Chapter 80

Mind Boggling

By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta
Chapter 80

Dear Kenyans,

Allow me this opportunity to add my voice to all those received from various corners of our nation and the world about what we need to do to restore peace to our nation.

I believe that our country is great; I believe that Kenyans are peace loving people; I believe that Kenyans are God fearing people; I believe that Kenyans are people who love people and I believe that God loves Kenyans.

Those of our Kenyan brothers and sisters who have been wreaking havoc in our country and causing untold suffering to hundreds and thousands of our brothers and sisters are only a few bad elements in our community. We can all agree that Kikuyus, Luos, Kalenjins and all other tribes in Kenya are generally good people. Only some and in fact very few are bad. There is therefore no reason whatsoever for us to capitalize on the bad instead of appreciating the good of our fellow Kenyans. Killing is wrong no matter the reason for it. Stealing is wrong, no matter the reason for it. Honourable Raila Odinga reminded us during his campaign that God has commanded us as follows: THOU SHALT NOT STEAL and THOU SHALT NOT KILL.

The 2007 general election was ridden with irregularities, all Kenyans whether supporters of PNU, ODM, ODM-K or any other party will agree with this position. The presidential race was between President Kibaki who won the election and Honourable Raila Odinga who lost the election according to the Electoral Commission of Kenya. Dubious as the win may have been, it has been declared and a president has been sworn in. Where do we go from here? These are my suggestions:

First, we must face the truth about the irregularities of the general election. The truth is this: that fairness, justice and truth were crucified during the general election. Save for the voters who faithfully turned up in large numbers to exercise their right, the crucifixion of fairness, justice and truth was done by all others who participated in the election regardless of their affiliations. In the circumstances, PNU claiming to have gained victory can be likened to those who crucified Jesus (who stood for fairness, justice and truth) claiming to have gained victory. No doubt the crucifiers of Jesus felt victorious after the crucifixion but in time, they came to realize that they had actually lost. ODM claiming to have been treated unfairly despite allegations of rigging on their side can be likened to Jacob who tricked his generous host and uncle Laban by quietly stealing from Laban and feigning surprise when Laban’s sons became hostile towards him forcing him to flee. There was no victory in the past general election. Kenyans are disillusioned about the democracy of this country and are looking to their leaders to restore unity among them. I humbly appeal to our government to urgently look into ways of assuring Kenyans that the 2012 election will be a free and fair one. To this end, ECK must undergo an emergency purge and new laws must be passed to regulate campaigns and seal the loop holes that enable rigging to be done.

Second, ODM and its supporters, of whom I was one during the general election, must, no matter how difficult that may be, accept defeat for the sake of restoring peace in our country. It is not that I do not support ODM any more. It is that the current political climate we are in does not permit taking of sides against my fellow Kenyans. It requires a spirited search for anything that can unite us. Our leader, Honourable Raila Odinga said that he is a Christian and at this time, we ought to put our political interests second to our spiritual interests and follow God's direction to SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. The righteous thing to do in my view is to accept defeat and by accepting defeat, ODM and its supporters will have shown an unmatched ability to forgive. Something we can all be proud of. Like Esau when he forgave his brother Jacob for stealing his blessings. Something Jacob could never reverse. We must remember that leadership is God given and if it was God’s will that Honourable Raila should be our president after the 2007 general election, it would have been so no matter the irregularities. It is not so. Why? God Knows. And we should thank God that the recent deaths and suffering have not occurred during an ODM presidency. There is a time for everything, God is fair and just and therefore, ODM’s time will come. When that time comes, which I believe will be soon if we do the righteous thing, it will be a time to celebrate a real victory. At this time, there can never be any real victory even in unseating President Kibaki. Any more fighting will only add salt to the gaping wounds that have been inflicted in our country. The Bible is riddled with numerous Kings who committed heinous crimes, yet God allowed them to rule but they all met their fate in the fullness of time. If we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, God has promised that all these things (including the presidency) shall be added unto us. Let us not underestimate the power of God and what He can do in a situation like the one we are in. We must remember that all of us live by the Grace of God and in death, there are no such titles as president or minister for this and minister for that. There are also no motorcades and all the privileges that come with power. At the door of Heaven, God will want to know whether we chose the righteous victory of forgiveness and reconciliation and peace or the human victory of the presidency.

Third, each and every Kenyan must accept that tribalism and poverty are the primary causes of the anarchy and mayhem that our country has suffered. And in doing so, we must all immediately stop engaging in any discussions that encourage tribal divisions. Don’t allow yourself to say anything negative about your fellow Kenyans. You may condemn those who are perpetrating violence but it is wrong to blame an entire tribe for the wrong doings of only a few. Any change starts with an individual. Let us all shun tribalism. I humbly appeal to our government to urgently put in place measures to counter poverty and divert the attentions of the poor away from criminality. On the part of the rich, I urge you to reach out to our poor and if possible direct your investments to ventures that will create jobs not fat offshore bank accounts.

Fourth, we must all remember to fear God and in so doing, we must obey God’s commandments the most important of which is to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF. I urge our leaders to take the lead and I humbly appeal to President Kibaki and Honourable Raila to shake hands on national television or even better, jointly call a rally to condemn the violence and preach peace to their fellow Kenyans.

Fifth, let us all pray for our country and for our leaders and let God be the president of each of us.

Sixth, know that each and every one of us can be a leader in his/her own way and let us all take the lead in bringing peace to our country the best way we know how.

Yours in fairness, justice and truth,
Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta
An extremely concerned Kenyan

Chapter 79

Mind Boggling

By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta
Chapter 79

Prayer is a powerful thing.

After a long session of prayer and meditation, I was reminded of the letter I had reproduced in chapter 41. The one I received from the guy who advised me to vote for Kibaki so that I can be closer to God. I marveled at how right that guy was. The beginning of Kibaki’s second term in office is probably the most prayerful time for Kenya since independence. We have seen barbaric killings, mindless hooliganism, displacement of thousands from their homes and our freedom of movement has been greatly curtailed. Tomorrow has been dedicated as a prayer day for the country. I have been praying for our country every day and have come to understand the meaning of the words “praying without ceasing”. I pray just before I sleep, I pray when I wake up, I pray when having my meals, I pray when carrying out household chores, I pray while driving, I pray while writing, ……… I am finding myself praying 24/7 just like that guy predicted!

As for Kibaki not knowing what love is, that has been proved without a shadow of a doubt from the time he was sworn into office until now. Despite being the president of all Kenyans, he has not left State House even once to go and visit the devastated parts of the country and join with his citizens in mourning.

I had thought that I cannot accept Kibaki as my president but I have changed my mind on that. I think that Kibaki is the best president any opposition supporter can have. If my faith in the democracy of our country was a glass, Kibaki went and smashed it to smitherines against a brick wall. And that is actually a very good thing for him to have done. I have learnt that being exposed to evil is a good thing. This is because, as I had earlier concluded, attaching ourselves to the things of this world will distract us from finding our purpose in life. But when one is exposed to evil, s/he is repulsed by the world and thus prevented from attaching himself/herself to the things of this world.

I have discovered that I was so attached to the political situation in my country that I had forgotten about finding my missing ‘something’. I was busy analyzing the actions of our politicians and dreaming of a perfect Kenya and what I needed to do to attain it. My goal in life had shifted from being the perfect daughter in God’s eyes to making for myself a perfect home in this world. I am extremely grateful to Kibaki for helping me realize that my destination is not Canaan; it is Heaven. Previously I was imagining that if Kenya became Canaan, I would be at home. I had not realized that Canaan is not Heaven and Heaven is unattainable on earth since everything in this world, good or bad, must come to an end when we die.

That simple prayer I recommended for all Kenyans has reminded me that I cannot change people. Something I seem to have forgotten somewhere along the way. I cannot change Kibaki and his friends and God has granted me the serenity to accept that. I can however change my understanding of their actions and instead of being resentful and angry at what they have done, I have understood the lesson that their actions were meant to reveal to me.

I repeat that everything happens for a reason and I can now confidently add that everything, good or bad, happens for a good reason. Changing my attitude towards Kibaki and his friends was a very difficult task. I was basking in the anger, disappointment, resentment, disgust and all related emotions that their actions had invoked in me. I thoroughly enjoyed all criticism of their actions and revelations of how they reeked of amateurism. God granted me the courage to change my attitude and now, to my surprise, I can actually appreciate the role of Kibaki in my life. I am a little wiser now on how to tell the difference between the things I can and cannot change. God granted me that wisdom. I once saw a sticker with the words: “If you cannot change something, change the way you think about it.” How true!

No-one in Kenya is happy with the situation we are in. The happiness that those who voted for Kibaki expected to feel when he won the election was completely obliterated by the agony and pain of the repercussions.

Let us all endeavour to find ways and means of accepting what has happened, learning from it, helping each other rebuild what has been damaged and getting on with our lives. Love will save the day. Let us try as much as possible to love each other and dismiss all tendencies to judge each other.

Oh God of all creation, bless this our land and nation, justice be our shield and defender, may we dwell in unity, peace and liberty, plenty be found within our borders.

Chapter 78

Mind Boggling

By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta

Chapter 78

A friend of mine once bought me a plaque containing a prayer which I highly recommend for all Kenyans:-

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.”

Let us all join together and pray that God will guide us on what actions can and cannot solve the crisis we are in and prevent it from turning into a catastrophe.

Chapter 77

Mind Boggling
By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta

Chapter 77

Letting go of power is an extremely difficult thing as has been very ably demonstrated by our president. Kenya is in chaos and our president has not uttered even one word about what is going on. The last we heard from him was a new year message assuring us that he is the president of us all. Is he really? Not even a condolence message surely?

The point which everyone I listen to on tv and radio are missing is that both those who are fighting as well as the victims of the fighting are united by one thing. Our president. Yet, our president is nowhere to be seen! He is speaking to us through supporters of his political party some of whom were voted out during the last general election. Why can he not just come out and talk to his people and listen to what their grievances are? For those who are crying for Raila, he should ask them what it is they think Raila can do for them that Kibaki cant and assure them that he can do it. For those who are supporting him, assure them of their safety. Our president cannot think of such a simple thing because he is in reality not the president of Kenyans. As is clear from what his agents are saying, those who are causing mayhem are supporters of the opposition party and therefore the leaders of the opposition party are the ones responsible for the actions of those people. How can this be when we have a president in power? The supporters of the opposition party are Kenyans and their president is Kibaki not Raila or Kalonzo or Ruto.

I hear people saying that the youth are being misused by politicians to cause mayhem. This to me is based on an erroneous presumption that those youths have something better to do than be involved in the protests.

I believe that everything that happens in our lives, happens for a reason. That reason is a lesson that needs to be learned. Whenever I am faced with a difficult challenge or a crisis in my life, I know that the only way to get out of that situation is to search for the lesson which I am required to learn. In the crisis facing our country, there are two lessons that Kenyans are required to learn:

The first lesson is that normal life in Kenya for majority of our population which is poor is not peaceful and happy. Majority of Kenyans who are the ones we are watching on our television screens protesting and killing each other are unemployed, hungry and battered people. Telling them to go back to normal life is a ridiculous request. Those of us who have jobs and enough money to put a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs should use this experience to learn what those statistics telling us how poor Kenyans are really mean. We need to appreciate that what we have always regarded to be normal life is actually a life of misery for most of our brothers and sisters. It is only once we have appreciated this fact that we can understand what the “change” that the Kenyan people are looking for really means. It means that poverty must be made a first priority by our government, something Kibaki’s government has never realized and something that the poor do not believe Kibaki will ever be able to understand. I say this because Kibaki’s government’s policies during the last five years were based on finding out what the needs of the rich are and satisfying them assuming that taking care of the needs of the rich automatically takes care of the needs of the poor. In fact, our government’s policies should be based on finding out what the needs of the poor are and satisfying them. Giving the poor spending power automatically takes care of the needs of the rich who supply the poor with what to spend on.

The fact that Kibaki, as communicated through his agents, does not regard the protesters to be his people and sees them as supporters of the opposition is sufficient evidence of why the protesters are aggrieved. How can we unite as a country if our president is perceived and behaves as a president of the rich or perceived rich? How can we unite as a people when the minority who control the resources of the country cannot understand that the anxiety and despair they are experiencing with the boredom and the inability to go to work and to leave their houses is what normal life really means for majority of Kenyans?

The second and most important lesson that Kenyans need to learn is how to tell the difference between good and evil. Everyone in our country now knows without a shadow of a doubt that the swearing in of the president was premature and illegal because the chairman of the Electoral Commission has made a damning admission that he did not know whether Kibaki actually won the election. He has also stated that the original records for the vote tallying have been tampered with making a re-tallying of the votes impossible. Once everyone agrees on that point, two divergent views then arise:

One group says that the irregular vote tallying process is now irrelevant because there is no legal provision by which a rectification of the process can be made. They advise those who are aggrieved to accept the result and if they deem it advisable, go to court to have their grievances addressed. This group is unable to see that the irregularities of the vote tallying process are the cause of the protests and killings going on. They say that the protests and killings are a result of incitement by opposition politicians.

The other group has refused to accept the president and insists on the elections being repeated. They say that the protests and killings are a result of the confirmed irregularities in the tallying of the presidential votes.

How can one tell which of these positions is the position of good and which one is the position of evil? This puzzle has been documented in the Bible when the Pharoah of Egypt was faced with the demand by Moses that he should let the children of Israel go. The only means by which Moses was able to convince the Pharaoh to accede to his demand was by performing miracles. Initially, the miracles that Moses performed could be replicated by the Pharoah’s own wise men and were therefore not convincing. It was only after the Egyptians had suffered ten plagues which left the country on its knees that the Pharoah finally acceded to Moses’ demand. When the eighth plague of locusts was unleashed on the Egyptian people, Pharoah’s advisers begged him to let the Israelites go telling him that the country was destroyed but he refused to listen. The Pharoah’s own people were plagued by: waters turning into blood and the people having to dig around the river for water, frogs, lice, flies, diseased livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and finally the death of all their firstborns. The Pharoah repeatedly deceived Moses that he would let the Israelites go if Moses prayed to God to take away the plagues but once the plagues were taken away, he would renege on his promise. The amazing thing is that even after the Pharoah finally let the children of Israel go, he pursued them to the Red Sea. Good prevailed over evil and the Israelites managed to free themselves from slavery.

To me, Kibaki is in exactly the same position as the Pharoah of Egypt. The poor in Kenya are demanding that Kibaki should let them free to determine their own destinies because just like the Pharaoh of Egypt could not understand that slavery is not the destiny of the children of Israel, Kibaki cannot understand that poverty is not the destiny of the citizens of Kenya. The poor in Kenya are so poor they might as well be regarded as slaves. Labour in Kenya is so cheap its amazing how people survive on the low wages they are paid. Employment law in Kenya does very little to safeguard the interests of the employees. The Pharoah was willing to sacrifice the lives of his own people to retain the Israelites in slavery, just like Kibaki is sacrificing the lives of Kenyans to retain his position as president.

As a Kenyan, I am wondering whether I should side with the group that is asking us to accept Kibaki and get on with our lives or the one insisting that the election must be re-done. At this point in time, the president I voted for is irrelevant. I want to know how to bring peace to our country, how to unite Kenyans, how to resolve the impasse between our leaders. God is Love and Love is acting in the best interests of others and disregarding your own interests if necessary. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves and to put God first in everything that we do.

Is it good for me to ignore the cries of the protesters that their right to a free and fair election has been violated? Is it good for me to ask the protesters to take their protests to court when I know so well how corrupt our courts are? Is it good for me to lie to the poor and pretend that Kibaki cares about them when I know so well that if he cared about them, he, as the president, would have at least said or done something about the protests and killings we are experiencing by now?

The choice we have now as Kenyans is not between Raila, Kibaki or Kalonzo anymore. The choice we have is whether to accept Kibaki as our president. I cannot accept him. To me, Kibaki is the reason for the crisis we are in.

In my view therefore, to resolve the crisis we are facing, we must have a fresh presidential election done as soon as possible when we can choose from the group of candidates who we are presented with.

This crisis Kenya is facing will not be resolved until such time as we can all learn the lessons it has brought to us. Perhaps the lessons are more than appreciating the plight of our poor and learning to tell the difference between good and evil. What we all need to do is to think deeply about this crisis and find ways and means of communicating with each other and finding a middle ground to stand on together as one nation.

Thankfully, nothing, whether good or bad, lasts forever. This crisis will end some day, hopefully sooner than later. Is it possible that our country will find a lasting solution to this crisis and we shall get ourselves a leader who is truly a president of all Kenyans?

If you ask me, I would say that is IMPOSSIBLE. Is anything really possible with God? I am praying that God will show me that even this is possible.

Chapter 76

Mind Boggling
By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta

Chapter 76

Election results were announced and a hurried swearing-in ceremony carried out under a dark cloud of vote rigging. All hell broke loose thereafter. Violent protests and riots and killings have been the order of the day all across the country as the supporters of the loser have taken to the streets on a rampage claiming their ‘right’. We have been under siege in our houses. There is no telling how long we will remain in this calamity. Going by the examples of our neighbouring countries, there is a real risk that our country could descend into tribal wars.

Who is responsible for what is happening to our country?

For those who support Kibaki’s presidency, it is time to accept the election result and get on with normal life. This is quite amazing. If in fact Kibaki is the winner, why is it so difficult for him and his supporters to agree to revisit the issue of irregularities in the vote tallying which have been confirmed by four Commissioners of the Electoral Commission as well as the European Community observers?

Is this too much a price to ask for the restoration of confidence in the democracy of our country? If presidents can be declared winners despite irregularities in the vote tallying, why vote? This is too big a loop hole in denying people the leader of their choice. If we accept the president’s victory based on a dubious vote tallying process, what can we expect for the future of our country? How many more dubious processes will we be subjected to in the next five years and beyond?

Have we been disenfranchised? Yes, because no-one in the world can say with any sense of confidence that the president of our country was democratically elected into office. Those who do not accept the election result have been asked to go to court. This is absolutely ridiculous when Kenya is known the world over for its extremely high levels of corruption to which the judiciary is not immune.

In response to the violence, riots and killings plaguing our country, the government and its supporters have stated that the losers are to blame because those perpetrating the violence, riots and killings are their supporters. The irony of this statement is that when our president was sworn in, he clearly stated that he would be a president of all Kenyans. If he is the president of all Kenyans shouldn’t he take responsibility for what is happening to our country? If the losers are to blame for the unrest, why have they not been arrested? Already, blame for the wrongs that are happening in our country has started being shifted away from the president, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, just like it was in the last five years of his presidency. Every day in the last few months our president was out there among the people holding rallies to plead with Kenyans all over the country to vote for him. Now that he has been declared president, he sees no need to step out again and plead with Kenyans to stop killing each other. Somehow, that has become exclusively the job of the losers, religious leaders and peace-keepers. The president is a statesman and expecting him to step out into the same communities he was pleading with for votes and now plead with them to stop the bloodshed would reduce him to a village chieftain. He is now the president and he belongs in an ivory tower somewhere up in the sky away from the populace, busy formulating policy for the economic development of his country.

Am I missing something here? Yes, I am. I am missing a vital presumption on which electoral processes the world over are based. That vote rigging is inevitable and even the losers have done it. Rigging is stealing. Steal all you like as long as you don’t get caught. Rig all you can as long as you can get away with it. Don’t you see? The competition in elections is not who can garner the most votes. Nooooooooo. That’s not it. It is who possesses the best rigging skills to get himself the most votes. The best rigger wins. And by the way, the rigging is not limited to tampering with ballot boxes and documents. If bribing or arm twisting officers of the electoral commission becomes necessary and they are responsive to your advances, don’t let the guilt of your actions stop you. Get yourself into power by any means necessary. Those words were contained in a statement made by our Minister for Defence before the elections in which he was voted out of his constituency. At that time I did not understand what he actually meant. Now I can see clearly what he meant.

The president and his men are entitled to get away with the irregularities in the vote tallying process because it is not the president’s responsibility to tally the votes, it is the electoral commission’s responsibility. If the electoral commission has deemed it fit to declare a president despite the irregularities, so be it. The Electoral Commission has stated that although the irregularities do exist, the irregularities are not its responsibility. They are the responsibility of the courts. Most likely, at the courts, the judges in their judgment will dismiss the petition claiming that the responsibility lies elsewhere and it is too late to do anything because the president has already been sworn in. Brilliant buck-passing I must say.

What is the corner stone of democracy? Transparency and fairness. In the absence of transparency and fairness, only dictatorship exists. It is important to note that the president’s 20 cabinet ministers were voted out of their constituencies and the majority seats in parliament are held by members of the opposition party. It is obvious that the people of Kenya countrywide were using their votes to protest against the government. In the span of a few days, and by the refusal of our leaders to safeguard the integrity of the vote tallying process, a democracy is creeping towards a dictatorship.

Selfishness will not allow our president to take responsibility for what has happened. The truth has been hidden away. Freedom has been curtailed. Only one man can save the day. Only the president can save the day. He has two choices:-

1. He can choose to take time out and think deeply about what has occurred, let passion guide his actions so that he may take responsibility for the unrest and act in the best interests of others disregarding his own selfish interests. He can choose to love his neighbour as himself and do unto others as he would like done to him. He can let the truth be revealed so that it can set him free.

OR

2. He can choose to think shallow about what has occurred, refuse to follow his passion and refuse to take responsibility for the unrest thereby exposing himself to the consequences of breaking God’s commandments that Thou shalt not steal and Thou shalt not kill.

Can our president really choose the righteous way? If you ask me, I would say that is IMPOSSIBLE. The selfishness in his heart and the hearts of those around him has them all blinded to the grave injustice that has been meted out to their brethren and their responsibility for it. They are experiencing spiritual warfare and losing the battle by allowing selfishness to win over their passion.

The selfishness of our leaders is a Goliath of unimaginable proportions. Can this Goliath be slayed? Where is David and his catapult? Is anything really possible with God? I am praying that God will show me that even this is possible.

Chapter 75

Mind Boggling
By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta

Chapter 75

The first unimaginable thing I decided to do was to vote for the Luo presidential candidate instead of the Kikuyu one in this year’s general elections. The reason such an action is unimaginable can only be understood by a Kikuyu. Among the Kikuyu there is a saying that ‘you stick with your own’. According to the Kikuyu, your own means a Kikuyu. Other tribes are not your own unless you are fighting against another country. Even then, I think that if the Kikuyus were not under any threat, they would easily join the enemy in the hope that the other tribes would be obliterated and they could be left as the only tribe in Kenya.

Throughout Kenya, all Kikuyus were determined to vote and prevent the tragic occurrence of an uncircumcised jaluo, otherwise referred to by the derogatory term ‘kihee’ becoming their president. If as a Kikuyu you dared to support the Luo candidate, you were regarded a traitor. Through my interaction with my fellow Kikuyus, I came to realize that the Kikuyus believe themselves to be a superior tribe to other tribes in Kenya. They believe that they are an intelligent, enterprising, peace loving and civilized people while the other tribes, especially the Luos are a bunch of empty headed trouble makers who just happen to excel in academics on account of consuming too much fish.

The tribal slurs and superior talk when discussing politics in a gathering of Kikuyus left me in dismay. I am married to a Luo but as I understand it, my husband is an exception to the rule. Generally speaking, Luos cannot compare to Kikuyus in quality . Kikuyus are the majority tribe in Kenya and that in itself places them a notch above the rest. If you visit Kenya, you will realize that Central Province, a predominantly Kikuyu area, is a far much more developed area than the rest of Kenya. The reason for this was told to us on a television interview when a Luhya man representing the Kikuyu president’s interest in Western Province stated that while the Kikuyus were busy working hard, the rest of the tribes were busy idling around and making trouble. I could not believe that the person from whose mouth those words came was actually referring to himself as a busybody. The unequal development of parts of the country apparently has nothing to do with unequal distribution of government resources. It is the ability of the Kikuyus that has put them ahead of the rest.

Surprisingly, Kikuyus do not agree with the theory that white people are superior to black people and anyone advocating such a theory is a racist whose ideas are completely unacceptable in this day and age. The reason why countries ruled by white people are exceedingly more developed than those ruled by black people is definitely not that the white people are a more intelligent, enterprising, peace loving and civilized people than the blacks.

What do racists, tribalists and chauvinists have in common? It is a fear of becoming irrelevant. When a person decides to attack another based on his/her race, tribe or sex, it must be presumed that the attacker is superior to the attacked therefore the attacker has a God given right to dominate the attacked. The Kikuyu are superior to all other tribes in Kenya and therefore they have a God given right to dominate the other tribes and retain leadership exclusively within their community. Never again will power be allowed to leave the hands of the Kikuyu.

Kenya has no policy of segregation. Kikuyus live in close proximity with all other tribes. They share the same roads, the same supermarkets, the same fuel stations, the same restaurants, the same schools; there are no special privileges derived from the fact that our president is a Kikuyu. However, only a Kikuyu can associate himself or herself with the president. The fact that our president is a Kikuyu is an achievement for any Kikuyu comparing himself/herself with someone from a different tribe. For instance, if a Kikuyu meets a person from another tribe who has done reasonably well, bought a house, drives a nice car, is happily married with beautiful children and the Kikuyu feels envious of that person, the fact that the president is a Kikuyu will serve to diminish all the personal achievements of that person and relegate him to an inferior position to the Kikuyu. The reason for this is that the ability to lead a country is not something anyone from any other tribe can claim to possess. As it is, the Kalenjin president proved this point without a shadow of a doubt. If there have been any failures by the Kikuyu presidents, those failures are inevitable as can be seen all over the world and it is not the president who should be blamed for them. It is the people around him and those who he has employed in his cabinet.

The fear of becoming irrelevant feeds on an inability to deal with personal insecurities. If the personal insecurities were themselves addressed, the need to dominate and thus gain relevance would not arise. The inability to deal with personal insecurities does not allow a reasoned assessment of the respective positions of individuals. A male chauvinist believes that he is superior to a woman regardless of the woman’s achievements. A racist believes that s/he is superior to a person of another race regardless of that person’s achievements. A tribalist believes that s/he is superior to a person of another tribe regardless of that person’s achievements.

The inability to respond sensibly to a leadership challenge by a person from another tribe is plaguing the leadership of our country. From the campaign strategy adopted to the exposure to allegations of vote rigging, it is clear that no reasoned assessment of the challenge made against our leadership has ever been made. The assessment has been driven by and based solely on the belief that the Kikuyu are superior to the Luo and a Luo cannot be possessed of the ability to unseat a Kikuyu president. The irony of all this is that going back 5 years ago to the time the Kikuyu president came to power, it is clear that were it not for the Luo challenger, the Kikuyu president would never have been able to defeat the incumbent’s choice.

Today is the third day since we voted. Results of the elections have been trickling in through official channels but have been unofficially released by the press and media. As far as civic and parliamentary elections are concerned, the two sources of information are at par. However, the presidential votes are differing seriously and civil unrest is beginning to show its ugly head in many parts of the country. Resentment against the Kikuyu has been aroused among other tribes and there is no telling what will happen once the Kikuyu president is declared winner of the elections.

If you ask me, I would say that it is IMPOSSIBLE to convince the Kikuyu that a Luo can rule Kenya and bring desirable change which will benefit even the Kikuyu. The tribalism of the Kikuyu is a Goliath of unimaginable proportions.

I voted in Kiambu. A Kikuyu area. While standing in line to vote, I experienced a feeling of deep sadness as I listened to the tribal remarks being made against my candidate. Daring to say anything in his defence would have been a fatal action. I associated the feeling I got to what my dad must have felt when he got onto a golf course to play at a time when golf was exclusively a white man’s game during colonial times. The effect of racism and tribalism on an individual is the same.

Can the Goliath be slayed? Is anything really possible with God? I am praying that God will show me that even this is possible.

Chapter 74

Mind Boggling
By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta

Chapter 74

My relationship with the Christian God was faltering. I asked myself why it is that no-one I know thinks like me and I thought that perhaps I am in the wrong religion. Perhaps I belong in scientology where life is analyzed scientifically. Scientologists would probably be more willing to understand my theory of spiritual identities than Christians.

If God is Love, why can’t the devil be selfishness? If God is Love and I am created in His image, why can’t I be Hope? Only a Christian can explain the difference in these concepts, if there is any.

I have been examining my relationship with God and wondering whether it is a good relationship or a bad one. How do you tell if you are in a good or bad relationship?

I was fearing that I was about to break up with God for the second time. My fear was derived from the fact that a relationship which results in people breaking up and getting back together again repeatedly cannot be a good one. Before deciding whether or not to break up with the Christian God, I had to find out whether my relationship with Him was good or bad because I knew that whatever I decided would affect my life in a serious way.

I decided to examine the relationships I have with people in my life which I consider to be good relationships. Of course my relationship with my husband was one of them but the fact of chemistry and attraction made that relationship unsuitable for a proper comparison with the one I have with God. After racking my brain for a while, I found just the right relationship to examine.

I have a partner in my law firm. He is a Kenyan of Indian origin and runs his own law firm in a different city. I hooked up with my partner about the same time as I hooked up with my husband. We started our partnership in July and I got married in August of the same year. I am not a racist or a tribalist. I love a variety of people in my life. I am a Kikuyu married to a Luo and partnering with an Indian-Kenyan. I believe that variety is the spice of life.

The relationship I have had with my partner has undoubtedly been a good one but I have never stopped to wonder why it has been good. I looked at the good things about our relationship and realized that distance helps us give each other space so that our levels of responsibility in the firm vary significantly. Just like my relationship with God. I am the one here in this life doing all the living while God is at a distance allowing me the freedom to think but giving me the assurance that I can call on Him. My partner is there when I need him otherwise he is busy doing his own things. The fact that we were not intending to work in the same office was a big plus towards us deciding to become partners. It was a partnership of convenience. Coincidentally, he was looking to open an office in Nairobi at about the same time I had had enough of employment. Our needs converged and we seemed to agree on what it was that we wanted. Another coincidence in our lives is that my partner and my daughter were both born on a Monday 30th October in the morning albeit several decades apart in years.

I can confidently say that my relationship with my partner has improved both our lives immensely. Everything has just seemed to fall into place with us both accepting our roles as if we were born to play them and our expectations have been greatly exceeded.
Am quite certain that any astrologer would confirm that the year 2003 when I got married and partnered up was a lucky relationship year for me.

My relationship with my partner has confirmed to me that the essence of a good relationship is maturity. A relationship in which you are able to deal with conflicts and disagreements in a mature manner and which leaves you feeling more grown up than before you entered into it is undoubtedly a good relationship. A bad relationship is one in which you are unable to resolve a conflict or disagreement in a mature manner and which leaves you feeling vengeful and bitter.

Is my relationship with God a good one or a bad one? Do I feel more mature now than I did when I entered into my relationship with God? Unfortunately for me, the answer is an obvious yes. I definitely feel more mature in a spiritual sense and I would not want to let go of that maturity. Starting afresh is not an attractive option but running away from the relationship in order to satisfy my doubts and seemingly free myself from the burden of trying to understand who I am and where my life is headed is an appealing option.

I am tired of thinking about my life. I wish I could just go back to being a floater. I now know the true meaning of the saying that ‘ignorance is bliss’. Knowing God is absolutely not the work of an ignorant person as philosophy would have us believe. Unlike any other type of knowledge, the knowledge of God tests the human mind to its limits and beyond.

I have now reached a stage on my journey where I have realized that I must let go of conventional thinking and let my imagination take me as far into the spiritual world of imagination as I dare to go. With my Bible in my hand and God leading the way, I guess I will succeed.

Conquering your doubts at this level of enlightenment is no easy task. I must keep reminding myself that death is inevitable and my final goal is to get to Heaven. A goal that I have set my mind clearly on.

Christians are always saying that with God ANYTHING is possible. So I have decided to let myself go for the unimaginable and let God show me how possible anything really is with Him.