Why Uhuru must free Kenya from his father’s oathing
By REV. CANON FRANCIS OMONDI
Mzee Jomo Kenyatta the founding president of Kenya.
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” states William Faulkner in the Requiem for a Nun. His writings are apt warning to us who are struggling to overcome this sordid past.
We have had to wait more than four decades, to come to the day when the ‘Ichaweri Oaths’ become a matter of public discussion. It will be a moral test for us on whether we will remain servants to that past, or succeed in shaking those chains free.
Rev. Dr. John Gatu, the retired moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA), has been a harbinger of reason here. He courageously and consistently stood up to President Jomo Kenyatta on the oathing issue and has now – in his memoir – immortalized his thoughts.
Rev. Dr. John Gatu the former moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa
Rev. Gatu’s profound and brave exposé in his memoir is indeed intensely political. A stinging message, one that the readership would hardly have been prepared to cope with, in these dark days as the specter of war looms over the 2017 elections in Kenya.
Earlier writers already informed us of the happenings. Galia Sabar writes in Church, State and Society in Kenya, how oathing ceremonies were imposed on the Kikuyu to foster unity and ensure Kenyatta and his ruling clique kept their grip on power. That grip had been badly shaken after the assassination of Tom Mboya, a powerful Luo ally of the President. The death galvanized support for Kenya Peoples Union, the Luo-dominated opposition party led by Oginga Odinga.
In this oathing ceremony, according to reports in Parliament, the Kikuyus would stand naked in a dark room in a house on the grounds of the home of President Kenyatta and take an oath that they would never allow the flag of Kenya to leave the “house of Mumbi,” as Kikuyus call their tribe. Whether the oath was voluntarily or forced, many Kikuyus believe sacred spirits will strike them dead if they break the pledge: they will be cursed.
A curse is not an end in itself. It is in a way an affirmation of blessings. This, as profoundly explained, is thanks to the African philosophy of perceiving curses positively as invaluable entities.
The Kikuyu people had no case against the Luo or others to call for oaths and curses.
According to the Kikuyus, a genuine curse is not to be pronounced out of malice or uncalled for emotional outbursts or jealous rage. “Kĩrumi gĩa Ũtũrĩka Gĩtinyitaga Mũndũ” (an uncalled for or unprovoked malicious curse is ineffective.) This is a caution that a far-fetched and unjust “curse” imbued with vendetta is null and void.
The oaths had devastating impact on the country. The curse may be, as Rev. Gatu and the PCEA clergy have demonstrated, a conjecture. It can be dealt with. But its spell that still grips the country years on is a huge challenge.
The oath to keep the presidency within their tribe is to blamed for the huge fissure between Kikuyus and other communities that we have never been able to mend. The perception here is that the Kikuyus wanted to keep the presidency indefinitely and dominate others forever.
What would one expect of non-Kikuyu communities hearing the talks of “uthamaki” on Kememe FM frequently? Our identity has been divided into two as a consequence: Us vs Them.
To illustrate this, I would borrow a term coined by Rabbi Lord Sachs: Pathological dualism, which means a mentality that divides the world between those who are impeccably good and those who are irredeemably bad. We fail to see any good in others and are quick to point out the bad of others.
This works in three ways:
- When we dehumanize and demonize those we categorize as our enemies. Those perceived to threaten the uthamaki project. Dehumanization destroys empathy and sympathy. It shuts down the emotions that prevent us from doing harm.
- It makes us see ourselves as victims. Victimhood deflects moral responsibility. It leads people to say: It wasn’t our fault, it was theirs. Outsiders aspiring for presidency have been blamed for being power-hungry and violent.
- It allows you to commit altruistic evil, killing in the name of the God of life. Altruistic evil recruits good people to bad causes. It turns ordinary human beings into murderers in the name of uthamaki.
Rev Gatu’s memoir confirms that Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was fully behind the oaths.
“Of all the things and of all the places, this was the last thing we expected to come from the lips of one we had come to love so dearly, our President,” Gatu recalls.
That Kenyatta, the founder of the country, was allowing tribal factionalism at the expense of national unity and his own policy of pulling the tribes together was frightening and a great betrayal.
It contrasts with Tanzania where Mwalimu Julius Nyerere counterpoised nationalism to tribalism. He would not succumb to ideologisation and politicization of tribe. He constantly emphasized that the newly-independent countries had to weave together a nation out of tribes and ethnicity. On this he remained steadfast throughout his political life. In a dialogue with academics in 1991, questioned as to why he saw tribal identities as inherently negative when he himself was a ‘proud Mzanaki’, Nyerere retorted: “I’m a good Mzanaki, but I won’t advocate a Kizanaki-based political party. So I’m a Tanzanian, and of course I am Mzanaki; politically I’m a Tanzanian, culturally I’m Mzanaki.”
Mzee’s act placed Kenya in a perpetual trajectory of conflict and hate. But surprisingly there are little efforts towards correcting our politics. It will take a Head of State’s set policies to undermine this Kenyan politics.
Fear politics change the way individuals define identity; when people fear others they revert away from national identities and towards sectarian ones.Hon. Raila Odinga leader of ODM addressing opposition rally before the 2007 elections.
Hon. Raila Odinga leader of ODM addressing opposition rally before the 2007 general elections.
Michael Waikenda, writing in The Star newspaper of November 16th 2016, erred in claiming that the brand of politics by ODM leader Raila Odinga was divisive, when he claimed that in 2007 Raila rallied his supporters behind the propaganda of “41 against one,” which meant 41 ethnic communities were facing off against one community.
Didn’t the PCEA clergy foretell this?
In a letter they wrote to President Kenyatta On July 22, 1969, they told him – among other things – that the ceremonies were isolating Kikuyus from other communities on the account of the oath.
“Gikuyu as a tribe cannot keep from other tribes. This will result in the remaining tribes forming their block against the Kikuyu and aggravating the current harangues against the tribe,” they wrote. Sadly they were ignored.
The 2007 violence was a clear indication that the other communities will not accept to remain in the shadows; they demand their place on the table.
Unfortunately, this may be repeated unless all stumbling blocks to fair elections and just arbitration in events of disputes – currently being mounted – are removed. But most important, the uthamaki claim must dropped.
We are fast approaching apocalyptic politics, a term used by Rabbi Jonathan Sachs in his recent book, Not in God’s name: “Apocalyptic politics is the strange phenomenon of a revolutionary movement whose gaze is firmly fixed on the past. It arises at times of destabilizing change and speaks to those who feel unjustly left behind.”
Apocalypse is what happens to politics when it loses patience. It is like Samson in the Temple of the Philistines, bringing down the building on his enemies but destroying himself in the process.
Where avenues for change are manipulated and made impossible, this kind of politics spreads like contagion. They hold particular attraction for those who feel alienated, estranges, ‘wandering between two worlds, one dead and the other powerless.’
We are already there.
Former Nairobi mayor Aladwa was quoted saying early 2016:
“2017 imekaribia, na sisi kama watu wa ODM tumebaki na risasi moja.
Na mimi nimeambia party leader Raila Amolo Odinga, this time round, the outcome of the elections, ikiwa tumeshinda na watunyang’anye, wacha kiumane.”
(Things will be bad in 2017, and we as members of ODM have only one bullet left. I have told my party leader Raila Amolo Odinga, … If we win and are defrauded, let hell break loose…”
Mayor Aladwa was charged in court for these utterances, but latter freed, but his warning should not be wished away.
The patience to work on change seems gone among the opposition. Essentially they search for revolution without transformation, change without the slow process of education. They look to use power in the place of persuasion, daggers instead of debate.
Issues of truth have been simplified to the most elemental choice; agree or die.
Sachs describe this situation as: “Longing for the end of time in the midst of time. The search for redemption now, which is why it suspends the normal rules that restrain people from murdering the innocent.”
The opposition ought to take serious caution. Apocalyptic politics always fails, because one cannot create eternity in the midst of time, or unity without dissent.
Of all the illusions surrounding our Nation’s unity, none is more dangerous that the notion that leadership belongs to one “house of Mumbi” or their say-so.
Only President Uhuru Kenyatta can save this country.
His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta
The writer serves with the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi. The views expressed here are his own. (canonomondi08@gmail.com)
waanglicana 
My five bob contribution to such a great writ and reflections is: The fathers of our beloved nation Kenya truly ate soar grapes of occultic oaths as the only thing they knew with their ‘good’ intentions of securing their legacy. Now that we seem to trace our current quagmire in building our nationalism to these incantations, what can the likes of Rev Gatu and his generation who witnessed this possibly do in revoking what they know happened as they represent the church in her mandate to be salt and light. This could be a better foundation led by the church to renounce and denounce and cancel evil allegiances which may possibly be threatening to isolate our brothers and sisters from the rest of the other communities that together make the nation of Kenya. Without sweeping anything under the carpet, given what we all went through regrettable happenings of 2007/8, anything that would enhance national cohesion and integration of all should be brought on board as we focus the nation back to the cross where the perfect sacrifice was made for the remission of all our sins. President Uhuru as a son may not of himself be able to undo what his father did, he may be part of the effort proposed above but not the solution. Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life and if we all rally everybody behind Him, Kenya will regain her compass toward patriotism and nationalism.
Gilbert Jumba.
Robert:
Having interacted with the older generation(those who undertook the oath), most of them detest, denounced and call it satanic. They were forced into it and some of those who didn’t comply were murdered. It is sad that some of our media houses are advocating such barbaric and outdated beliefs. We are one nation under one God. He made no mistake by creating different races, tribes and languages . We are all equal before Him. We are human race. No tribe is superior than the other, we are Kenyans.
Peter M. Muthee
Canon, what a wake up call piece there. But as i kept listening to my grandmother (Grandpa died long time ago) in her history like stories, i heard her say that the oath that Kenyatta and Kiambu Mafia were taking was to guard the throne (Flag) from crossing Chania River (traditional geographical boundary of Kiambu and Nyeri). There was that oath that the throne should never cross to Nyeri. The Kiambu Mafia Lead by Charles Njonjo had vowed that never at any time a Politician from Nyeri will inherit Jomo. Reading MOI, The making of an African States Man (Rais Moi Biography), you get this very clear that Njonjo and his team it didn’t even cross their mind that any other tribe existed leave alone leading the country, they were only watching carefully the movement of Kibaki and G G Kariuki, to make sure when Mzee died they take over. I am your History student, I don’t know whether my grandma knew that it was “ruriri” not only across Chania. Free us from this spell.
You are right that there was an oath that the flag shall never pass Chania. But the Gatundu oaths that were taken in 1969 were strictly meant to keep KPU and the Luos from getting near the presidency as the circumstances triggering this showed.
Certainly once we isolate ourselves against an outsider we sure will create a new outsider among us and it never ends you see .
Canon
Gitonga wa Nyaga:
In fact it was said ‘Bendera ndigakira Chania’ meaning the flag should not cross the Chania’. It was actually a kikuyu against kikuyu stuff. FYI, when the flag crossed Chania (Kibaki) -what significant act Kibaki did n people did not notice- one day after swearing in, on a wheelchair, he ordered the motorcade driven part Thika (Chania) where he bought juice at Delmonte then returned to Nbi. It is after that they he got really sick and was readmitted at Nbi hosp. See, the curse was almost working but Kibaki offered himself and somehow be broke that curse
Erick Osir:
This “Ichweri” Oath has not only been divisive in our politics, its consequence is so immense in the church. Maseno West Bishop The Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Otieno Wasonga is the living victim of this oath. The Anglican Church of Kenya has been denied a chance to be led by Bishop Wasonga courtesy of Ichweri Oath which seeks to bar “The Uncircumcised” from leading the “Uthamaki” either in the church of Jehovah God.
The reality is that a group of people to whom as a people of one country we are bound cursed the country in order to sustain their delusions about themselves. Blood oaths cannot be taken lightly. That is why Jesus had to shed His blood to salvage our humanity. The fact that even babies were oathed in 1969 and have not been given a chance to renounce those oaths, these are the babies who are now in charge of Kenya, means that the cycle of violence and blood letting which those oaths called forth will continue. The Catholic church institutes rites of exorcism of the highest order in such cases. The Anglican church knows what it must do. The oaths were not just Kikuyu-Kikuyu as one of your commentators states, it was a calling forth of exchange in which all the blessings of the land and its people would be directed into one community. The exchange, because the oath is not made to God Almighty who abhors such, is made to the forces of darkness–there. In other words a pact is made with pure evil. Power, wealth in exchange for blood and lives. And because we are all under one nation, we are all implicated. All of us, not just Kenyatta and his Kikuyu. There is a need for national repentance and renouncing and the re-commitment of this land and nation to the one true God. The history of Kenya since 1969 is a repeated cycle of loss, stagnation, death, corruption, with every election cycle turned into a season of holocaust to these deities of death, power, wealth and violence. If the Lord in His mercy, through Rev Gatu has revealed to the nation what ails its soul, what it needs to renounce, then for God’s sake, let us do it. There is nothing more to hide. And the Kikuyu community will also be able to return to family peace and their dead can be buried without having to be reinforced in concrete.
To add to earlier comment; Blood oaths are covenant, not mere agreements. What is exchanged in covenants are people, human lives. When God makes a covenant with Israel He offers Himself in exchange they over themselves to Him. That is exactly why marriage cannot be taken lightly. It is an exchange of lives. This covenant our Kikuyu brethren undertook was a betrayal of the soul of our nation, a betrayal of family and community of Kenya. To exchange the lives of a group of Kenyans and offer it to evil, in turn for power, wealth and ceaselessness is so horribly painful. To curse their own ‘house’ for what? And betray the family Kenya is something that must be acknowledged, renounced, annulled and God called back into all our lives. There may be power and wealth, but there is no peace or favour. Families are broken, men are drunkards and even the new bounty in the land has by-passed those who were involved. The covenant cursed not only the legacy of Kenya, but cursed and bound its next generations. The thing with such occultic covenants is that they only strengthen with successive generations, they do not weaken. Please, let all Kenyans of good will adn heart come together to renounce this thing ritually before the altar of Christ, and ask the blood of Jesus Christ to wash it from our midst, our lives, our DNA and the soil which was also claimed. It will break the election violence cycles which is the point where these oaths are renewed. It will call our Kikuyu brethren back from having to continually circumnavigate Mt Kenya to reinforce this oath/covenant as happens ever pre-election year. It will also mean renouncing the oath that was administered in 2007/8 that reinforced this 1969 oath. Let us allow ourselves a chance to be Kenyan, please? In God’s name, please. He has blessed us all with such a bountiful land.
Thank you for highlighting this. And we thank Reverend Gatu for making the secret evil which bedevils this country public. We sense it, feel it, hear about it, especially when our Kikuyu friends disappear as a collective from us, ad the next thing we hear sacrifices have been made, prayers have been said is stadiums, Mt Kenya has been traversed, secret prayers are said in a thicket in Naivasha. This revelation is so important that I hope that we do not take it lightly. Forgive this post it may sound too academic. In tackling this terrible evil, perhaps Canon, you may consider bringing in some Covenant Theologians, and Sacramental Theologians to unravel the implications of the oath. When you read about it, you understand immediately that it is a subversion and mockery of the High Anglican and Catholic liturgy, particularly the powerful consecration and epiclesis which is distorted. The eating of body parts and blood, both human and animal is such a horrible offense to the human soul, but it also has the effect of activating the desire of a collectivised will. Because this ritual is repeated in subsequent years, and is tied to human sacrifice–Mboya, Ouko, JM Kariuki, Mbae….and usually the sacrifice of the brightest and best of the land in a particular season, it perpetuates itself. It continued with the Moi regime that merely refined the madness. This is not mere speculation, the literature of persons like Rene Girard will explain aspects of this. What a tragedy that a leader would his God given authority to bind the soul of his nation and people to favour only a few? What a terrible betrayal. This is heartbreaking. Why would a culture consecrate a nation destined for God’s greatness to the devil for their own benefit and own glory? Is the ritual of continued blood-letting and horror worth it? Is the money worth the soul of a people and the nation? Canon, what will you do about this? This could be the answer to healing Kenya’s perpetual restlessness, its continued stagnation, and the mystery of the horror of every election season where madness takes hold and people die. It is why the doors have opened for every extreme vice; drugs, gambling and all those things that drive human souls into hell. Reverend Gatu has revealed what had been bound by the phrase ‘and if I reveal it may the oath kill me’. Bless him, he obviously has nothing to lose. He has revealed it so that this blessed nation can free its soul and destiny from the evil that has held it captive. Perhaps like Poland did we can in our various ways consecrate the land, its people and cultures to Christ the only King, renounce the evil covenants, call back our souls from the halls of hell, ask God to restore what the locusts have consumed, seek forgiveness and also forgive–there is no need to perpetuate this evil, exorcise the demons that have been given access, gather the priests especially those who sold their Godly annointing to the devil under the guise of ‘uthamaki’ to repent, renounce their evil and call for the mercy of God upon themselves and all of us. We have been given a small window to truly liberate this beloved nation under one flag, and one true God and His Jesus Christ. Canon, would you not gather your fellow priests and prophets from all denomination and faiths to reverse this terrible deed that was visited upon our land, our people and destiny in 1969? It will perhaps also allow the souls of those like Tom Mboya to rest in peace for in this evil oathing lives were offered, blood spilled in exchange for the illusion of ‘chosenness’. Can a nation like Kenya imagine that we can have peace when there is so much horror beneath our finger nails? When such blood cries out to God, and God asks the nation, Cain, where is your brother? Help us please, dear Canon. The Lord Jesus Christ reigns, and with your help, and those of good priests, we can collectively ask Our Christ the King, the only King we serve, to cleanse us, purge us, heal us, forgive us, and exorcise the profound evil with His body and blood that brings a nation back to life. We will also need your help to go deep within our hearts to forgive this evil of our brethren who undertook it, and continue to do it because it offers the benefits of the lie of control. They would be afraid because by oathing themselves unto death, if they defy it, even if their conscience suggests otherwise, they truly may die. This is truly a most terrible thing. What would you do to help those who would free themselves from the death mark feel confident in the power of Christ’s body and blood to release them and keep them living? In its contemporary version, sacramental and liturgical priests have been involved in perverting the power of the consecration and epiclesis to sustain this aberration of uthamaki. They use the body and blood of Christ–as happened at that Kasarani meeting–to perpetuate the horror. What would you do to not only counter these acts? May God give you the wisdom He gave King Solomon, in this matter. And please do not let up on it. It is dealing with this that will lead all Kenya to the great calling to which God has destined it. For all Kenyans, so help us God.
Elder Gitonga Wa Nyagah
January 6 at 4:57pm
I am yet to do my full response Canon Francis Omondi; been one hectic week, but will do tonight. But I have pointed out that there are serious gaps in this analysis. As somebody has pointed out, this oath was in particular against the “Flag crossing the Chania” into Nyeri – I have no idea what the Nyeri Kikuyu had done to Kenyatta and his Kiambu mafia! It is important then that we realise that this was an oath by A SECTION of the KIKUYU principally against another section of the Gikuyu. Let me point out here that various Kikuyu individuals, as Dr. Gatu indicates, were KILLED and women raped because they refused to take this oath. It saddens me every time ‘other’ tribes take this oathing as against them while it was against all other people apart from the Kiambu mafia. I have also pointed out that among the ‘famous’ people who were killed by the ignominous Kenyatta machine were TJ Mboya, a Luo – at which point the oath was taken- and JM Kariuki, a few years later -a Kikuyu from ‘beyond the Chania (originally from Othaya before he settled in Nyandarua). It pains me because I do not understand why ‘other’ tribes see themselves as victims of “Kikiuyus’ (not Kenyatta???) but they never view Kikuyus themselves as victims of Kenyatta! I have opined that the Kikuyus have been disenfranchised and victimised over and over again; we did not choose the lifestyle we have, it was imposed on us, first by the colonists, who came, took our lands, forced us into concentration camps and demanded taxes from us, so we had to work for them to be able to pay the tax! To this end they took us to their farms in the rift valley and elsewhere. What were we supposed to do? Those of us in the rift valley suffer the same fate like African Americans – ostracised because they are ‘foreigners’ yet they were brought into these lands as ‘slaves’ and because of needs. Those who have acquired land later in the rift actually BOUGHT that land with loans contrary to the narrative that “Kikuyus are given free stuff by government”. The reason Kikuyus defend and ‘fight’ to be in govt is because we NOW there are people who wish that they got a chance to be in that govt so as to annihilate the Kikuyu. What happened in 2007-8 is indicative. No one should lie that it was spontaneous. We all know it was NOT!!! I repeat, we are all victims of bad govt. Kikuyus have NEVER been president of Kenya, neither have the Kalenjin! Kenyattas and Moi and Kibaki have been presidents; the majority of their tribespeople are peasants, dying like everybody else when doctors go on strike!!! The Tugen and Samburu are still rustling cattle even though Moi was president for 24 years; they still die and beg for relief food when the sun shines for two weeks in their land. Kenyattas, Moi, Kibaki and their mafioso have benefited from corruption just like the Odingas benefited from Luo Thrift and Mollases etc, but their tribesmen are still poor! Let us stop this narrative! Let us join hands, all of us and fight bad governance and together get people into leadership who can advance the NATION of Kenya, not advance one tribe over another or seek to replace one tribe with another. That is what is called genocide. Gatu demonstrates the suffering of the Kikuyu because of Kenyatta, just like all other people. This oathing was as anti-Kikuyu as it was anti-Luo or whoever else. This idea of vengeance “against” the Kikuyu is evil! This “wacha kiumane” thing is sad beyond measure. Who benefits when it ‘kiumanas”? Who benefited in 2007/8? Will say more ….
Robert Jumba:
This is quite sobering sir. I feel the same as I witness how single politicians rally their ethnic communities together n everybody follows blindly in the name of ‘our son’. But when they get power n entrench corruption, ethnicity and inequity its the same tribes that are misconstrued and demonised to to be doing the same. We need to hold hands together as Kenyans and refuse to be drawn into wars we ourselves are not fighting as communities. We should not allow single individuals divide us as a country because we belong together and our diversity is our strength. It is time we came up with a way forward from this mire otherwise our hope for national cohesion and integration will remain a mirage.
five paragraph analytical essay outline
expository essay martin luther king jr
We should be that generation that breaks that chain. No matter who or what let’s be the examples of others. We can stand together no matter how small we will be! and stand in the gap of others and heal our nation with God all things are possible. Naome.
A small grain of yeast does what to the dough?.The Plague in Egypt as a result of the King’s stubborn heart affected all. All to renounce and repent, actions that affect/touch on the foundations of this land, for the Land of Kenya to heal.Snake,Eve and Adam mentality wont help.
May God help us and anoint brave men& women to soldier n lead this action.( accept the wrong, renounce, repent and lift up a new banner of God for this land).
How To Help Kenya
I like many Kenyans and I believe you share the same.., can not help but wonder how the vote of the presidency takes us hostage every 5 years. So much that it has not only led to the death of over 1000 Kenyans, seen many murdered, shuts off the economy for days leading to millions of loss, costs the country billions in wastage through nepotic corruption, and now even threatens the multi-party democracy through tribal alliances that have discovered, because of their numerical advantage, can shut other communities and tribes from election into the seat.., this literally returning Kenya to one party democracy.
This is not only a retrogressive trend, but also dangerous and unhelpful to the generation we plan to bequeath this country.
I have been in deep thoughts about how this can be solved and noted that there is no way other than change the constitution to allow the Presidency rotate through all 47 counties under a mechanism that allows a lottary for 3- 5 or thereabouts of eligible counties to present nominees that would be subjected to national election. Eligible counties would be among those that are in lottary and which have never won the Presidency. Any county that has successfully won the presidency would be excluded from the lottary until all 47 counties are elected into the seat.
There is no better time to initiate a dialogue on this than now when the devastation of what this current process is doing to our cohesion and social co-existence is so much evident and shows we are stretched to the limit.
Indeed the former president Moi is on record for challenging Kenyans why they did not address the issue of Presidential powers in the new Constitution when that was one of prime reasons we reviewed the document. The call is to The Church, through all its leadership organs…, the conference of Bishops, NCCK, Civil Society etc to START and energize this process especially through the National dialogue that The President is agreeing to.., even though this matter is weightier than the wish of any sitting president and need be pushed on anyway.
May I humbly request even as I pray over it that God gives Church Leaders and other like minded members of our society the impetus and support by His Grace to start this dialogue and we will be surprised how much traction and support it will ganner for what would be The 1st Ammndment of our Constitution.
As the current system only threatens to exploit ethnic fault lines rather than build a cohesive society.., this is the time to be bold and take corrective steps.
Church leaders especially need drive this Impetus. Politicians are often too consumed with day to day representation and issues of re-election to be bothered about long term issues such as this.
God Help Kenya
George Okwach..,
The Author is A Private Sector Practitioner and Member of CITAM, Valley Road Assembly.
Just call me George
And The President could give Kenyans a substantive speech on Cohesion during his acceptance address… Such as this one.
Dear Kenyans..,
The past few months have demonstrated that we have deep wounds and pains between us. We have used strong words and language to drive our political message without regard to the other persons feelings or point of view.. Our only concerns appeared to be ourselves..
Indeed as the results of these and previous elections have shown, certain of our communitities have dominated appointment whilst a significant other remain in the cold. I know as your leader and a student of statistics that this is skewed and seldom represents fairness over a period of time. Indeed if the laws of statistics not democracy were to apply, my community should not be in leadership more times than our proportionate %age of the population represents.
Democracy is a system we borrowed from the west. The West does not face the ethnic differences and inclinations that Africa faces. The diversity of our cultures should be harnessed as a strength for our development agenda not used as a tool to suppress that effort.
It is because of this skewdness in our voting patterns and the threat it poses for our cohesion and especially of the future generation that I am going to spend a significant part of my second term to ammend this trend.
I am starting by asking all leaders of Political parties, religious organization, business and government to join me in a nationa dialogue aimed at finding a lasting solution. To kick us off and after a lot of thought during this electioneering process, am going to propose that we undertake the 1st amendment of our constitution to insert provisions to allow the Presidency to rotate throughout all our 47 counties through a mechanism that allows us to have 3-5 candidates from Counties that haven’t held the presidency to be presented for nomination and to the electorate every 5 years. Counties that would have already benefit would be excluded from nomination and yet to help us have an effective timely selection we could look to lottary to give us the 3- 5 counties that present candidates.
I ask you to seriously consider this and bring your valuable contribution at these important forums aimed at bring us together as Kenyans. I expect the National Cohesion commission to start planning and calendar these forums and ensure all are engaged for the benefit of our great nation.
Let me take this opportunity to tell all Kenyans that I am truly touched by your honor to serve a second term and ask you to pray for me to fulfill for each 45million of you, the promise of a better life and hope for the future.
Thank you very much and God bless Kenya..
One could say that Kenyatta partly vindicated himself by actively choosing Moi, from another community, as his successor. This was even after constant pressure by his Gema/Kiambu right hand men to have another Vice President instead of Moi in line to succeed from the ailling and ageing Mzee. This cannot be passed off as an easy feat by Mzee. He made the difficult decision to stick with young, shy and reserved Moi, as he knew his Gema elite associates, the likes of Koinange, (who he was very close to) were too dicey to hand a country over to.
[All this is according to Hillary Ng’weno’s Making of a Nation]
You may not know, but it is a fact that all senior civil servants took the Oath… And this bond them. You should understand why president Moi handed over Kanu to UK in 2002!