4 reasons why we may never see an end to tragic disasters in Kenya

Disasters and tragedies are not new to Kenyans, from plane crashes, to collapsed buildings; raging fires to drowning ferries; car accidents to floods. Calamities are bound to happen either from human error or as a result of natural causes. In some places, they offer an opportunity for development while in others they are simply ignored.

Unfortunately, in our case, they are not taken seriously. It is for that reason am convinced that human-caused tragedies are not about to end anytime soon. You may wonder why am assuming the role of a prophet of doom. George Orwell, a famous author once said- “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” We have intentionally refused to draw lessons from our historical tragedies. Partly because of selective amnesia to our history, and the un-decisiveness within our leadership ranks to confront our weaknesses. Why am I convinced so:

The President is too soft a commander-in-chief

Traditions demand that Kenyans congregate in designated stadia on national holidays, for the commemoration of national events. The 53rd Jamhuri Day celebrations were not different to warrant a break from that tradition. In the capital, the Independence Day celebration saw people gather at the Nyayo Stadium for the event which also included a speech from the president. Similar events in the past have been used by sitting presidents to outline government achievements and to comment on matters of national importance.

The Naivasha-Nairobi highway tragedy that claimed 39 lives; as anticipated did not miss out on the president’s talking points. A notable omission in the speech though was the president’s inability to order or swing into action as a commander-in-chief.

Anyone who has lived in Europe or in any developed country would agree with me that loss of human life is usually taken with utmost seriousness. In 2014, South Korea’s premier Chung Hong-won stepped down after a ferry disaster claimed 300 lives. His government was accused of “deep-rooted evils”. The following year, 2015, Romania Prime Minister Victor Ponta resigned following a nightclub fire that claimed 32 lives. His government was accused of “corruption and poor safety supervision”. The more recent Iranian train collision accident that claimed 49 lives, led to the resignation of Mohsen Pouseyed Aghaei as the head of Iranian Railways. In our case, it is business as usual even when lives are lost.

A decisive leader should promote ‘moral resignation’ or instill fear for evil, mistakes that terminate lives. Even in a movie script, a commander would act swiftly to send warning shots. By now we would expect grounds to shake from the thunder vibrating from the country’s central command. Cracks would form as a result and grounds open voluntarily in readiness to swallow and bury anyone who neglected their duties and resulted in the deaths. Maybe I am too optimistic on some issues. Don't blame me; it's the hangover of the 24 years of ‘Nyayo’ rule. If it was then a major announcement would be broadcast on the national radio 1 o'clock news- sacking all the directors of the Kenya National Highway Authority.

Hate him or like him, somethings even a 2 year would have guessed right about Moi’s reaction to Naivasha accident.

Let's come from dreamland. At Nyayo Stadium the unthinkable happened. The president was pleading with KNHA to admit blame for Naivasha and other accidents on the major highway. Admit then what?

Having a ‘soft’ commander-in-chief is by itself a disaster. The president should strike a whip on all the inefficient and reactive parastatals heads if we are to take him seriously. If you think I’m unfair to paint the president in a bad picture. Revisit the clip on the state house corruption forum, where he looked helpless on the graft war. We need strong leadership to overcome problems facing the country.

The president swore to protect lives of Kenyans and if someone is sabotaging that objective he should react as the appointing officer.

'It wasn’t me' syndrome

By the time Jamaican renown artist Shaggy (Orville Richard) visited Kenya for the first time in 2001. His song ‘It wasn’t me’ was a household name and a popular rhyme among many teens in the country. The effect of the song may have built ‘bad habits’ for others, particularly the political class. You remember a cabinet minister in 2001 who was arraigned in court over the then Kenya Post and Telecommunication Corporation $2 million corruption case? He simply said ‘It wasn’t me’ and the court had to drop off all charges against him. The denying and lying culture are deep and engraved in our society. In Fact, it appears as though lies and dishonesty is crowned and rewarded.

Deny, deny, deny, even when there is a report of a commission and it's so obvious, deny. We live in a country where reports from national inquiries continue to gather dust and are yet to be implemented. It beats logic why commissions are formed in the first place. Wagalla massacre, Ndungu report on illegal land acquisitions, Robert Ouko and other murder cases are just a few I can mention. Suspects grossly mentioned continue living normal lives unshaken. Prosecution processes take the ponderous pace and within weeks the stories fade from the newspaper headlines and public radar.

That Culture of dishonesty percolates to the grassroots from the top. Accountable systems of governance embrace ‘moral resignation’ as a form of remorse and accountability. We experience in Kenya bizarre events and activities that can pass for ‘only in Kenya’ brand (if anyone cares for a start-up). Even under oath the culture has been deny, deny, deny. Any right thinking Kenyan should be worried about the precedence being set.

No one gets punished

After the 2007/2008 post-election violence, we all know to the fact that deaths occurred. Not from natural causes but from cold blooded murders. Betrayed by their confession and political ideology; many lost their lives. The collapse of the cases against the famous ‘Ocampo six’ hammered the last nail into the coffin of justice for victims. Today no one seems to care or talk about the 1,300 lives forced into their tomb before their time.

The cyclic pattern of hate speech is awake, alive and kicking in social media repeating the same mistake committed in 2007/2008. This tells volumes on what befalls us. Are you surprised of the frequent building collapse? Are you surprised about the scandals that mushroom every day like weeds in a neglected field? Are you surprised?

I no longer find myself in a stupefied state. Partly because we have wished it for ourselves. We continue to invite challenges not because we are ‘cursed’ but because we lack harsh punishment to act as a deterrent to others.

Normalization of evil and lack of interest in human lives

Kenyans are known to unite in times of grief and forget as soon as the grass begins to grow on the graves of those they mourned their loss. Our national memory is failing us. We have experienced multitudinous calamities and learnt nothing in return to prevent a repeat. We have floods year in year out interchanging with drought for many years, 1972 to be precise. The best we do is to gang-up and donate under Kenyans for Kenya banners; we have become reactive than preventive. Rhetoric peddled at funerals under the pretense to resolve issues is an insult to humanity. Do we really value human life?

Stand up to be counted

Something is seriously wrong. It is time for courageous men and women to take leadership and change things for better. Our society is at a stand still, we have no progress. We need a leader with qualities of Cyrus the Great the founder of Achaemenid Empire to unite the 42 tribes to tolerate the differences and diversity. We need a leader like Julius Caesar to learn how to win the war against corruption not just ones but frequently. We need a leader who can live the experience, learn the lessons affecting Kenya; make a decisive decision, based on the understanding of the realities and the big picture.

We need right thinking Kenyans to stand up and be that change we need.