Are our leaders about to ignite Kenya again, then watch in glee as it burns?
What you need to know:
- So, are we about to ignite Kenya all over again? And, if we do, who will suffer? Will our leaders and their children walk the road of blood and tears with us?
- In Egypt, an uprising was called in January 2011, and demonstrations started at Tahrir Square. In the next few days, bloodshed and destruction of property characterised the erstwhile serene streets of Cairo.
- I end by expressing a deep fear. After talking to some friends from Mpeketoni, I now believe the mass slaughter of Mpeketoni might not have been terrorist-related.
In January and February 2008, Kenya witnessed unprecedented violence triggered by the disputed presidential elections of December 2007.
More than 1200 people died and another 600,000 plus were displaced in the violence, whose graphic pictures remain etched in our minds.
Yet we seem to have learnt nothing from the post-poll chaos. Even before we can heal as a nation, our leaders are busy traversing the country blowing trumpets of war.
It is instructive that the people who sparked the 2008 blood-letting are the same ones taking us there again. Indeed, the script of the events that led to that violence is being replayed by the same leaders, seven short years later.
So, are we about to ignite Kenya all over again? And, if we do, who will suffer? Will our leaders and their children walk the road of blood and tears with us?
The answer is NO. We will butcher one another as they and their families watch the unfolding events on CNN from their safe havens.
Later, as we bury our dead, they will fly back and take over power.
In Rwanda 20 years ago, the world watched in horror as Hutu extremists slaughtered thousands of the minority Tutsi and moderate Hutus.
In just over 100 days, more than 800,000 people died.
Women were raped and kept for weeks as sex slaves. Machetes were used to cut the throats of toddlers while their mothers’ breasts were chopped off.
Men were hacked to death or had their skulls crashed with heavy clubs after long periods of gruesome torture. To date, Rwanda is yet to fully recover from the effects of the genocide.
In Egypt, an uprising was called in January 2011, and demonstrations started at Tahrir Square.
In the next few days, bloodshed and destruction of property characterised the erstwhile serene streets of Cairo. Buildings were burned, police stations torched and thousands killed. To-date, Egypt continues to reel under the weight of street protests.
WHIPPING UP EMOTIONS
In Syria, mass protests erupted in Damascus and Aleppo in March 2011. In a short time, Syria had been turned into a pit of agony and blood-letting.
The death toll in Syria has surpassed 120,000 people, with more than four million displaced.
Wherever you look, examples of what violence can do to a nation and its people abound, from the raped women in Rwanda, to the chopped hands in Liberia; from the deaths in South Sudan to the chopped heads in the Central African Republic; from the maimed children of Syria to the displaced children in Naivasha.
We must stand up against leaders who seek to pit us against each other. We must stand up against leaders who traverse this country whipping emotions and calling us to war. We must say 'never again shall we slaughter each other'.
I end by expressing a deep fear. After talking to some friends from Mpeketoni, I now believe the mass slaughter of Mpeketoni might not have been terrorist-related.
Of course we need to wait for complete investigations. However, should it be true that the Mpeketoni episode was not engineered by Al-Shabaab, then who wanted to slaughter our people? What was supposed to be the end-game of this massacre?
We must also interrogate the capacity of Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku and Police Inspector-General Kimaiyo to manage our security system.
If a robber is convinced you have no security in your house even if you do, he will still pay you a visit.
My fear is that in the face of escalating insecurity, calls for mass action, terrorist bombs, and idle jobless youths who are ready to take up any job regardless of what its effects will be, we are setting ourselves up for something very bad.
I urge President Kenyatta to act fast, for we might be on the verge of something terrible. We are running on borrowed time, Mr President!
Dr Mwirigi is the director of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology’s Mombasa Campus. ([email protected])
