Writing in a local daily immediately after the post-elections violence that had engulfed the nation, a renowned political scientist argued that the National Accord had come a bit too early. When I read the article I was a little bit apprehensive; I could not understand how one would advocate for the violence to go on even for a minute longer. Fast forward two years to the current ICC debacle as well as the games being played out in parliament and I could be more in agreement with the author. For a country like Rwanda, they learnt their lesson the hard way. Hundreds of thousands of innocent lives were lost before they came to the realization of what was happening to them. As country we are lucky to have come out united, but we are very fast at forgetting the price we had to pay for our mistakes. The blood of the innocent men, women and children who lost their lives in a battle that did not deserve to be fought should not be in vain. We should honor their memories by uniting; by shunning negative ethnicity; by engaging in activities to foster peace and unity amongst our communities.
We have already forgotten of the darkness that had engulfed our beloved country for close to four months as we all fought to stake our claim on an election we will never truly know who was the actual winner. It is however without doubt that the common mwanainchi was the biggest loser. We are still a nation that worships our leaders rather than demand for accountability and good governance from them. Every time one of “our own” is mention in one saga or another we bring out the race card. Our leaders have used this card perfectly to their benefit; they will always run back to hide behind their communities whenever they are faced with problems. The political arena has also becoming a ground for witch-hunting; where one to gets back at their enemies; where political favours are paid back in kind through plum positions and awarding of lucrative contracts. Whenever there are positions to fill in the government, rather than fill-out those positions with competent individuals, our leaders are out to reward their cronies and political supporters. As the politicians play out their games; as they build alliances for the next general elections, the problems that led as to the tribulations of 2007 are relegated to the back of their minds but deep within, disillusionment and resentment continues to build in those that lost their property and loved ones. It is a pity that close to three years after the skirmishes, innocent women and children are still living in IDP camps without any hopes of justice being delivered to them. In the meantime, our leaders continue to haggle on whether to have a local tribunal or to go the ICC way. The search for justice has been reduced to a contest of wits among politicians. The slow process of the ICC has made people lose credibility in it even as impunity continues to take root in our society.It is upon us ordinary citizens to ensure that we do not end up in the same situation that we were in during the last election. We should shun negative ethnicity even as we pride ourselves in our cultures and diversity. We should refuse to be drawn into the supremacy battles of our politicians. We should work together to ensure that we detach ourselves from the shackles of poverty. And above all we should be vigilant so as to ensure that our newly acquired constitution is implemented to the letter. For this constitution is nothing but another document if it is not fully effected. We should also choose our leaders carefully and use the provisions of the constitution to send home those who do not effectively serve us. This is the only weapon we have to fight impunity from our leadership.
We have already forgotten of the darkness that had engulfed our beloved country for close to four months as we all fought to stake our claim on an election we will never truly know who was the actual winner. It is however without doubt that the common mwanainchi was the biggest loser. We are still a nation that worships our leaders rather than demand for accountability and good governance from them. Every time one of “our own” is mention in one saga or another we bring out the race card. Our leaders have used this card perfectly to their benefit; they will always run back to hide behind their communities whenever they are faced with problems. The political arena has also becoming a ground for witch-hunting; where one to gets back at their enemies; where political favours are paid back in kind through plum positions and awarding of lucrative contracts. Whenever there are positions to fill in the government, rather than fill-out those positions with competent individuals, our leaders are out to reward their cronies and political supporters. As the politicians play out their games; as they build alliances for the next general elections, the problems that led as to the tribulations of 2007 are relegated to the back of their minds but deep within, disillusionment and resentment continues to build in those that lost their property and loved ones. It is a pity that close to three years after the skirmishes, innocent women and children are still living in IDP camps without any hopes of justice being delivered to them. In the meantime, our leaders continue to haggle on whether to have a local tribunal or to go the ICC way. The search for justice has been reduced to a contest of wits among politicians. The slow process of the ICC has made people lose credibility in it even as impunity continues to take root in our society.It is upon us ordinary citizens to ensure that we do not end up in the same situation that we were in during the last election. We should shun negative ethnicity even as we pride ourselves in our cultures and diversity. We should refuse to be drawn into the supremacy battles of our politicians. We should work together to ensure that we detach ourselves from the shackles of poverty. And above all we should be vigilant so as to ensure that our newly acquired constitution is implemented to the letter. For this constitution is nothing but another document if it is not fully effected. We should also choose our leaders carefully and use the provisions of the constitution to send home those who do not effectively serve us. This is the only weapon we have to fight impunity from our leadership.
Our former president left us with one saying that we should bear in mind at all times – “siasa mbaya, maisha mbaya”. Let us engage in politics that will foster unity. Let us build a nation where no one looks down on another. Let us build a nation where culture and diversity is a source of pride; a nation where everyone has equal opportunities and resources are equitably distributed; a nation that caters for its youth and the elderly in equal measure; a nation where gender is not a hindrance to ascension to leadership. This is the Kenya we should all envisage.
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