Waiguru nearly Burned Bridges with lawsuit attempt

It is of increasing concern that the more you watch Kenyan politicians make moves, the higher the chances of your stomach being provoked to eject its contents.

This country is blessed with hardworking people deeply committed to nation-building, and who have no problem doing their all to bring glory and honour to our country.

ECHO CHAMBER

But whenever you look at our political class, you always wonder which tree they were sculpted from. If they’re not haemorrhaging garbage at political rallies, they’re watching taxpayers’ money evaporate — and when asked to explain why they slept on the job, they start threatening people with lawsuits.

This week, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru threatened to sue rapper King Kaka for bringing back the NYS ghosts in his new song Wajinga Nyinyi, but before Kenyans had the chance to give her free advice, she listened to common sense and withdrew the suit.

Kenya is not a church choir where everyone is expected to sing hallelujah to the newborn politician. If we wanted to experience what it feels to be inside an echo chamber, we know where our nearest physics laboratory is, and it isn't in offices of public officials.

LEGAL TEAM

You cannot earn respect by intimidating those you do not agree with. It is not working for the Jubilee Party, and neither will it work for anyone running away from their ghosts. While it was her constitutional right to ask why Kenyans are mopping the anti-corruption floor with her name, Ms Waiguru shouldn't have sent her legal team to bark at King Kaka because, when it comes to a contest between The Governor and The King, there is only one camp the Kenyan public will be choosing.

Any public official thinking they can stop the clamour for good governance by threatening to sue the voices of reason should be informed that they are poking the wrong beehive.

We have a generation of Kenyans who neither witnessed the tyranny of the one party state, nor bowed down in fear of one man. The child who was born in 2002 when former President Daniel arap Moi left office will be turning 18 next month and will now be eligible to vote.

ANTI-REFORM

These children, now adults, don’t understand how government intimidation works, and cannot relate with those anti-reform faces other than the scanty biographies they read. Anyone attempting to muzzle the progressive voices of this silent majority is either asking for whiplash or a truth-o-meter. Or both.

We know that this government loves giving old people new jobs at the expense of the youth, and that these old people may still be tempted to use the same old tactics used during the one-party era to stifle majority dissent, but Kenyans are happy to inform them that we have both good news and bad news for them.

The good news is that their children now live in a freer, less oppressive state than they did. The bad news is that this constitutional freedom now comes at the expense of those who might be tempted to take us back to the Biblical Egypt where children of God experienced evil things at the hands of bad people.

HONEST FEEDBACK

The reason why young people in this country have been asking the government to employ youths is because the same way you cannot teach old dogs new tricks, is the same way old people cannot be in charge of turning government operations into a youth-friendly entity.

Had I been the one adversely mentioned in that work of art, there would be only one way I would make national headlines: by inviting King Kaka to the veranda of my makeshift office for our own rendition of the famous handshake.

Ms Waiguru would have received answers from the horse's mouth because it’s increasingly apparent that politicians are surrounded by people singing their praises, and they rarely get honest feedback from the majority Kenyans affected by the bad things they do while in office.

NAKED TRUTH

The problem with attempting to gag anti-government critics is that you're making the assumption that they are speaking on their own behalf. There are many Kenyans out here who share King Kaka’s sentiment; they just aren't blessed with the artistic prowess and the public audience King Kaka enjoys to speak the naked truth to blindfolded power.

You cannot be the chief proponent of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) while at the same time burning bridges with those representing the silent voices of many Kenyans suffering under the yoke of bad government policy.

Kenyans need to know if the BBI has changed meaning to Burning Bridges Initiative so that we don’t bother attending those sessions since the outcome has already been predetermined elsewhere.

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