• This current political turmoil has nothing to do with the current state of affairs.
• It's just a power struggle between two camps serving their own self-centred interests
Image: PIXABAY
Wrecked roads. Looted businesses. Injuries and death.
These are the consequences of the ongoing demonstrations in our country, because they are the only visible outcome of the so-called fight against impunity. Which begs the question: What are we really fighting for?
Is it fuel prices? If so, then the northern hemisphere has it worse as they have to pay for fuel and gas to heat up their homes to survive harsh winters.
Is it the high cost of living? Last I checked, inflation was at an all-time high everywhere in the world, with some countries even hitting record high numbers.
Don't get me wrong. Our problems are real and debilitating, but does the answer lie on the surface of a rock? Will our high cost of living end when we loot honest businesses? If that was the answer, those who looted supermarkets and factories in South Africa would be living like kings today. Ask the Sri Lankans if occupying the presidential palace made their lives better…
When the time comes for Kenyans to make a stand, we will come out in numbers to achieve our united goal. However, what we won't do is march in the streets for somebody else’s agenda.
It has become a tedious activity to keep telling Kenyans not to engage in these destructive ways. The only resulting outcome of demonstrating is setting the country back a few steps. Getting rowdy in the streets serves no purpose in achieving the agenda of the day. We have a lot more to lose when we riot. So much so that the agenda is forgotten in the chaos of police brutality and vandalism.
It’s unfortunate that the lines of division drawn by the coloniser almost a century ago are still alive today. The hatred spewed from one Kenyan to the next is rooted in the ancient philosophy of divide and concur. It’s numbing to discover that the hostility our forefathers held towards members of different tribes is still alive in the younger generations. Generations whose parents intermarried freely still hold grudges that are older than our history. And for as long as this continues, then our country will keep playing in a loop of the same events.
Everybody and their pets know that this current political turmoil has nothing to do with the current state of affairs. This is just a power struggle between two camps that serve their own self-centred interests. We might not even know the real reason why there is infighting between these opposing teams, but one thing we know for certain is that it has nothing to do with the well-being of Kenyans.
This is simply a game of chess between two frenemies who move the pieces about the chessboard to satisfy their own agendas. Why, then, should we consent to being a pawn in somebody else's game?