Please read this: it is good for your
intellectual health.
It is
approximately two months from now when le President du Monde (Obama) will be
touching base in Le Kenya. The
excitement and curiosity is what is keeping les Kenyans busy. I must admit that
almost a good number of the whole population is highly anticipating his coming.
Please forgive my blasphemy, but my sixth sense tells me that for the majority
of his followers and most especially the K’ogelo loyals his arrival will be like the Second Coming of the (Jesus)
King. Hush! Hold your horses I am just thinking aloud!
Well, I am not
from a royal family, neither am I a daughter of any prominent person in the
Republic du Kenya; actually I have never even been privileged to visit the
state house. I am just a common citoyen, like the many of my brothers and
sisters, but hey! I can imagine the security detail that will be put in place.
The hustle and bustle that would be in the country. In most of our roads, I know the security will
be the key factor. In every corner, bush and thicket, I can imagine seeing a
black cop and a white cop. The black cop will be doing what he knows best, and
the white cop will be probably guarding the black cop! It is just my opinion
right?
This takes me
back in the days, when I was in high school. Kapsabet girls high school, situated
at the heart of Nandi County, one of the most remarkable girls school in the
county. Nandi County, my beloved county, Source of Champions, as we are proudly
identified. ‘KayGee’ that is what we used to be referred to while back in
Kapsabet girls. I remember, it was back in 2006, I was in my third year in high
school, and then one day in one of the assembly days, we got this announcement…
Le president du Kenya
was going to visit our school! Do you know what that meant? It meant so many
things! Mixture of excitement, anxiety, sense of pride and a bit of concern! But
I was deeply worried! You want to know why? Would you imagine, for almost three
days since the announcement of his arrival teaching was put on hold. The daily
routine had to be revised. No going to the tuition block, part of the dining
hall and dining area were restricted. Half of the school compound had been
taken over by the government literally. Accessing the administration block
meant trespassing and compromising le president security detail! But how now?! We
were just a bunch of high school kids, happy to share our compound with the
then president. I thought sharing is caring? I was wrong! Uh La La!
We were all
confined in our cubicles in our dormitories, the ‘book warmers’ were always in
the library and the other accessible rooms were the laboratories. This was sure
hell on earth, at least for the majority of us who were used to freedom of
movement, it was not funny. Would you picture this: the almost 800 of us the
students operating in that small section of the compound? This was the best
definition of congestion! With little legal knowledge that I have, I know this
was infringement of the chapter 4 of the constitution. On the bill of rights,
it clearly allows for freedom of movement as long as you are a free citizen. Our
rights had been violated. My learned friends please enlighten me on this.
I write this as
a patriotic citizen of my land. Allow me to express my sentiments and concerns.
My freedom of speech is highly protected by the constitution that I voted for. This
in writing is not in any way out of malice, contempt or dislike. I boldly type
this because I know somebody somewhere shares these sentiments with me. This is
flashbacked to last Thursday, when I was going home using one of the PSV’s and
these views were feely being expressed by the majority of those Matatu occupants.
It did have me thinking.
I want to
imagine, that day when le president du monde will be coming. All roads will
probably be closed for the sake of security. I do not want to recount how many
people may not go to work because there will be no matatus accessing their
place of work. That is O.K. But then please do not compromise us, citizens of
this peace loving country. I do not wish to be a refugee in my own country. I have
been there once, it is not funny. Yes it is a great honor and sincere privilege
that he is coming back after a long wait and anticipation. Les citoyens du Kenya will certainly be delighted
to be part of the history as Kenya gets itself in the history books courtesy of
this prestigious visit. It is true, You Only Live Once (YOLO), and at the end
of it all, we will all say: “I was alive when President Obama came back to
Kenya”. Yes! That will be a true nostalgia and a good memoir. The thing is life
must go on! There is life after this visit!
I am speaking in
my own capacity; please do not quote me out of the context. Kindly, do not hate
the player hate the game. This day will come and go. Whether we will be given a
few days off duties: that would be even splendid. But whatever happens will
happen. Let us not forget where we are, the majority of us who toil hard to earn
that coin. It is ok, to merry and celebrate, you can party and shout your lungs
out, because of the historic moment but let us not loose ourselves in the
process.
“A good learner
is a good listener”. That was put to me during one of the refresher training at
work one Friday afternoon. This is my parting shot. Let us respect and uphold
the constitution every single day of our dear lives; at least it is the only
reference book that we have as far as our rights are concerned. Dear brethrens,
let us not be deceived, you loose nothing when you stand up for your rights. This
was well put by the late Bob Marley in one of his songs: a part of the song
goes like”…get up stand up, stand up for your rights…” Be wise, do not
compromise every time. For once let them compromise. Let us STOP Neo-Colonialism! Adios amigos!
The writer of this article is a Bonafide citizen of this
nation, a law abiding, and one among the many patriotic citizens. I am very
open-minded, very liberal, and one who does not fear to express herself. My
responsibility as a citizen is to make sure our leaders are held accountable
whenever they misrepresent us. My duty is to defend and obey the law of the
land as with accordance with Chapter Six (6) of the Constitution of the
Republic of Kenya on Leadership and Integrity. Together let us shun misrepresentation:
YES WE CAN!
Joyeuse fete du Travail tout le monde!(happy labor day everyone)!
No comments:
Post a Comment