Where does the Kenya family fit into the scheme of things?

By Judy Thongori

Dear Mr President and Deputy President;

I congratulate you on your first anniversary in your respective positions at the helm our beloved Kenya. I am happy to note that you still have the energy and exuberance that you had on the day you named the initial Cabinet Secretaries. On that day you depicted great resolve to take our country forward.

As you reflect on how far Kenya has come, I would like to give the highest score to your efforts to push devolution forward.

I am enthused about devolution because I believe that it is the only path to having people access a share of  the national wealth. You see if you think about it, your Excellencies, the smallest unit of your government is the Family. Our country is really just a cluster of families at the top of which is the national government followed by county governments then wards, village and finally the family. I like to qualify that family is not just by marriage; that family  includes the  family of one’s birth or adoption. To my mind, the true  measure of development is not the size of the economy but the extent to which the people of a country share in that country’s wealth and access basic services.

It is the same thing about governance and security, your Excellencies. You must have by now realised that you cannot guarantee security from the national services, alone. You need the smallest unit to be involved. The Nyumba  Kumi initiative was, therefore,  a way of devolution of security.In promoting the Nyumba Kumi initiative, I understood you to be saying the following to us;

•             Mind your neighbour and what he does; you were saying that the crime has to be addressed at the level where it is most felt.

•             That the  responsibility to secure this  country lies with us  and while we have delegated it to the Inspector General, we  retain the  greater  responsibility.

•             That your border police may miss illegal immigrants entering the country but that those  among whom they live cannot miss them. And that is the point, your Excellencies; the matters of this country are our business. You cannot take this country forward on your own but with our support and participation, we can.

Mr President, I watched you on TV on Tuesday night and heard you say that you like to sit at the veranda of your official residence with the Deputy President as you ponder matters of the nation.

I want to imagine that such sessions may sometimes   provide  a chance to  ventilate  your frustration on  issues of security;  voice your concern that some Kenyans can be so treacherous  to their country that they harbour and provide support to people who bomb their country. 

Permit me to suggest that part of the answer lies in the way we order this nation going forward. While we can impose authority from the top, we cannot impose order. Order is instinctive; it is a discipline from within. Those of our people who participate in the evil schemes think the country belongs to the leaders. They do not see it as belonging to them. They do not see that it is simply a cluster of families, including their families.

Your Excellencies, would you start your  second year in government by paying heed to Article 45 of the Constitution; that family is the fundamental unit of society and the basis of social order.

If families taught to their young ones how to protect the nation by securing it, how to take care of their nation by taking care of their neighbours and the environment, how their nation is the only thing they can pass on to their children; we would see a change. We would see young people understanding that the money they make will be worthless in a country where you cannot live where you please for fear of being robbed;  where you cannot drive the car you like for the state of roads;  where your wealth could easily end up in a rubble of stone and dust due to bombing;  where your security is constantly in jeopardy.

Your Excellencies, please continue with the devolution to the counties but as a conduit to reach  the families. You have state power and we have family power.  Invite us to meet you half way and this Nation will be such as you will be.