Month: November 2015

I long for the days that we had Rev Timothy Njoya, Bishop Henry Okullu, Rev David Gitari, Alexander Muge, Ndingi Mwana’a Nzeki in the 1990s. Though I was barely in my teens, their strong voices against social injustices Kenyans faced then still echoes loudly in my ears. These men of the cloth commanded great respect and were a powerful force in guiding the society. Unfortunately, the church lost that position particularly during the 2007/8 post-election violence.
The voice of the church leadership is no longer heard in taking a position on key issues affecting society and the church has become a peripheral player at best when major national matters are being debated.
But now what kind of church leaders do we have? What lessons can they learn from the Pope?
Pope Francis’ visit to Kenya gives me a beacon of hope that not all is lost. He indeed is leading by example. The Pope poignantly pointed out the injustices and deprivations that flow from the unfair capitalist system that exists in many countries with Kenya as a prime example.
More than 60 per cent of residents of Nairobi, for instance, live on less than 5 per cent of the available land. This is unjust and unacceptable. The strong message on the ills of corruption and ethnic exclusion must be embraced if Kenya is to prosper.
Its time for the Church to wake up and take the lead in denouncing injustices as they occur!

Pope Francis, we are glad you are coming to visit Kenya. As your plane is set to touch ground at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 5pm on Wednesday, please allow me to familiarize you with the Kenyan landscape.

Your holiness, your coming to Kenya is Godsend. It goes without saying that Kenya is a prayerful nation as evidenced by the so many prayers that have been bellowed out in the valleys and mountains against the International Criminal Court. We are in a marathon of prayers here only that there is no prayer item for those who were persecuted in 2007/2008 violence. Kindly put this lowly lot top priority in your prayer when you touch base.

Holly father, this is a leaking nation! Our students are just finishing their national examinations. Don’t be stunned with stories of exams leak because we have got a lot more that leaks than the Wikileaks. Public money is infamous at it, although it leaks only to a few high profile individuals.

Pope Francis, I hope you are planning to carry along with you all the personal items that you shall need during your maiden trip to Kenya. Here, life is very expensive. An ordinary pen costs more than $80 and a wheelbarrow will cost you over $1,000. A water dispenser is equally expensive, just like another dispenser and some toys that I choose not to mention in this context for holiness sake.
Also, don’t forget to come with your doctor on board because we are not sure if our medics will report to duty.
Pope Francis, the Kenyan citizenry has for long oscillated between hope and disillusionment. In 2002, with the ouster of Kanu regime, we were the most optimistic lot in the world. We thought that the nightmare faced during Moi regime was over. We knew that a leap into economic and democratic prosperity was in the offing. But corruption and electoral lapses have eroded this hope. I confess that we went to war with ourselves in 2007/2008 and it was gruesome.
Your holiness, the priests of corruption here are never short of creativity. Please pray for them too.
We are under siege of corruption, tribalism, poverty and terrorism. I am glad that theme of your visit is, “Stand firm and be strong,” as we have many prayer requests for you.
Welcome to Kenya!
Yours Truly,
Aggrey Willis

It seems the Jubilee Government is determined to take us back to where we were in 1990s. Over borrowing, over stealing and over spending is becoming the order of the day. To add salt to injury, the freedom of the media and speech is now under threat!
The recent attempts to pass draconian legislation in Parliament, casts serious doubts on the government’s pledge and commitment to protect the freedoms of the media and speech, as enshrined in the Constitution. If given a chance, as exemplified by Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery’s order of arrest to Nation Media Group parliamentary journalist John Ngirachu and Information CS Fred Matiang’is, threat to advise the Treasury to stop funding the Media Council of Kenya; then we are indeed heading back to the dark days of 1990s.
The role of the media in nurturing and promoting democracy should not be underrated. Politicians and public figures are a creation of the media. The media was fully involved in the second liberation struggle, whose fruits the current crop of politicians and government officials now enjoy.
Democracy thrives best in an environment where rights and freedoms are freely exercised. Kenya has made gains towards achieving this. We have had to fight for it, have been jailed for it, have been maimed for it, and have even died for it. Yet we are still soldiering on and will not relent until these rights and freedoms are part of our daily living. Kenyans are informed and intelligent enough to separate fact from fiction, right from wrong and they will resist any attempts to deprive them of their right to speak freely.
Instead of gagging Kenyans, the government should address the cancer of corruption that is eating Kenyans badly.
Yesterday’s threat by the envoys of 11 Western countries to impose a visa ban on public officials involved in corruption is a good step towards taming insolent government officials who are in a looting spree.
Development projects have no doubt been affected as funds are looted. The prevailing investment environment is not encouraging to investors. This is likely to be worsened by the difficulties the economy is going through and the mounting foreign debt.
I won’t be shocked if the Duale’s of this regime come out blazing to vilify the diplomats over the threatened visa sanctions, but that would be myopic.
Kenya is not an island and those plundering its resources must not be allowed to enjoy their ill-gotten wealth. I remember sometimes back when HE Uhuru Kenyatta, while as an opposition figure famously said that HE Mwai Kibaki was a hands off, ears off President.
I am afraid that President Uhuru Kenyatta could be worse. He must show leadership and make radical surgeries within his administration that weed out corrupt officials in his government.
It is a shame that we have to endure another round of lectures by the West because we seem unable to manage our affairs.