The Kenyan I am and the Kenya I want
by Kenneth Kanyagia

I have learnt that our impulses to each other are not the best and that hate and killing is possible when we fail to understand others for what they are. The impulse to hate and exclude is very much with us.

We have not achieved much since independence in fostering the so called unity and national identity as Kenyans. This past elections has been a glaring example of our failures.

It has been easy passing the buck but we have to start accepting our failures be it in our churches, homes, businesses and in Parliament. Our failures are also evident in our political parties.  
                                                
We have segregated ourselves into haves and have-nots, families of so and so, various  churches  but we never come together as Kenyans .We have been disassociated from motherland. We have failed to create a safer Kenya for our children.

Too many of us have accepted prejudice against other ethnic groups. Despite perceived, if any progress since independence, we remain a divided country, separate but equal.

Fellow Kenyans, be it Luo, Kikuyu or Kalenjin, we are raped daily by bad schools, joblessness, poor nutrition, lack of hope, and lack of technical skills among others.

We may rank better than most Africans but I realize that we are capable of more ideals other than being savages especially as was the case following the elections.

We lack constitutional guarantees and honest leadership that recognizes the potential of every Kenyan, not to curtail it but to create environment to let it foster, creating safety nets for the most vulnerable and at the same time not overburdening the populace with inefficiencies.

I visited Nairobi last year, but you don’t see the misery every day. The skyscrapers are beautiful, night spots vibrant with a growing middle class but the immense poverty of the ghettos of Kariobangi, Kibera and Mathare is immense.

You may find solace in the flats of Westlands that cost several millions. But what will you do when the despair and violence cross city lines. Where then will you move?

I went to primary school in Nairobi in the 80’s. I was aware of the many differences between the various ethnicities but we did not allow the differences to lead to hostility.

We had a commonality of need and concern for the others and a belonging to the various institutions. On weekends the differences were more evident when my family went to the local church and had the service in my ethnic language.

I am Anglican and grew among Catholics and also among those who did not believe in Christianity; and to them Kikuyu customs were paramount. But the purpose was the same and I did not understand it then. A bit older in the youth group, we fetched water, repaired fences and houses for the elderly.

Back in school, I sat in a class next to Bavesh, who is now a solicitor in the UK and cheered on Tostao and Shikanga to take Jamhuri High to the national football championship. Looking back at those days, growing up then was a unifying experience.

Why do I phrase my past? It’s because I know that everyone of us we have more in common with others than we can readily admit. It is, I fear, an experience that my children will not experience here in the US.
As I grew older, I attended NYS and then college. I soon joined mainstream Kenya, got a job and started paying taxes and making N.S.S.F contributions. I came across profound differences, faces of fear and hate, better neighborhoods than others, gated communities, shanties that don the outskirts.

With a rising income, I left the comforts of childhood and got my self an apartment in upscale side of Kiambu town. I was now relevant. I came to know the implications of difference. The Luo resided in Kibera, Kikuyu in Mathare. But even in the estates, unseen tribal demarcations were and continue to feature prominently.

To be different was inferior and wrong. Now after some years in the US, I have come to the sad awareness that intolerance, to be afraid, to be envious lurks everywhere.   
                                                              
When these impulses are magnified by political leaders, the state, the churches, local leaders and left unchecked, they have the power to produce the Rwanda like genocide or the Jewish-like holocaust.
We now know how the unchecked impulse against one group in the rift valley has lead to the wanton destruction of life and property. Whole generations have been displaced to satisfy fear, envy and intolerance.

We should not hide from the fact that the tide of death, destruction, the bitterness will scar us for years to come. We are being tested of our willingness to defend one another.

Our political parties with no clear grass root mandates, agendas have largely pitted Kenyans against one another. If anything Kenyans should learn from this; it’s our frustration with our politicians, leaders, and churches among others.

We are angry with the party systems be it PNU, ODM or the local governments. We are angry for the indifference we have to others. We are yearning for personal liberties, personal space, to be left alone, smaller government, public servants who want to serve public good and we want the pay for politicians reduced to a bare minimum.

I ask what we are fighting for. Is it worth fighting for Kamongo, Githeri, for superiority or are we fighting to eliminate our differences. Do we expect Odinga, Kibaki and the rest of Kenya to have a common core of beliefs and rights? How do we deal with the stupidity and the danger of being different?.

      I have talked to several of my colleagues and we don’t understand it all but we share a fundamental agreement. We have a fair and constitutional expectation from our government and political parties to rationality-education, law and opportunity.

   Hate is one thing that becomes less acceptable the more we talk about it. The churches, social groups, the individual has to speak against it and to expose it .We have to start teaching our children of the inherent worth of every individual, the moral responsibility to another Kenyan.

   Kenyans especially those abroad have some knowledge and comfort. It will be sad to see them repeat the hate that has victimized our fellow Kenyans. We must demand from our leaders a sense of nationalism, of direction, higher goals and vision for our communities.

   We want a new constitution that gives me the freedom to be different, a system of laws that allows us to disagree peacefully and allows us to become better Kenyans from the different ideas. What ties me to nomads of northern Kenya is not that we have the same fears but we agree to live in a system that allows us to disagree peacefully.

   In general, Kenyans in the Diaspora have been successful for they have and continue to develop an ability to understand how others with different backgrounds think and look at the various situations they encounter every day.

    Our ability to adapt to changing times and political realities will be our greatest asset. We should not forget our founding principles. We should start working for a greater good than our own individual comfort and success and a love for Kenya.

    Let us teach and especially the young, the importance of every man and woman, personal worth, dignity, compassion, the love for knowledge, responsibility, the need and respect for law and order, and the love for our country.

    These should be words not merely for the annual Kenyan pilgrimage to Atlanta or the rare Sunday sermon but a daily ritual for which our future is built.

    Our Members of Parliament have to pass laws that serve stronger and severe penalties for violence especially ethnic related violence. We cannot call on other Kenyans to refrain from violence when the law itself is silent on the issue.

     Kenyans have legal redress through the penal code for acts of violence but the constitutions does not recognize the serious consequences to the victims, the community and public order when such acts of violence are motivated by hatred.

     If the anticipated constitutional review does not provide a legal deterrent, we will have failed not only our people but the country as a whole.

If the events of the last two years are anything to go by, it’s without doubt that most of the world waits for us to do the right thing. How we proceed will be a defining moment for the rest of Africa.

     A Kenya that teaches an appreciation for others, a love for it, which passes laws to protect people from acts of hate, will help create a tolerant Kenya. We cannot lose sight of common sense. The role of our politicians has never been greater. Much is now expected of them.

    They have to create an environment for the private sector to grow, to provide opportunities and be responsible to the owners and to the environment. Our leaders have to understand that access to opportunity does not just happen, it must be achieved.

    They also have to learn what government needs to do: correct failures by making opportunities available and establishing the rule of law. The private sector even if growing by 5-6 percent per annum cannot overturn ethnic violence but working with a responsible and equitable government will generate work for the citizenry and for this Kenyans will get a decent pay to support their families and be forever grateful.
I just hope.

Kenneth Kanyagia
kkanyagia@gmail.com