There comes a day when the oppressor won’t meet the cost of oppression; unfortunately, it’ll be too late, the oppressed won’t adapt to new freedom
Tag Archives: Kenyan politics
I won’t forget
They’ll mute whimpers and cover wounds again
that’s what we thrive at!
But, I will not tire from openly speaking my mind
I will not change
Tough times are here, tough times toughen me enough to stand still amidst the hailstones of insults and ridicule.
I won’t let myself forget;
That I’m still Ramogi
That I’m still Luo, still Nyang’
That Justice is a word I can still spell blindfolded
That in its absence justice is a scab that mightn’t heal
even with the healing potency of time
That history is a sadistic puppeteer
crippling today’s possibilities with past misgivings
And If I ever forget
I will find myself on my grandpa’s grave
an ornament in hand
I will chant Jaduong’s name countless times
I will praise his love, his strength of character
And he’ll perhaps teach me how to read my palms; the graveyard of our warriors, spiritualists, and seers
And I’ll count the bones broken by hands of time
lives lost for justice
And I’ll accept that Justice is a costly pursuit
We can never afford it
They’ll teach me how not to be led by stomach
My palms I’ll read again
Just to confirm my real name when they brand me anew
I won’t let myself forget that I’m still Ramogi
Cold Fireplace
I see them rodents gnawing at my toenails
They have eaten everything
The granaries are dry
The fruit basket is empty
And the fireplace has gotten cold
Women have taken to silence
Their territories invaded
They gave them cooking pots
But stole everything to be cooked
They give by the day
They steal them by night
I see their flawed system
Of suppression and oppression
Our sweat nourish their bellies
While we chew at their empty promises
We aren’t men enough to pay rent
We aren’t men enough to pay school fees
So our kids we groom
To work in their plantations
It is slavery
Woven in peals of false brotherhood
White man criminalized blacks for skin color
Now it’s black killing black with hunger
In this food chain everything is flawed
The arrow no longer points at the eater
But still, the prey takes blame for being prey!
Such is the story of my country
Isn’t This Hypocrisy?
Having to grow in country like Kenya where what you hear is the exact opposite of the reality can be the most disgusting experience one can ever have in life.
Many a times the mention of the word – hypocrisy brings to mind religious figures we have, no doubt religion has always attracted undue criticism from individuals who always view religious leaders with high expectations ,some are even expected to be the Christ himself, wasn’t Christ rejected due to the unfulfilled human expectations? Must God always fulfill our needs to be God?
Needless to mention the height of hypocrisy has gone beyond the religious borders and one has to look at the game in the political arena to certify this. Speak of jackals in a sheep’s cloak.
The teachers’ strike just unmasked the “do as we say” lot.
Celebs and Mysterious Deaths
Death can either be a process or an event. To the people I love especially those closest to me I would like their deaths to be a process *this will give them time to include me in their will* or better yet it prepares you psychologically so that by the time they die you had foreseen it. These sudden deaths are not very friendly to those who are remaining behind.
Think of it this way, you are brothers, five of you and your father is a rich man and he unfortunately becomes a victim of a sudden death without even writing a will. What follows next is that the brothers will officially become enemies, blood thirsty, ready to kill for every cent their father owned. This is the time you realize that blood is thicker than water but it can be diluted with riches.
I don’t even know why I am talking about me when I have never been a celeb. If there is one thing that all celebs have in common especially in Kenya then it is their nature of death. Politicians, actors, athletes and musicians have a strong affinity to sudden deaths. Rarely do you hear of a politician *not just a politician, politicians worth the tittle* being hospitalized for a good time before passing on. You will just wake up one morning and the news becomes really news to you. They die of heart attack, road accidents but mostly UNCLEAR CIRCUMSTANCES…as the media knows it best.
All the Kenyan musicians that I Know to have passed lost their lives on the road. And what is worrying me is that they always die when their career is at the peak or when they have proved to be a force to reckon with, they are coming to take mantles from seasoned artistes; making the arts of the latter seem a perfect definition of obsolescence. To drive this point home let me remind you of these artistes; E-Sir, K-Rupt, Angela Chibalonza and Owino Misiani just to mention a few. These artistes lost their lives on our Kenyan roads just when their careers art were peaking. Another athlete Samuel Wanjiru also died a rare death; he threw himself down from 3rd floor of his prestigious apartment.
Politicians top the list of those whose deaths were mysterious. 90.99 percent of politicians who have died in Kenya died under ‘Unclear circumstances’. Talk of Tom Mboya, Robert Ouko, and JM Kariuki, Pio pinto who lost their lives during the Kenyatta and Moi regime.
Nature seems to have not availed another death option for politicians as they have continued to die under unclear circumstances. Senator Mutula Kilonzo was found in his house dead and when the government pathologists spoke after doing the holly shit they do on breathless bodies; I knew they had lied…eti he died of Viagra overdose! Some people need to learn how to lie.
Orwa Sirkal and his colleague Saitoti with whom they run errands at the security docket died of accident -a plane crash few months after Saitoti had declared that he will be contesting for the presidential seat. Recently another strong member of the opposition Senator Otieno Kajwang died mysteriously, while his cause of death is not yet established another prominent person has died under unclear circumstances- Fidel Castro Odinga- The eldest son of the leader of Opposition Hon. Raila Odinga. Why do celebs have this strong affinity to mysterious deaths?
Did I mention that all these politicians who died under unclear circumstance were members of the opposition? Now I’ve done. Somebody tell me why only politicians aligned to the opposition and their relatives are dying-mysteriously. What is troubling most is that by the time news of Fidel’s came to my ears, another son of an irreplaceable member of the opposition Hon. James Orengo was battling for his health in a hospital after a night out with friends! You call this coincidence? Really????? Somebody is making a buffoon of all Kenyans. Somebody is a murderer hiding in the cloaks of politics.
Unsung Kenyan Heroes: Forget About the ‘Heroes’ Who Only Thought Of Their Bellies
How do I begin writing about this? The cursor is still blinking and I remember I am not always very good at retelling historical stories as much as I am with creative writing but the thought of how many times we have been lied to hurts me much and it overweighs my inability to tell historical facts and I am here scavenging for the words right enough to communicate my thoughts.
Having to live in Kenya, a country where what you hear is the exact opposite of the reality can be the most disgusting experience this planet earth could serve you. I was born in this country and unfortunately I have never lived outside this place so I may not know how it feels like to be living in any other country. This is a country that was once (and maybe) still is every tourist dream destination. We have all that a tourist would need: the rich culture, the game, the beautiful natural sceneries, good climate and many more. What else would a tourist ask for?
However, this country has been brought down to ruins by the very people who claimed they loved this country. To me I do not trust everything I hear coming out of the lips of these leaders who are blinded by greed. I refuse to be blinded by the sugar coated shit they speak on political platforms to convince us that we are doing well or at least they have good plans for this country. Unfortunately majority of the Kenyan citizens have refused or are not able to read between the lines and unravel the mystery of their real intentions-their wicked intentions. Unfortunately they have successfully divided us along tribal lines and so we are busy fighting ourselves while they marvel and reap hugely from our ignorance but this might just be a story for another day. Back to the topic.
Who are the real Kenyan heroes?
Tell me any other name but do not tell me that Jomo Kenyatta is a Kenyan hero. Tell that to any other fool blinded by tribal politics but not me. For one, how can you call someone who used other freedom fighters to help him end colonialism and thereafter establish a political dynasty based on tyranny a hero? A political era characterized by political assassinations. I can say authoritatively that most of the people we celebrate as Kenyan heroes were the real enemies of Kenya. People allergic to any form of progress. Why did the Jomo Kenyatta government have to KILL the people who were fighting for liberation and economic progress? Here are the real Kenyan heroes- you may add whomever you think should be in the list.
JM KARIUKI
Kariuki was a true patriot who fought for equality of all the tribes in Kenya. Kariuki was worried of the widening gap between the poor and the rich and dedicated his life to fight for economic independence, a fight that was not welcomed by the Jomo Kenyatta government that had led in improper distribution of lands in Kenya. Kenyatta himself being the biggest beneficiary of these land related injustices after grabbing all the white highlands and other lands that belonged to MAU MAU fighters. He used lands to reward those loyal to his government.
Kariuki was the only KIKUYU who set foot at Rusinga Island to attend the burial of TJ Mboya at a time when the gap between the Luo and Kikuyu’s was widening.
Kariuki was assassinated and his body thrown in a forest. His eyes were gouged and his hands chopped off by the regime that purported to have the interest of Kenya at heart.
His famous Quotes
“Political independence without economic independence is like having a wedding without a bride.”
“In Kenya today, I can only see the dawn of a June morning rising majestically from the white oblivion into the serenity of life.”
“If we forget these people (the youth), we will find ourselves surrounded by rogues who are rogues not because they want to become rogues but because they are hungry and this leads them into temptation.”
“It is this greed that will put this country into chaos. Let me state here that this greedy attitude among the leaders is going to ruin this country.”
“Kenya has become a nation of 10 millionaires and 10 million beggars.”
“Every Kenyan man, woman and child is entitled to a decent and just living. That is a birthright. It is not a privilege. He is entitled as far as is humanly possible to equal educational, job and health opportunities irrespective of his parentage, race or creed or his area of origin in this land. If that is so, deliberate efforts should be made to eliminate all obstacles that today stand in the way of this just goal. That is the primary task of the machinery called Government: our Government.”
“We fought for independence with sweat, blood and our lives. Many of us suffered for inordinate days – directly and indirectly. Many of us are orphans, widows and children as a result of the struggle. We must ask: What did we suffer for, and were we justified in that suffering?”
TJ MBOYA
If there is anybody AMERICA should be grateful to the he is TJ MBOYA. He changed the history of America. Were it not for TJ MBOYA could we be speaking of OBAMA?
He organized airlifts that took bright Kenyan students to study in the United States and that is how Obama Senior got his way to the US giving rise to the Current American President.
His selflessness was evidently displayed when he let his chances of being the next president (as Kenyatta was grooming him) go as he chose to rebuke the leaders who were enriching themselves at the expense of Kenyans. He was also felled by the Kenyatta govt. And Kenyatta did not even attend his funeral. I think he deserved a national burial.
ROBERT OUKO
This was also another prominent leader whose eloquence saw him speak on behalf of the president in many international forums. At one time he was mistaken as the Kenyan president. He served in the government of Kenya from the colonial period through the presidencies of Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi. He was a member of the National Assembly for Kisumu and a cabinet minister, rising to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation by 1990. He was murdered in Kenya on 13 February 1990. His body was found by a herd’s boy at the hills of Got Alila. Forensic evidence suggested Ouko had been murdered, near to where his body was found, killed by a single shot to the head, his right leg broken in two places and his body left partially burned. His murder is still unresolved. This is what they did to true lovers of Kenya.
Another Kenyan Hero felled by political bullet
Pio Gama Pinto
In conclusion, if opposing the injustices of the reigning government makes you a renegade, a public enemy that deserves nothing less than death then we need to redefine what it really means to be a hero. And if I have to support a corrupt government led by those who think with their stomachs instead of brains, those who grab lands that rightfully belongs to Kenyans and marvel at their own riches while killing those who are fighting for equality is your definition of patriotism then count me out. I never want to be a patriot.
Sliver of Darkness 