to join me in agreeing that the most important thing is forgetfulness; and that we shall immediately forget 2007/8. It did not happen. Never. Not in a country with people like us whose only love is peace and prosperity. Not in our beautiful country. It is something invented by some idiots from outer space who have been sent by the devil to come and destabilise our preparations for the coming elections.

In fact, i am inviting you to join me to develop and sign a petition outlawing the truth. It will read something like this: “Any person or persons, who by design or otherwise, will be found by any enquiry process, whether legal or otherwise, to have been seeking the truth, by whatever means, shall be deemed to have rescinded his or her citizenship and shall be barred from participating in public affairs ad infinitum”