When our freedom fighters decided to take up the struggle against the white colonisers, their motive(s) were clear, the means clearly set out and the principle players, most of them peasant volunteers led by individuals, some of who had had military experience in either of the earlier two world wars. They demanded freedoms, repatriation of the displaced back to their lands and the general return of all the land allocated to the foreign settler community , the ratchet in this arrangement- use of forceful means to attain these ends.
This small group of combatants launched the fight with the knowledge that the majority of citizens were on their side. Convinced that they had the backing both in spirit and in deed, of the non-combatant citizenry and the simple knowledge and belief that their cause was just. It gave them the impossible morale to take up what little arms and crude weapons they had against the might of the British empire's forces. They believed that the God they prayed to, the one who sat on the "mountain with whiteness" was on their side.
The partial to whole scale betrayal of the aspirations of the masses was in the works and some in the organised leadership of the Africans sought to take advantage of the unfolding situations. Jomo Kenyatta- despite not having been born in a traditional African 'royalty' family and others took advantage of having had some 'education' read civilisation, and started shunning the violence used as the ultimate tool by the freedom fighters and edging their influence close to the centre of power. They encouraged the masses to acquire education so that they would be able to 'inherit the government' though the quality of education imparted was only rudimentary- just enough to enable the peasants understand the commands from the masters who were gradually turning up in black complexion. The result of this approach was the "still-born independence" where the masses did not get back what lands their sons and daughters had died in the forests fighting for, they could not aspire to the heights of governance because they had not been 'civilised' enough to 'inherit the government'.
Fast forward to the late '80s into early '90s and the winds of wider democratisation have swept eastern Europe and are being felt in Africa. Kenya has a despot who has such friends like Nicholae Ceausescu, a Romanian dictator, for strategic advisor, and the masses are pouring onto the streets of the major cities demanding greater freedoms and opening up of democratic space. Kenyans are being subjected to a state security machinery akin to one going by the name of SRB- 'State Research Bureau' employed by Idi Amin Dada of neighbouring Uganda. They had to look over their shoulder before "thinking" anything anti-Nyayo (the governing philosophy of the day)- and they still found themselves being apprehended for such thoughts and 'disappeared' into the Nyayo dungeons. Many did not re-emerge from these alive and their kin did not- could not do or say anything about it.
Despite these dark events, the civil society and the clergy- encouraged and supported by some foreign diplomatic missions like one Smith Hempstone, put up the pressure unrelentingly and the government had to give but before this happened, the old "partial to whole scale betrayal of the aspirations of the masses" turned whole cycle and it happened again. Most in government realised their days in positions of influence were ending thanks to the multi-party form of governance movement and they quickly shed off their 'nyayo-ist' cloaks and donned the new multi-party ones. Taking advantage of the inter-ethnic animosity/suspicions and paranoia that had been planted and nurtured to full maturity by the "nyayo error", they turned to their ethnic conclaves and "shed the light" that some communities intended to dominate others. Many of those leading the clamour for democratisation were also swept under these machinations and they dropped (or fumbled) the ball. The majority of the masses did not get the necessary and effective civic education to erase the centuries of master/slave syndrome that has been plaguing them. The education to enlighten them as to the workings of state, the balancing of 'Citizens, state, power, control' equation. The political class knows this endemic ignorance and uses it to perpetuate its grip or strangle-hold on the masses who are left gasping for any hand-outs, nay, crumbs that may fall from the high table and be forever grateful for them.
The new millennium brought the pseudo-realisation that what ails us most is the constitutional arrangement we had. The truth that if all citizens are treated the same by the constitution of that day then most of our problems would be resolved -was swept under the rug (again by the political class, by either deliberate mis-education of the masses or omission thereof) The clamour for a new constitution was accelerated and there was a lot of feigned sympathy/empathy with and mention of "Wanjiku" to make it look like no-one was being ignored, that this was actually a citizen driven agenda. Wanjiku was not appropriately 'brought up to speed' to equip her with the cognisance of constitution making. Some of the proponents and opponents of the draft constitution- spokes in the wheel of our betrayal- did the usual theatrics or gymnastics of shedding and donning opposing cloaks and a constitution was ratified in 2010 with the full knowledge that it had some defects but with the understanding that it would be fine-tuned in situ. We mostly forgot that a wheel with spokes and some little effort keeps turning. The wheel turned another cycle and another 'partial to whole scale betrayal of the aspirations of the masses' happened. Any talk of constitutional amendment(s) was equated to treason- anti government. Whatever clause one felt needed amending notwithstanding.
Today, all arms of governance- executive, legislature, the judiciary and the citizenry itself are seemly impotent thanks to the monstrosity of the new constitution. Do we contract a benevolent dictator, suspend the constitution, reset to the default settings and start afresh?
Our so-called founding fathers came up with the clarion call of eradication of poverty, ignorance and disease. They came up with very little or ineffective ways and means to achieve these goals and infact on closer analysis it would seem as if their approach effectively worsened the situation. The majority of the people are still struggling with these ills today.
There seems a generalised resignation by the masses to the notion that there are no better choices. This leads us to board un-roadworthy vehicles at the risk of our own harm, rent unsuitable habitations, drink poisons in the name of alcohol, hang onto helicopters in the name of protest, elect criminals into the august houses and then sit back crying, " Mungu saidia, Serikali saidia!..Jameni naomba serikali iingilie...!"
While not exonerating the authorities for the dire situation the majority of the citizens find themselves in, I would in the same breath blame the masses for the predicament we find ourselves in. Yes, the political class strives- and has succeeded, so far, to perpetuate the slave/master arrangement but the masses are not blameless. We seriously need to figure out how to make our institutions accountable to the people, the executive, the legislature, the civil society, the clergy- our houses of worship have been turned into business enterprises, and now the judiciary, they have all failed us. We desperately need a reset button to set us back to our default settings. We need a new dawn.
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The crowds that turned out at Afraha stadium and the Uhuru park on Madaraka day both went back home with the same take. Their leaders, the same. Your guess is as good as mine.
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