Greed is the Biggest Problem in Kenya

Well I think I agree with Prof. Kisiangani that in Kenya we do have a bigger problem than we know, or even thinks we know. I sure know of one thing that has the potential to destroy Kenya and Kenyans. And if we continue in this trajectory it shall consume us. It is GREED. Sometimes back when a reckless politician called George Aladwa held that if Raila Odinga wins the next election and it is stolen people will die, Kenyans vented on social media, abused each other purely along tribal lines and we moved on just as when Moses Kuria said he did not give “his people” machetes just for cultivation but also for cutting some other people who are opposed to the Juibilee government’s programmes. So it was when one William Kabogo said that some people are stupid because they are not circumcised.

Often times we think our problem is ethnicity, sometimes we think it is land, sometimes we think it is corruption, sometimes we think it is anything else.  But the Kenyan problem is actually greed. Yes, greed for land, for wealth, for power, for everything, anything and nothing. It causes those in power to over accumulate, over protect, over eat, over steal, over everything. Those out of power to over react, over cry, over fight, over everything with a true or false hope that if they capture power they shall be well. Unfortunately, this is the falsity upon which we have constructed a nation. We have put it in our thoughts and belief system and politics that actually for you to be fine in Kenya, one of your own must be in state control. And sure it is. Historically, those who have controlled state power seem to have benefitted than those who have never. We thought we could correct this historical sin by giving ourselves a new charter in the name of a constitution but then with increased road side settlement of people’s problems by the President indicates we are far from getting out of the woods.

Now that the leaders of Kenya have successfully managed to ignite citizen hatred of the ICC, and that government of Kenya has turned the international tribunal, that came to our rescue sometimes back, into an international public mockery, next time if it has to happen again, who will come to our aid? What the Aladwas and the Kurias of this country are doing is to bit those usual drums of violence. And they are resounding. What does it mean? Kenya is in our hands; we either choose to save it or destroy it. The key, in my view, is management of the excesses of an over protected inside and unprotected outside. Since nothing was never seen to happen to the Kurias and the Aladwas who spew hate what do we expect to happen to anyone with access to political capital, whether in government or opposition? Recently we have had incidences of government disobeying court orders. When governance fails to obey court orders, it becomes problematic for powerful individuals to obey them. Courts are therefore rendered mere instruments for the unprotected outsiders who are poor Kenyans like myself. If the president has failed to take any significant action against known corrupt persons and hate mongers in his government; it becomes improbable for some other individuals to take responsibility unless they be from the unprotected outsiders. Until leadership in Kenya is synonymous to the 'it is our turn to eat' and in as far as some sections of society feel they have never had that chance to eat we have a problem.