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
Dr. Aggrey Willis Otieno 