Greatest Stupidity is to Complicate Simplicity

By Mwarang'ethe

Living in a complex society, we often fail to perceive through study, critical thinking and reflection very simple truths that even a child can see. The fact is that, the basic principles that guide a simple society are not suspended when we enter into a complex society. Such ought to be self evident, but, alas, it is not. This lack of critical thinking and the subsequent error is evident in the so called "new constitution." To many supporters of the proposed new constitution, they like the so called "progressive human rights" contained in this draft as we are taught by brain dead intellectuals.

But, what do these brain dead intellectuals mean by progressive human rights? They mean the obligation of the "state" to provide or ensure good housing, good jobs, and decent pension for the old and such as we find in Article 43 of the proposed new constitution. In accordance with this doctrine, it is for the state to show that, it does not have enough resources. In other words, it must prove it has not robbed enough to give others. This is not unexpected because; socialists/collectivists/communists have no time for morals. All they care, or they think they care about is social justice. In their perverted way of thinking, as long as a measure is intended for good cause, then, all is fine. As such, they suspend their inquiry when they meet something they like. They fail to see that, the train of cause and effect in real life will go beyond where they suspended their inquiry.

Now, the best way to see through the serfdom of so called "progressive human rights" is to reduce the Kenyan State into the size of a location. For our purposes, we propose to take a fictitious nation called Bondo with a population of 1000 people and reduce to it in a fully fledged State. In Bondo where money economy has yet to arrive, there happens to be some very hard working villagers who number 600. As a result, they command a lot of wealth in terms of goats, beans and maize. At the same time, there are about 200 citizens of Bondo who are classified as poor in terms of World Poverty Bank index. There are also 200 recent post fake independence retirees who used to work in a nation called Nairobi. In their heydays, these retirees would visit the Bondo with second hand cars imported from Dubai. They would also used to speculate in shares hoping to get rich while doing nothing. In other words, they preferred to consume their savings to keep up with Jonnies and bidding up prices of existing assets instead of investing in productive ventures like the 600 citizens of Bondo who now have goats, beans and maize.

To enhance governance, the people of Bondo decide to make a constitution. To ensure they know what they are doing, the people of Bondo engaged a committee of lawyers led by professor Ghai and Nzamba Kitonga. Being very kind hearted lawyers and well versed with the international instruments they call treaties emanating from some mysterious august bodies calling themselves the UN and AU, which require the Bondo State to provide economic and social rights of man, these lawyers and the Dear Leader agree that, every retiree in Bondo shall be entitled to at least 1 butchered goat, 1 bag of beans and 1 bag of maize every month. For the poor, which the modern lawyer is not educated to critically investigate the cause because, he deals with something they call precedent, the new constitution provides that, they should be provided with half a goat, 40 kgs of beans and 70 kgs of maize every month.

This new constitution also, provides that, it shall be the noble and highly coveted task of the Dear Leader to ensure that, the retirees and the poor receive their due every month. In other words, the poor and retirees of Bondo State can now look up to the political power as the source of material betterment and as the guide to their personal destinies. They need not care about virtues of thrift, industry and initiative. Talk of making a virtue that was once considered a vice.

The question now is, since the Dear Leader has nothing himself, where shall he get goats, maize and beans to give the poor and the retirees? In the spirit of participatory democracy, the committee of lawyers go around Bondo State collecting ideas and they come up with an ingenious idea. To get enough goats, beans and maize for distribution to the retirees and the poor, the new constitution empower the Dear Leader to confiscate via something they call direct tax from those who have more goats, beans and maize than they need and then, distribute to those who need them in the spirit of liberte, egilate and fraternite. But, none of this is new. As far back as 1580 B.C. the Great Leader of Egypt did not levy tax on the incomes of his subjects but, on the incomes of the public officials. And, since public officials produce nothing, their taxable funds consisted of what they had farmed from the public. The beauty of the Egyptian method was that, the tax collector got his cut before turning the difference to the Great Leader. As a result of this arrangement, he could not be said to have taken bribes like a Bondo Tax officer will be accused of.

If you think we are using the word confiscation with malicious intent, consult Encyclopaedia Britannica which defines taxation as that part of revenue of the State which is obtained by COMPULSORY DUES AND CHARGES. Thus, income and inheritance taxes are a DENIAL OF PRIVATE PROPERTY by the state. Why does the state deny common people private property? Simply, income/inheritance taxation is an institution of state meant to keep masses under its heel, to favour its minions, to ruin the majority for the benefit of the rulers and thereby, maintain the old divisions and castes in a society. This is so because a government's despotic powers increase as its revenues increase and as the wealth of the masses decline.

The new constitution also provides that, the more goats, beans and maize the citizen of Bondo has, the more shall be taken from him/her. The people of Bondo are advised that, this strange doctrine is called progressive tax i.e. soak the rich, which is taught by all Bondian State accredited universities. The doctrine was brought to Bondo by leading economic and law professors who happened to have schooled in a land called the West. Karl Marx would call this doctrine "FROM EACH according to his ABILITY/HARDWORK, to each according to HIS NEED/LAZINESS." But, to hide this communistic device, the Bondo professors of law, ethics, economics and even philosophy, call it progressive tax. One must wonder, why did Lenin have to have a bloody revolution when you can introduce serfdom by calling it progressive?

The new constitution goes further to provide that, where the goats, beans and maize confiscated from those who have more than they but, it is not sufficient to meet the needs of the Dear Leader, the poor and the retirees, the Dear Leader shall have powers to borrow goats, beans and maize locally and abroad. Such loans shall be called public debt. To assure the creditors, the Dear Leader shall have the right to pledge as security the future goats, beans and maize of the hardworking villagers of Bondo. The end result of this new constitution is that, those who have sacrifice, save and do all is supposed to be done to raise goats and grow beans and maize shall have to part with a portion of their wealth every month so as to provide for the Dear Leader, the poor and the retirees in Bondo State and the public debt.

More so, the new constitution provides that, before the Dear Leader distributes the goats, beans and maize which he shall confiscate from the wealthy to the needy, he shall pay himself first a salary. This salary, the Dear Leader shall decide himself or appoint a well paid committee of experts made up of his minions to decide his take. The committee of expert on Dear Leader's salary shall ensure that, the net income is as high as it was in the old constitution. Thus, the gross salary will be high enough to leave good net income as the Dear Leader is used to have. In any case, all the Bondo citizens wanted was for their Dear Leader to pay tax. To meet such stupid demands, the gross salary will be set appropriately so as to leave the net income as it was when the salary was untaxed under the previous constitution. Voila!

To ensure that all villagers of Bondo shall do an honest yearly declaration of their wealth to provide for the Dear Leader's self declared salary and still have some of it left for the needy, the new constitution provides that, every villager must fully and accurately declare his/her goats, beans and maize and give that information promptly to the Bondo Tax Revenue Authority (BTRA). Failure to declare and any cheating will be met with the Penal Code. Yes, that infamous book of punishment invented in the spirit of the Inquisition and of the teachings of the despotic regimes of the Orient. The declaration is so intrusive such that, even goats and cows paid as dowry must be declared for the purposes of taxation. After all, was it not the Master Himself, who taught us, give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar? But, how did Caesar get his cut? We are taught by historians that, up to the 4th century of the Christian era, to get the truth about incomes, they used racks and scourges to get the truth from suspected evaders.

Since the income tax will not be enough for the Dear Leader's salary and the social purposes, the new constitution also gives the Dear Leader the powers to impose tax on wealth creation i.e. the consumption taxes such as the VAT and excise. In other words, the Dear Leader will hide taxes in goods and services the people of Bondo consume. If a citizen of Bondo has four kids, he must part with much of his wealth as compared to a citizen who has no kids when he buys bread. Thus, being responsible by raising a family will be punished for these taxes are a licence to live and one cannot run away from them. If he wants to avoid these taxes, then, he must commit suicide. If you add the income tax and the license to live tax, it will be about 60% of the Bondonian citizen income. In other words, the Bondian citizen will be 60% state slave. Only about 25% is remaining and chattel slavery/feudalism will be back.

Consequently, the amount of wealth the citizen of Bondo MAY retain for himself shall be determined by the needs of the government of Bondo without his say. The Dear Leader will make such determination of his needs in his Budget speech which will be broadcast live in TV. In other words, the government of Bondo will have powers to take everything the citizens has and leave him with wealth for mere subsistence just to allow him to produce something to be confiscated in like manner. Simply, the government of Bondo has A PRIOR LIEN on all property produced by its subjects. This is the essence of socialism for whatever else it may say; its first tenet is the DENIAL OF PRIVATE PROPERTY.

This is the blatant denial of the inalienable right to a man's property. This is not only a negation of a man's humanity, but, also, a negation of the Divine and Natural Laws. It is so because giving a man right to life is an empty title when he is denied the things that make life liveable, i.e. food, clothes and shelter. The question is, as one of the 1000 citizens of Bondo State would you accept such a Robbin Hood governance system as proposed by their new constitution? A system whereby, A and B put their heads together and decide what C shall be made to do for D? The vice of such scheming is that C is never consulted in the matter. He is simply clubbed by the police power of the state into diverting a part of his earnings to someone he has never seen. If no, why should Kenya be so organised?

In any collective/socialistic based society, truth must be killed. To make such a nation work, all people are forced to work for the ends selected by those in control. It is thus essential that the masses are taught to regard these ends as their own. This requires massive propaganda and complete control of sources of information. So, how do the masses get carried away? Simple. The leaders of constitutional reforms in Kenya have carried the masses by appealing to a common human weakness. This is so because, it is easier to make people agree on a negative programme such hatred of the enemy rather than engage in any positive task. In Kenya, the hatred has been directed against Moi and his orphans. Armed with such low standards for what constitutional reforms should be about, Kenyans are aiming at having a constitution that will punish such evil doers like Moi who took away Kenyan's wealth. To hinge a constitutional reform on such a negative programme can only lead to a disaster for all we have at the end of the day is a Bondo state as we describe above. In such a state, it is the robbers, idiots and such other men can rise to power. We prefer a well thought out constitution which should bring about independence, self reliance, individual initiative, reliance on voluntary charity etc.

We leave thee with some interesting story from the Bible and a personal observation of serfdom. In 1 Kings, Chapter 12, there is an interesting story where the people of Israel petitioned their new King, Rehoboam, son of Solomon to relieve them of the yoke his father had put on them. The designation of a levy on one's production as a yoke is very interesting especially for any man who has trained a bull to pull a plough under the yoke. The author of this article happens to have trained young bulls to pull the plough. When you start training a young bull to bear the yoke, it resists with all its might. The young bull will do whatever it can and this includes strangling himself to death to avoid the yoke. Such fight for freedom by a young bull shows how even animals value their freedom. Given this amount of resistance, one can say that, training a bull to bear the yoke may be one of the difficult jobs. However, through persistence and some serious beatings, we would subdue/wear the young bull until he bears the yoke with pride. It is the same with man for we pay tax with pride.

Having learnt to bear the yoke, the bull ploughs the farm like a tractor. But, what does the bull get out of all this labour? Nothing. Seen from this personal experience with bulls, it is understandable why the people of Israel saw taxation as a yoke. A yoke symbolises the beast of burden which has no right to property. As such, when a human being is in a like manner deprived of what he has produced, which is the essence and sole purpose of income taxation, wealth creation and consumption taxation, he is degraded to the status of an ox. The people of Israel who could sense that man was created in the image of God and therefore, could sense this indignity and they wanted none of this yoke. It was for this reason they stoned to death Rehoboam's chief tax collector called Hadoram.

In our times, stupefied by state education whose objective is to train slaves who do not understand the meaning of liberty and who confuse serfdom for liberty, we have become worshippers of the state. After all, don't we teach income taxation law in our esteemed law schools? As a result, and very sadly and very depressingly, the modern man has accepted the yoke just like an ox. However, bulls do better because; they never teach the young ones to bear the yoke. For us, we not only bear the yoke, but, we also teach our children how to bear the yoke.

As you head to the referendum, remember this. When the people of Israel had a "referendum" on whether to have a King as other nations despotic nations, Jehovah's parting words with Samuel were these: “And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen: And the Lord will not hear you in that day.” It did not take long for this prophecy to come true. Saul, the first king, taxed the people about 10 per cent. David took care of at least 25 per cent more. Solomon, his son, required about 50 per cent. When they asked Solomon's son to reduce this yoke, he responded by saying this: "Whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father did chastise you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

Balance Behind Sanity

Once Again, US Government Rescues Weary Kenyans

Yet again, for the second time this year, strong and uncompromising ‘diplomatic’ pressure from the American government is coming to the relief of frustrated Kenyans regarding their choice of government.

After being defrauded of their democratic choice and enduring unending deprivation four months down the road, Kenyans are still having to put up with electoral rejects masquerading as government. These are the so-called leaders who have audacity to say they are ready for a parliamentary dissolution and fresh general elections while just less than eight weeks ago, they told a group of retired and respected African Heads of State, President Kufuor of Ghana, Nobel Peace Price Laureate Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan that 'a duly elected president had already been sworn in (sic) and the Kenyan government was fully discharging its mandate!' Worst of all, many innocent Kenyan children are now surviving on meagre rations and missing school while they are forced to sleep in rain soaked tents just because someone somewhere MUST rule this country (read milk the country dry).

One does not need to be a NASA scientist to discern that Secretary Rice is today openly threatening the Kibaki-led government, just as she did when the PNU Leader refused to sign the 28th February 2008 peace accord. Undoubtedly, heavenly powers are using the Americans to liberate Kenyans.

Earlier today, Seccretary Rice warned the US would form its own opinion on the failure of forming the coalition government and would ‘act accordingly’.

As if by magic, speaking to journalist this afternoon, a confident US Ambassador to Kenya said , after separately meeting both Kibaki and Raila, that a grand coalition cabinet which is acceptable to all parties would be in place shortly. "We expect that in a matter of days, or a week or so, there will be a coalition government. They are very close."

Therefore Kumekuchans…….relax. You will sooner and not so later read an Alfie Mutua or Isa Kabira press release inviting ODM captain to Harambee House. A truly representative grand coalition government (repeat government and NOT cabinet) is on the way.

Mtaka Cha Mvunguni Nguo Avue?

We've proved our brand of politics-made-in-Kenya has the ability to bring out the worst in not just our dishonourables (bungled elections) but even you and me the common mwananchi (we were the main actors in tragic post election filled month-long violence)
Every village has its mad men, and where mayhem and anarchy are left to reign in place of the rule-of-law, mentally-deranged people come crawling out of the woodworks in droves-why should a gang of youths in Naivasha harass women wearing trousers because according to them african women are supposed to wear skirts and dresses only?
Obviously not on the agenda for these common everyday street thugs is the on-going fight for justice that has consumed the life of our nation and left our streets overflowing with blood of innocent kenyans whose lives were cut-short and democratic victory stolen from them in the wake of a massive power struggle between architects of past decay and charismatic bullies
Just as fish die without water, there is no country in the world whose people can survive without obeying the rule of law and order. Messrs Raila and Kibaki, only both of you SINCERELY working together for the good of the land can solve the current political impasse that is impeding the establishment of justice and the flow of peace and social progress throughout our great country.
In the past one month Kenya has already paid more than her fair share(don't you think?) of the price for sacrifices that may not have had to be made in order for us to achieve the far-reaching great and revolutionary changes that the people of Kenya have long been aching and yearning for the past 45 years of our eventful but colorful existence. All eyes are on you (even in Addis Ababa) please don't make kenyans begin harassing (wo)men who wear trousers in every street of every province
Its justice, peace and integrity stupid

Too Little Too Late

Watching mouldy creaking KACC spring to life at the formation of a special unit to investigate voter bribery on Friday conjures up to mind images of the mythical Transylvania vampire Dracula's casket loudly squeaking open to reveal the legendary spook awakening and preparing to stalk the world of mere mortals for yet another nocturnal session of blood-sucking human flesh en masse
KACC is already on the spot for having run a huge budget and only managing to catch small fish during the past 3 years of its existence. Breathing no new life into his work, the director Aaron Ringera once again read from the same tarnished script when he faulted politicians for lacking the will to enact laws that help step up the fight against corruption
What was of interest to note was that true to form, this months general elections to held in just under 16 days have expectedly brought out the absurd in us in the theatre of political drama. Candidates have already used Ksh 900 million to bribe opium-smoking voters during recent sham of a party nominations and it is estimated that a further Ksh 890 million will not be spared in ensuring the same voters provide candidates safe passageway to the title "honourable". Baffling to hear was the fact that the source of such funds could not be explained (did someone say Anglo-leasing? i assure you such a thing has never existed please)
To hear the incumbent promise to give priority to the anti-corruption war should he be re-elected is to hear the sound of many babies crying and mistake it for waterfall because you're dying of thirst
It remains to be seen who out of the big 2 (ODM and ODM K), whichever wins the elections, will be brave enough to kill corruption monster and given Ringera reasons to show us his post-molars in genuine laughter.
Alternatively, Steadman has become the most popular presidential candidate and i wish to give him and his OPP (opinion poll party) my vote for the presidency. Their party slogan-SEE IT YOUR WAY
It's integrity not opinion stupid

Interesting Times Are Here

Juja MP Mr William Kabogo (seated) receiving blessings from Bishop Maina Kegiao of the Grace Presbyterian Church at the Ruiru Stadium on Sunday. Later Hon Kabogo distributed 20 bicycles to area pastors.

Money or the box? All eyes on the price.

Perfect Image: Ignore the Head, Address the Heart

What a dramatic turn to Kenyan politics? President Kibaki has finally rediscovered the REAL politician in him and become hands on leader. Gone are the days of being aloof and mouthing platitudes that only address the head as his opponent appeals to the heart.

Who would have imagined that Kibaki would take the populist approach of spotting a white kanzu and vez to boot in celebrating Idd-Ul Fitr? Kibaki has surprised many with his new vibrant campaign style. Sample this: Emilio takes lengthy walks when he campaigned in Mombasa, Eldoret and lately in Kajiado. More surprise when the President even joined women dancers in Ngong for a jig last Thursday. Reminds me of them Moi's days of Tawala Kenya Tawala and Mongare's imitation of Baba Giddi.

Well, the battle for State House has taken a colourful shape and nothing is left to chance. Now the media has become everybody's punching bag. Poor Kenyan press! The opinion polls that were previously scientific have all over a sudden become fabrications. Trust scoundrels to manufacture excuses and even create enemies in an exclusive zone patronized by saints. One thing is for sure: the 2007 elections promises to be an action-packed season albeit premised on the wrong pillars and bereft of policies.

Most Vulnerable when Invincible
No incumbent wants to share in the ignominy of being unceremoniously booted out of office. Emilio will not take the present political development lying low. He will definitely go down fighting as evident in mama Lucy learning political ropes fast in old age. She must be envious of one Mary Wambui Wa Mwai.

Kenya's 2007 polls may be ODM's to lose and that may be a cheaper feat to realize than winning. All odds are heavily stack against them and a single slip would see them kissing the proverbial political dust. One would only hope that they remain alive to the fact that the vultures and undecided voters are anxiously waiting for that fall to accelerate it. The adage that you are most vulnerable when you fell invincible couldn't be more apt.

Numbers don't lie and to blame the press for falling political rating is akin to shadow boxing. Address the message instead of wasting time in baying for the messenger's blood. Steadman's unpalatable findings have been confirmed buy other credible polls with the difference being the error of margin.

Fighting science is to engage in self-deception as your ship sinks and instead of mending holes you let your opponent sail a shore without sweat. Even Sunday Nation had to reluctantly confirm Steadman's findings even if mutely. Nonetheless the race is gaining momentum and the faint hearted will definitely give up midstream. Na bado.

Nobel Prize for Humility, Anyone?

It is another season galore of dishing out Nobel prices to world’s top achievers.
The Nobel Prize arguably remains the best known global award. The prize has a way of bringing an issue into the public spotlight or making a household name of a scientist working in a seemingly esoteric field.

However, a striking observation in this year's bonanza is the advanced ages of the recipients is their advanced ages. This may prompt the question ‘does the Norwegian Nobel committee honour only academic fossil?’ Or closer home, we could ask are they borrowing from our politics where age is elevated to an asset status even in the absence of any dividend to show for it.

Lest this observation be denigrated as trivializing phenomenal achievement from the world’s finest brains, it is imperative to record that only 2007 the Nobel Prize co-winner for Peace, Albert (Al) Arnold Gore is the youngest at the age of 59. Next youngest is UK’s co-winner in medicine, Sir Martin Evans at 66. The latter’s country lady Doris Lessing had to wait for 88 years to win the Literature prize with 25 books under her belt. The other winners were all born in the 1930s.

True, the Nobel Prizes’ committee may mean well in awarding only acknowledged, tested and proven brains. But it may equally not be mischievous to imagine that they prefer awarding people nearing their graves, figuratively that is. Or do they fear fame going into the heads of Laureates? Both ways the Nobel Prize has stood the test of time and it would only be enticing to spice youth with age to motivate burgeoning scholars. Meanwhile congratulations to all the winners for exploiting their upper faculties to fame.

Dr. Taitta Towett, a Library Burnt Down

The tragic death of Dr. Taita Kipyegion Towett brings down the curtain of one of Kenya’s pioneer scholars. Withe a life often shrouded in controversy, the late Dr. Towett surely lived ahead of his time.

Born in 1926, the accomplished linguist disabuses all the old guards who prided themselves with Diploma as the ‘highest’ qualification achievable then. This was one brainy chap who had the foresight to enrol for a degree course in SA by correspondence in the 1940s. His MA and PhD from UoN caps it all.

But the enigma that was Towett had him ride in his car facing the rear. His reasoning then was that most people are so linear in their thinking you waste time looking at them directly in the eye. No wonder all his cars had only the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat facing backwards. Hi justification was that he was not in taxi business.

Dr. Towett never suffered fools lightly. His convictions often earned him the tag of being intellectually arrogant. No wonder he only embraced settlement of immigrants (?) in Rift Valley after support came for Moi to succeed Jomo from the same quotas through Emilio. In essence Dr. Towett was many things to many people. Depending on the political horse you ride, he is a pre-independence tribalist or defender.

When independent Kenya’s history is written, Dr Towett, Jean Marie Seroney and the Nandi declaration must be mentioned on the same chapter. Cruel hands of death has not only denied him full enjoyment of his sunset days, but razed a human library down. Fare thee well Daktari.

The Monster in Fear of the Unknown

The plot thickens and political tempo embraces fever pitch as we draw closer to 2007 polls. Ours is real theatre of the absurd politically speaking. Being no game and bereft of all rules, our politics has fallen to its record low. Yesterday’s sworn enemies are now bosom buddies rehearsing their scripts on how best to steal Kenyans’ votes under false and plastic promises albeit packaged in grandiose schemes.

When you see past known looters crafting new alliance with their successors, you know elections are nigh in Kenya. Fear of the unknown and a collective phobia sums it all. As we watch the political theatre, these two dinosaurs will continue holding the remote. We enjoy the actions oblivious of the fact that other interesting channels exist. Our national psyche is enslaved to the so-called tried and tested.

We Kenyans easily get intimidated with age. Some even shamelessly justify such shortcomings by quoting Wahenga who are just but waropokaji hiding under cluster of words (sayings) designed to suit every situation, often conflicting.

Emilio and Moi are now the best of friends like the embarrassment of December 2002 happened in outer space and Uhuru Park is the name of perfume made in Sacho. Make no mistake politics is about playing it selfish under the cover of hollow objectivity. While Baba Jimmy steers the ship to nostalgic waters, Baba Gidi dreads anything abstract or revolutionary. And that provides the hip at which these expired politicians get joined. Kenya's present tokenism economic growth amounts to schooled slavery to the past glory of 1970s as practiced by the present regime.

It will take our national resolve, collective revolutionary mind and heart to wean and win Kenyans out of tokenism and sectarian loyalties. Save for few exceptional CEOs, Kenya's economic glitterati owe all their ill-gotten wealth to politicians. That is why only politics and religion witnesses growth even in gloomy periods. The common thread in both practices is to make people's mind take leave of absence from the brain and instead engage full gear of emotions.

You close your eyes, speak in foreign tongues and shout amen at the drop of a hat. In the process your rumbling stomach is accusing you of being irrational to give out your Ksh. 100 to a gold-bedecked Muiru/Wanjiru. In the end you go back to the office full on air burgers, yawning and defrauding the govt/employer with your sub-optimal output.

Swap the preacher with the politicians and get the true picture. We are in for nasty times and only we can save ourselves, but can we and are we ready for the long haul? You guess right. Meanwhile the flames continue to consume Kenya. Who will save Kenya from her own vultures like the goons they hire to cheat us on hating each other?

Until we chose to think outside the box, we remain boxed and wrapped ready for shipping to political Siberia.

Tribal Bigotry: Nazi Eugenics Kenyan Style

That Adolf Hitler epitomizes ethnic cleansing in recorded history is indisputable. But even to the Germans in whose name he fought and sought purity for, Hitler smeared them with blemish that will be carried forward by generation to come and probably into eternity. Most history students outside Germany and Israel marvel at the murderous heroics of Hitler oblivious of the irreparable damage he caused the human species. He is simply a case study of how ruinous the idd (animal) in us can be given a trace of chance.

But why all the rant about Hitler in this blog, you may ask? Well, the answer sits pretty in that very question. Our nation is undergoing that five-year painful and divisive ritual christened election. Painful because electioneering inflicts such obtuse emotional and personal harm to a majority of Kenyans than any other period in their lives. And divisive to an extent that even people whom one previously thought would have mellowed intellectually from exposure to other cultures and continents all over a sudden start spewing such acidic tribal vitriol without parallel.

An outsider visiting Kumekucha for the first time would imagine that its bloggers are permanently at war albeit without guns. God forbid prospects of inventing e-guns. The tone of posts in this blog have changed dramatically for the worse. The pretence to civility has vanished and the gloves are off. But the evil bit comes in comments dressed in ethnic gabs.

The earlier civilized and unwritten agreement to respect divergence in views has suddenly evaporated and in its place hatred and war mongering shamelessly taken residence. And where does this leave us as the future of Kenya and our motherland herself? At the risk of being branded a judge, I put it to readers here that we have been cleverly roped into tribal jingoism by our selfish politicians. We have perfected the art of being hate peddlers to unfathomable proportions. Consequently the scoundrels answering to the name of 'our leaders' must be laughing their heads off as we shadow box each other inside the maze they have weaved for us.

Politicians and polls come and go but the country is there to stay. With one finger we vilify Moi for perfecting ethnic division of Kenyans while what our own practice makes him look a saint. Until we resolve to rise about our cheap leaders and see the forest for the trees, we will continue riding our respective horses down a steep slope to oblivion. We must STOP and PRESS Kenya. She is bigger than any of us and until we accept that we all equally belong together, we are all engaging in nothing short of self-deception.

My dear country people, we must accept being biological accidents populating geographical accident (forget colonialism) called Kenya. Hitler thought of Aryan’s superiority and people are still paying the price almost a century later. Stop imagining that you are more Kenyan than your neighbour. Never mistake bigotry for superiority. We must not talk at each other but rather to each other. Support your candidate if you must but don’t transform political campaign into grandstanding and brinkmanship. It is unity in diversity, stupid. May the real Kenyans please stand up? God bless Kenya