Why some Kalenjin politicians are now fleeing UDA. Shocking | Kenya news

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Is money worship at the root of Kenya’s problems?

The issues that severely ail our country have been deeply analysed, debated and documented since Independence in 1963. Tribalism, corruption, unemployment, institutional weaknesses, political mediocrity and a myriad of other leadership failures have been adequately explored by many competent minds. For instance, Michela Wrong’s recent book “It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistleblower”, offers a particularly riveting look into the architecture of corruption in Kenya since Independence. I’ll therefore not bother to rehash what is already in the public domain.

Kenyans who genuinely want the best for their country have been yearning for answers as to why the nationalistic hopes of 1963, and again in 2002 failed to become a reality. My take is that the answers so far have not gone far enough in drilling down to the core problem. As we race towards another uncertain general election, perhaps its time to explore further afield beyond the conventional, as to why we never seem to get our act together.

After years of reading and listening to various descriptions regarding our national problems, it finally hit me what has been going on in our country over the last five decades. The intriguing answer has been undeniably staring at us for quite a long time. I would like to suggest boldly that our core problem as Kenyans is really quite simple – it’s the worship of money!

Am talking about the unabashed, brazen veneration and aspiration for everything that money represents, and particularly the open admiration shown to those who have lots of it irrespective of how they acquired it. This is the shameful reality despite the oft-repeated claim that 80% of Kenya’s citizens are regular churchgoers, and who’s creed would never countenance worshiping anything other than God.

I assert that this kind of idolatry is at the heart of our social-economic problems and the mismanagement of this country’s human and natural resources by our ravenous leadership. This is the reason our kleptomaniac ruling class finds solid and enthusiastic support from the poverty stricken masses unable or unwilling to connect the dots between their pitiful existence and their leaders’ lavish lifestyles (which the poor folks envy, admire and will do anything to have). Indeed, all our major problems since 1963 can be traced back to this single vile phenomenon.

What are our values as a nation?

I would like to submit that the tragic narrative of our nation can be adequately traced back to the way we founded our Kenyan state at Independence. What core values were put forth to guide the young nation by our founding fathers? The beautiful words of our national anthem certainly contain strong and noble values that if instilled could have seen the transformation of our nascent nation into an economic giant at par with the so-called Asian tigers such as Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.

Unfortunately, our founding fathers woefully failed to lead by personal integrity and selfless sacrifice. Instead, they laid the foundation for the shameless accumulation of wealth mentality that today permeates our leadership and society. No nation on earth can pull itself out of poverty under that kind of leadership.

Interestingly, Kenyan professionals have over the years remained highly sought across the globe due to their good qualifications, hard work and the ability to learn or adapt fast. Sometime back, a World Bank labour productivity report on East Africa described Kenyans as having aggressive go-getter attitudes which make them very suitable for jobs such as marketing, salesmanship and business intermediation. Our world-renowned athletes also display these noble virtues through their resilience and hard work.

Strangely, these values have hardly been reflected in our country’s top leadership. Over the last decade, the late Hon John Michuki is probably the only government Minister who can be remembered by ordinary citizens for achieving transformational impact under the Ministries he led. Indeed among his cabinet peers, Michuki stood out as a rare gem in a sea of avarice and astonishing incompetence.

Liberation from the worship of money

Land grabbing, mismanagement of public resources, drug deals, pyramid schemes – these are just the manifestations of the underlying get-rich quick mentality in our society. Which probably explains the ease by which perpetrators of these scams have found favour with voters and remarkably, even churches. Kenyan weekend dailies often carry photos of elated church leaders hosting and endorsing wealthy politicians mentioned in various financial scandals.

This moral tragedy can only be understood if one accepts that perhaps a great number of our people don’t really see anything wrong with those crimes. Truth be told, many love to hobnob with these thugs masquerading as leaders hoping they could share part of their loot. More shameful, many admire these politicians as their role models and heroes. It’s therefore not surprising that they listen and take to heart every bit of their dangerous tribal drivel. No wonder most of our voters lack interest in issue-based campaigns.

Now, that is what the Bible describes as the “love of money which leads to all kinds of evil.” Kenyans are today living this reality with the embrace of all kinds of immoralities including recently, the overt agitation for so-called homosexual “rights” in the country. Astute biblical scholars will tell you that when nations start manifesting the deviant lifestyles detailed under Romans chapter 1, it’s the ultimate proof of their rejection of God and consequently their own destruction.

Is it any wonder then that we find ourselves grappling with the same basic issues 50 years after independence? Should we be amazed that voters enthusiastically support politicians whose track records would consign them to very long jail terms in other nations that observe the rule of law? When a certain Prophet David Owuor came on the scene a few years ago proclaiming that Kenyans needed to repent and turn back to God, a number of church leaders dismissed and scoffed at his dooms day predictions. Without validating Owuor’s predictions or his work here, I would like to say that the church leaders seemed to have missed the critical warning stated by Jesus in Luke 13:1-5 regarding the importance of personal repentance.

At a personal level, I’ve come to the inescapable conclusion that unless as a people we sincerely repent of our idolatry to our God and creator, our country will continue sliding deeper into the murk as we watch. Lets not be deluded that the new constitution can change our hearts or morals. Only a healthy fear of God can liberate our people from the worship of money and those who wield it and appear hell-bent on destroying our nation through their empty politics. Otherwise, there’s little Kenyans of goodwill can do to stop the national conflagration that is sure to follow.

23 comments:

  1. "Tribalism, corruption, unemployment, institutional weaknesses, political mediocrity and a myriad of other leadership failures have been adequately explored by many competent minds."

    xxxx

    These are ALL SYMPTOMS and not the CAUSE!

    When you go to a doctor, you tell him, I am having headache, fever, I am sweating at night, I am vomiting etc, does he say, oh, your problem is sweating, not eating, vomiting, fever etc?

    Such a doctor would very stupid and mad.

    He asks for these symptoms, so as to identify what is the CAUSE of these symptoms.

    As such, he "removes" these symptoms by killing foreign bodies etc in your body. When these foreign bodies are killed, the symptoms disappear. Simple!

    As such, without identifying the cause of these symptoms, he will kill the patient with useless drugs.

    However, what we would call the HIGHEST FOOLISHNESS and INSANITY in art of medicine, we call INTELLECTUALISM in the world of social sciences.

    Bure sana!

    xxx

    This is the deal whether you like it or not, know it, or you do not know it:

    (i)Social science does NOT deal with life.

    (ii) Social science does deal with the background of lie.

    If you understand this, then, you EASILY identify the REAL CAUSE of the symptom like corruption, LOVE OF MONEY, unemployment etc, etc.

    Anyway, since, it seems like it is easier to control the oceanic waves by shouting at them than REASONING with mad men of so called social sciences, we leave to enjoy:

    I'm an intelligent man,

    And I love intelligent people

    http://is.gd/ld9o58

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bw Muhindi,

    Please clarify which money you are talking about. Hope it is not USELESS PAPER MONEY but GOLD.

    You seem to have beef with founding father Johnstone Kamau. That is bad patriotic manners. Give the late old man a break and you can test his resolve by supporting his son Jomo Jr.

    Please get rich or die trying.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chris aka Duncan,
    You sound like a POOR MAN when you write, kwani what's wrong with LOOKING AT KENYA FROM WESTGATE (SARIT CENTRE)? why so JEALOUS of the INDUSTRIOUS and HARD WORKING bro?


    Taabu,
    ati SUMPTUOUS dinner is FREE in PUNDOM for VOLUBLE DINNERS bure kabisa apologize won't you?

    ReplyDelete
  4. can someone get this published in a local daily paper? So many more need to read this and our very own 'virtual economist's' comments minus the usual profanities!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kumekucha is as good as any of the other e-news publications out there, and there is no need to have it published in any one of the local dull (daily) papers. Unfortunately, the commenator lost a lot of objectivity and credibility the moment he started injecting too much of a hardline religous angle into the commentary, and ended up careering off down the track of self-righteousness and moralization of the country's ongoing problems. Anyway, it's his right, his views, and he's entitled to them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Anon 7/12/12 1:35 PM

    With due respect to your comment, our new Constitution has a preamble that states unequivocally:

    "We, the people of Kenya, acknowledging the supremacy of the Almighty God of all creation...."

    And then the preamble ends..."God bless Kenya."

    Now, that means God's opinion will inevitably have to feature in national discussions that touch on morality, integrity and the way we choose to govern ourselves. That's where am coming from with my piece.

    In the same way, it would be absurd for anyone to imply that the new constitution lost credibility and objectivity the moment it anchored its preamble on God!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Muhindi,

    No need to worry if you believe the word of God is the ultimate and final authority.

    Proverbs: 13:11
    Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Muhindi,

    Just argue your case no need for sermons. Meantioning God just becoz it is there in the preamble of katiba adds no value to your post.

    Religion is personal, keep it to yourself, won't you?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous said...
    can someone get this published in a local daily paper? So many more need to read this and our very own 'virtual economist's' comments minus the usual profanities!

    xxx

    Ati minus the usual profanities? Which ones?

    Our claim is very simple and backed by ample evidence. The IVY LEAGUE of FOOLS are factories for:

    -DUPES, FANATICS, FOOLS, FRAUDSTERS, ROBBERS, RAPISTS and MURDERERS/ROBBERS.

    If you doubt, sample this:

    "JPMorgan Chase raises its recent trading loss to $4.4bn."

    "Even after those losses, the bank has reported three-month net profit of $4.96bn, down from $5.43bn in the same period last year.

    It said it would restate its results from the previous three months because it had made $459m less than it thought."

    Simple. Only FOOLISH graduates of IVY LEAGUE of FOOLS like Harvard, LSE etc, can produce such meaningless, absurd and insane figures.

    For instance, what are these PROFITS these monkeys keep on telling us even today?

    There IS NONE. It is just ACCOUNTING GIMMICKS/FRAUD.

    However, the MBA's schools cannot understand such simple stuff.

    Bure sana these EXPENSIVE for nothing schools!

    Source: http://is.gd/RGzLjH

    xxx

    It is true that, the so called New Constitution mentions the word God.

    However, is it not a case of mentioning the name of God in vain and in mockery?

    For instance, in the Bible, we find these words:

    "'Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Leviticus 19:35

    This being the case, a casual glance of this so called new constitution, is nothing, but, an institutionalization of DISHONEST standard. Bure kabisa!

    xxxx

    Before we leave, we find that:

    "Jewish schools offer exceptionally high achievement, good behaviour, warm, caring environments, and the chance for young people to learn about their IDENTITY as 21st century Jews."

    Source: http://is.gd/5iWSPq

    From this we INQUIRE, where are the African Schools that may teach young Africans their IDENTITY and their FATE as 21st Century AFRICANS?

    With that query, we leave to SEARCH for the African Teachers to teach Africans after the IVY LEAGUE of FOOLS FOOLISH indoctrination:

    http://is.gd/FTqiqJ

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Anon 7/13/12 3.28AM

    I would really love to know how you would make a moral argument on issues that touch all Kenyans without bringing God into the picture to ground your moral perspectives :-)

    In other words, how would you argue persuasively that your moral viewpoint should apply authoritatively to the citizens of Kenya - and that its not merely your personal subjective opinion?

    ReplyDelete
  11. mwara' from your well researched and referenced posts you are at the very least an ivy league phd graduate if not a masters holder

    so which of these 'noble' professions

    -DUPES, FANATICS, FOOLS, FRAUDSTERS, ROBBERS, RAPISTS and MURDERERS/ROBBERS, BLOGGER

    are you currently engaged in or graduated into? I took the liberty to add blogging to the list!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What is your take on the revelations about Tinga and his cronies on corruption. Got very suprised and disappointed. Seems like all of the politicians are only interested on eating. Shame on them

    ReplyDelete
  13. Chris,

    What's your opinion on Miguna's book and what he has to say about your boss Raila? Or you think the book should be treated with contempt?

    ReplyDelete
  14. The Jews are taught in their language but their teachers are ILF. It is not the IVY school that makes you FOOLISH but you make a FOOL of your IVY utopian mindset.

    As Taabu told you, you are so one dimensionally armed with a hammer and everything to you is a nail.

    Ask yourself do you qualify to step at the gates of LSE or Harvard? And don't lie that you don't want becoz just like paper money which you crave for in the west while blogging day in day out against.

    Please expand you vocabulary beyond ILF/SHEEPLE/FANTACIES etc

    ReplyDelete
  15. -DUPES, FANATICS, FOOLS, FRAUDSTERS, ROBBERS, RAPISTS and MURDERERS/ROBBERS, BLOGGER

    are you currently engaged in or graduated into? I took the liberty to add blogging to the list!

    7/13/12 7:19 AM

    xxx

    Bwa ha ha ha ha hu hu we we wi wi wi

    We not engage in devil's work of INHUMANITY.

    There are two kinds of occupations:

    (i) the productive work, and

    (ii)the unproductive work.

    As such, when you see these politicians, bankers, lawyers, talking so much SHIT, they are ALL ENGAGED IN UNPRODUCTIVE WORK.

    We observe that, the IVY LEAGUE of FOOLS SPECIALIZE in producing such PARASITES.

    In fact, these UNPRODUCTIVE occupations are the most sought after.

    As such, for us, we engage in PRODUCTIVE stuff such like:

    - improving the ground/soil which involves:

    (a) agriculture,
    (b) forestry,
    (c) fishing,
    (d) mining, and
    (e) ABOVE ALL, LEARNING.

    We even add, to those who may BE BLESSED to understand the ART OF PEACEFUL NATION building, may the Lord give them WISDOM to understand the art of soil/ground improvement and learning.

    With that, we are off to enjoy:

    Why do the babies starve when there's enough food to feed the world,

    Why are the missiles carriers called PEACE KEEPERS in CONGO, IVORY COAST,

    When they're aimed to kill at INNOCENT AFRICANS?

    Amidst all these QUESTIONS and CONTRADICTIONS,

    There are some who seek the TRUTH:

    http://is.gd/hrNhYH

    ReplyDelete
  16. Is the worship of money, or the perverted worship of our respective ethnicities, or vain worship of our religions (that have nothing or very little to do with the Almighty Creator of the Universe) that are at the core of Kenya's fifty-year old decay?

    For the record, we, the people have had no issues nor any problems whateover with ... acknowleging the supremacy of the Almighty God of all Creation ... including a our not so young nation of Kenya.

    However, there are pockets among the general population who tend to forget the fact that the opreative word is ...of all Creation... and not of the usual group(s) or particular segments of the population that have always lived under the ultimate control and final authority of self-appointed ethnic chieftains, tribal warlords, political elites, denominational churches and their clergy, and seasonal prophets of doom (and at times 'profit') since December of 1963.

    By the way, has it ever occurred to some of us as well as the so-called very religious people, that the Alimighty God of all Creation is above and beyond all theologies, religions, faiths and spiritual paths that have been crafted by fallible humans in the last several centuries?

    What religion does the Almighty God of all Creation belong to? And what tribe, race, ethnicity or nationality is the Almighty God of Creation?

    Hence, it's not uncommon to hear people of certain religious persuasions (names withheld) argue or claim that the Almighty God of all Creation as mentioned in the new Constitution is strictly part and parcel of their religious traditions, and for that reason alone, the nation of Kenya is a (____fill-in-the-blank____) nation.

    But how true is this claim? Try cashing that at anyone of the larger religious banks.

    It's one thing to defend (y)our beliefs against anyone who dare challenges them, but it is quite another issue all together to spew or inject religious rhetoric into the misinterpretation of the new Constitution under the disguise of trying to provide diagnosis of what is at the root of Kenya's fifty-year old endemic problems?

    ReplyDelete
  17. As Taabu told you, you are so one dimensionally armed with a hammer and everything to you is a nail.

    xxx

    Has he done the HOMEWORK we gave him?

    ReplyDelete
  18. God bless Kenya. God bless every human being and all other creation living under the East African skies above Kenyan. God bless all those who come to Kenya in peace.

    Always and forever in Almighty God of all Creation.

    ReplyDelete
  19. It's one thing to defend (y)our beliefs against anyone who dare challenges them, but it is quite another issue all together to spew or inject religious rhetoric into the misinterpretation of the new Constitution under the disguise of trying to provide diagnosis of what is at the root of Kenya's fifty-year old endemic problems?

    7/13/12 11:58 AM

    xxx

    Kenyan problems are not 50 years old. As usual, this is the MYTHOLOGY they teach at the ILF.

    To account for what is happening TODAY, one who is a SERIOUS STUDENT of human affairs, must, AT LEAST, start around 1880's.

    NB: History is not the study of dates, kings, and their murders AND ROBBERIES of mankind.

    And, if history was not that important, why do groups DISTORT the history of other groups?

    Just to inquire, for instance, why do the Luo group distort the history of the Kikuyu's and vice versa?

    Remember this, if you lose what you learnt when you were 1, 2, 3, 4 years old, you would become invalid in your 50's.

    In the same manner, forgetting the childhood history of your nation makes a people helpless and totally incapable of dealing with their problems.

    It is for this reason, all your so called reforms will only increase the taxes/robbery of the poor to feed the increasing parasites.

    Once in a while, someone like Githongo or Miguna will write about corruption, but, he or she will be telling you nothing. Why so?

    Simply, he who rests barely on the matters of fact as related in history, pleases his FANCY for a moment while he is reading, but, never improves his JUDGMENT to make it useful in conversation, or in the management of PUBLIC AFFAIRS. Such a person gains nothing more than children do by hearing some tales.

    NB: That a hint to the man we gave some HOMEWORK if he can understand it!

    With that, we leave to enjoy:

    If you know YOUR HISTORY,
    Then you would know where you coming from,

    Then you wouldn't have to ask me,
    Who the 'eck do I think I am.

    http://is.gd/4G0PEH

    ReplyDelete
  20. Real intellectualism lies in SCIENCE and not humanities with its wordiness. But again the IVY LIE will tell you that vaccines were discovered in Africa bushes or there is nothing like mutation since all ailments are treatable iwth herbs.

    Pathetic sense of false knowledge exclussively doled in Sumarian folklore.

    ReplyDelete
  21. "Real intellectualism lies in SCIENCE and not humanities with its wordiness."

    xxx

    Science simply means nothing more than a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of TESTABLE EXPLANATIONS and PREDICTIONS about the universe/human behavior.

    For instance, when one can tell you in advance that, your so called reforms are childish waste of time and source of further tyranny, such a man/woman we may called a scientist and a nation blessed to have such man/woman, should honor him/her.

    As such, we are not surprised to read that:

    “Most of our clients fear going to jail because of high taxes, running into millions, owed to KRA.

    Some are even contemplating selling their properties to pay the taxes,” said Mr Wanjau Gathuri, the director of COG Consultants Ltd, a property company.

    Oh, Lord, will those who have sacrificed everything to create the MUCH NEEDED WEALTH be crucified so as to pay IDLERS/PARASITES like Kibunja and son of Nyachae?

    Source: http://is.gd/7TIFUe

    In this scheme of things, to the men who give you stories of how this man, this monkey and that liar is corrupt, in support of their so called second liberation, we would give the name of charlatans.

    Kama iko swali lingine, wewe ulinza tuu.

    You might be aware of the fact that:

    kuulinza sio ujinga.

    bwa nha ha ha ha ha ha he he he hi hi hi hu hu he he we we we

    With that, we are off to enjoy:

    They use money and penalize the poor TENANTS:

    http://is.gd/xPfmE1

    ReplyDelete
  22. Kumekucha,
    There is no way that I will ever be taken to court for the unregulated worship of money and lust for power, because if that is case, then the whole cabinet and every member of parliament will also have to be taken to court as well.

    I am only doing what has been approved by the powers that be in accordance with the laws of the land. That's why I have always followed through with whatever that is stipulated in the cabinet meetings and the minutes and official documentation can attest to the fact.

    For you information, I have always approved of the fact that a $6000 suit (custom tailored in Mumbai or Karachi) and $300 belt (made in China or Kuala Lumpur) are good, while $300 suits and $50 belts made from elsewhere are bad for anyone's sparkling personal image and their political status quo.

    What I have and dress is what you see because I have never had anything to hide in the closet of my political landscape, nor to conceal in far away offshore accounts like few of my colleagues, including the one, 'that one', who is still so bitter for not having been nominated to parliament nor even appointed as a diplomat to one of the major European and North America nations.

    In the meantime, people can say all they want, however I deserve to enjoy the triple-'matunda ya uhuru' after having spent sometime in political detention during the days when few of us were courageous enough to dare stand up against village tyrany as we struggled for real 'Uhuru', so that we could afford to own several $6000 suits and $300 belts without fear of any kind.

    LOL! My friend image is everything when one is a public figure with a lot of clout, and a first impression matters more than many of us care to believe. That's why there is nothing wrong with dressing the part and playing it out as well. It just goes with territory.

    When all is said and done, I don't have to remind you that my people love me, my constituents still support me 600 percent and any diehards from the era of our underground liberation movement during the late 70s, 80s and 90s still have my back covered wherever I go.

    We are not to blame for some of Kenya's root problems, as matter of fact we are still a very tight family of comrades who are always constantly intouch and united.
    'A luta continua'
    .

    ReplyDelete
  23. If wishes were sciences Kenyan engineers, scientists and great minds would have advanced the course of our nation's development and economic to greater heights than those of the Asian Tigers, Celtic Tiger and Middle Eastern Tigers. Of what use is our habit of indulging ourselves in ancient and modern sciences when we can't afford to employ them to better our livelihood?

    ReplyDelete

Any posts breaking the house rules of COMMON DECENCY will be promptly deleted, i.e. NO TRIBALISTIC, racist, sexist, homophobic, sexually explicit, abusive, swearing, DIVERSIONS, impersonation and spam AMONG OTHERS. No exceptions WHATSOEVER.