Meritocracy don't mean shit. Good intentions don't matter for shit either. And if you are a philanthropic member of the community, your efforts are definitely not appreciated. Oh, and if you have been helping the needy, assisting old ladies across the road, or feeding the hungry, you are a moron. That is the message that politicians in Kenya are passing to us. If you think otherwise, you are a naive idiot who deserves the pain that is about to rain on you. And the pain, dear readers, is coming.
What possessed us to be so optimistic about the new Constitution and its promulgation? Were we high? If we had known what we now know, wouldn't it have been better for the billions that were spent on this project to be spent, however poorly, in building more super-highways or building more dams in Kitui or being pilfered through some other Anglo-Leasing type deal. That money should have been spent on anything but the Constitutional Review Process. That process has been a colossal waste of our time and energy.
We started violating the provisions of the Constitution the day it was promulgated, what with the invitation of Omar Hassan al-Bashir to our bash. The day after, when a few well-meaning but confused Kenyans decided to protest about Bashir's visit, they enjoyed the none too gentle attentions of Kenya's efficient and efficiently violent anti-riot police. And then a few of them were detained and arraigned in Court. Quite clearly, the government was yet to internalise the provisions regarding the right to peacefully assemble and petition the state. Now, it emerges that none of the Principals or their toadying, brown-nosing acolytes wishes to give up their seats in their less-than-transparent political parties. Even the formerly loud champions of internal party democracy like Ababu Namwamba have fallen silent on this provision of the Constitution. Finally, we have our esteemed Minister for Justice (that's a laugh), National Cohesion (the irony is not lost on me) and Constitutional Affairs (only half-right), Hon. Mutula Kilonzo (ODM-K, Mbooni) ridiculing us over the ICC thing. All along we have naively believed that he would carry on the campaign to see "perpetrators of post-election violence" handed over to the ICC for prosecution. Apparently, the good minister has discovered that the Constitution has miraculous powers, for it has now cleansed our police service and Judiciary of the filth that clogged their smooth operations and it is now quite possible to try the perpetrators and the masterminds of the violence without there being a miscarriage of justice, as his fellow learned friends would put it. Regardless of whether or not we change a few of the monkeys in uniform or in robes, a change of the law is sufficient to assure that the guilty will be punished in Kenya. Tell me you don't wanna wail into your beer right now?
When you look around you, the names being bandied around for the post of Governor or Senator are nothing to write home about. Simeon Nyachae has thrown his hat in the ring. So have Moses Akaranga (apparently his ministry feels the need for a little temporal uplift), Kivutha Kibwana (who has spent the past two-and-a-half years advising the president on National Cohesion, though there's nothing to show for it), Mutula Kilonzo (he sensed the winds of change when the people of Mbooni Constituency ignored his exhortations to ratify the Proposed Constitution), Njenga Karume (he still thinks we have not had enough of his mwana-nichi buffoonery), Nicholas Biwott (does New Kanu even exist?), Maina Njenga (apparently allegedly running a nationwide criminal syndicate from behind bars is sufficient proof of 'executive experience'), Lawrence Majali (after failing to impose discipline on the sexually adventurous members of his beloved KNUT, he plans to devolve this failure to the County level) ... the list is depressingly long. In all these calculations and maneuvers, ordinary voters have been left out in the cold. Their voice, which was humoured during the referendum campaigns, is now being ignored by the high-and-mighty of the political establishment. Not just ignored, but intimidated and brow-beaten to to the line, or else ...
And it is not just politics. KU, God knows why, still has Prof. Mugenda in charge, despite her failure of leadership when her students were getting shot to death by police or alternatively, were setting private property on fire. Our water sector institutions are bedeviled by the worst outbreak of outright embezzlement and corruption in a decade. Our transport sector is ashambles - the RVR concession of the Kenya/Uganda Railways has tottered from one bad decision to another, and now we are setting our sights on a new Brazilian partner.
When will we ever learn? It is a dog-eat-dog world and only the ruthless survive. To survive, you gotta fuck over the guy next to you. If you don't, he'll have you over a barrel with your pants around your ankles. And he won't be gentle. Or have a handy tube of lube with him. As in all things, when they come asking for your vote (they have no choice in the matter), it is your opportunity - nay, your solemn duty - to screw them out of hundreds of millions, because when they end up in the various august houses in 2013, they will take every opportunity to screw us over. Mark my words. Screw them first before they screw you over. It's the circle of life - fuck or get fucked!
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