Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Though the court of appeal slammed the brakes on ‘BBI reggae’, today my article will be inspired by the evergreen reggae lyrics composed by the award-winning Jamaican band, Morgan Heritage- Nothing to smile about. It’s a cry for social justice.
Watching and listening to what is happening in our Kenyan society, there is nothing to smile about. Whether it is police brutality, the ongoing devastating drought affecting lives and livelihoods, domestic violence, loss of income due to the ongoing pandemic, murder, suicide…the list goes on. We are a frustrated lot. Though we are a capitalistic society, unless we embrace social justice, the cohesion of our country will be threatened.
There is nothing to smile about in a country where your name determines whether you get a job. A country that demolishes people’s homes in the middle of the night despite having the requisite ownership documents from the government. A country where being young is a serious crime that can make the police clobber you to death.
Where poverty denies you the chance to enjoy basic rights inalienable to all humans. In fact, being poor is a crime in Kenya. Your rights will be trampled upon and you won’t access justice or quality healthcare. When you die, you will be subjected to posthumous shame since even the church will be reluctant to bury you as you did not tithe generously while you were alive.
The panacea to these issues lies in changing our national psyche, ethos and political culture. We have given politics and politicians too much prominence at the expense of other issues of national interest. It is the elevation of politicians to demi-god status that gives them the leeway to break the law and get away with it.
That is why as ordinary Kenyans are being killed by police for allegedly violating curfew rules, the politicians are still holding super-spreader events because they are not mere mortals like the rest of us. It is the same politicians who give the police political cover thus handing them a carte blanche to kill as they wish. Yet instead of calling them out we sing hosanna and genuflect to them.
We must, as a people take charge of how we want to be governed by actively participating in law-making and electoral processes. Our constitution gives prominence to public participation in all legislative businesses, including budget-making. But how many Kenyans turn out in such fora? It is only after the law has been assented that we flock to social media to express outrage at the lawmakers.
To protect the vulnerable in society, the government ought to integrate human security approach in its policies. This will ensure citizens enjoy freedom from indignity, want and fear. Though the government has come up with various social protection measures to cushion the poor and the elderly, more needs to be done in terms of economic empowerment and sustainable development.
Even as we embark on massive infrastructural projects, we must be cognisant of environmental conservation. There can be no social justice without giving prominence to the environment. For people to access clean water, unpolluted air and green spaces, there needs to be a concerted effort to save the environment.
The erratic weather patterns today have been caused by reckless human activities on the environment. The consequences will be dire in terms of food insecurity and communal conflicts as pastoralists search for pasture and water for their animals.
Laikipia is already having clashes between herders and ranch owners. Additionally, the rising lakes in the Rift Valley that have displaced thousands of people is a result of climate change effects. Unless the environment is protected, a large swathe of the population will continue being marginalised.
Finally, for social justice to prevail, we as citizens should change our political culture. We must stop being mere observers in the governance process. As Martin Luther King Jr stated: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
As things stand, the minority communities will continue being politically marginalised if elections continue to be determined by identity politics. More innocent Kenyans will continue to die in the hands of police, access to justice and quality healthcare will continue being a privilege for the wealthy and national cohesion will continue being a mirage.
For a just, equal, dignified and cohesive society, let us embrace social justice.
Operations manager, Pride of East Africa Ltd and political analyst