Over 15,000 police officers deployed around the Central Business District; to patrol the roads within the city and a third batch of the 15,000 cops to keep vigil in the slums. At least eight regions have been put on the spotlight as possible hotspots for violence. These are Kisumu, Naivasha, Nairobi, Mombasa, Limuru, Baringo and Tana River. These are the various parts of the nation that are already bearing the brunt of heightened political action and the tension that it has generated.
Too much brouhaha about the Saba Saba Day that the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) faction has capitalized on. Top in the agenda list for CORD are the high cost of living, insecurity, corruption, tribalism in public appointments and the Disbanding of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), among others. Calls for a dialogue with the JUBILEE government have not been granted, and now this has been turned into political contests. One wonders whether these real issues that are hurting Kenyans can be addressed through a political rally at Uhuru Park. I beg to differ with CORD’s approach, since these can all be addressed through provisions in the constitution. The approach by Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, Moses Wetangula and others within the CORD brigade is the wrong one.
The Saba Saba Day has more than ever created tension, upped political temperatures to an all time high, put the nation in an election mood and as it is now, it is doing more harm than good. The issues that CORD raised are genuine but they have hidden behind them to push for political milestones. We are not opposed to CORD’s mind, neither are we defending the government, No. this nation belongs to all of us, and the ordinary Kenyan bears the brunt of any misfortune, political inclination not withstanding.
As a Kenyan who has tasted the politics of this nation and seen how self-seeking our politicians are, it is sad that Kenyans are being forced to fight a political battle that is not theirs. They will be driven in their masses through political cheap-talk, to converge at Uhuru Park, spend an entire day, listening to politicians who will never make their lives better, or put ugali on their tables. Long-suffering Kenyans will attend the political rhetoric, whereas the children and families of these politicians lavish in luxurious lives, in the country’s leafy suburbs or outside the country.
Politicians are witty; they exploit the despondency on the Kenyan faces, for their own good.
Monday is a working day; the government has not declared it an holiday. War unto you if you risk your hard-paying job for political rhetoric that will last a day. At the end of the day, the same hopelessness, helplessness and gloom is what we will go to live with in our houses, if we follow the politician’s words. We should go to Industrial Area and do our casual jobs there, go to our offices and spend a normal working day with our bosses; we should continue being the allure to both local and foreign investors. This political game in the name of Saba Saba is not about the Kenyans, it is about the interests of the politicians. The Seventh day of July is a day that since its inception in the clamor for multi-party democracy in the 90’s served a good cause. However, next week it will not be serving the same honest concern, No.
All said and done, when the deliberate decibels of political talk go down and the political hang-overs disappear, then as a nation we will see clearly and seek ways of ending these troubles that are holding our nation back. Tribalism, mega-corruption, insecurity, unemployment and high costs of living among others are all threatening our survival as a nation. That is a fact we can never run away from. Both the JUBILEE government under the stewardship of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, and then CORD under the tutelage of Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula must lead the nation to the solutions. The entire country should too join the efforts.
Let us not be used at the behest of politicians and ululate any time they give us political talk.
After all, Kenya is one, it is our only home ad if we do not protect it, then we lose our beloved home. Saba Saba or not, we must keep peace. Those who disturb it must face the full force of our law.
Reach the writer at jeanmutua@yahoo.com., mutuamaundu14@gmail.com
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