A reader from Emanyulia has written to me in part, “Papa Barrack, I have read your Sunday article where you claim that Ruto’s move to impeach Gachagua will boomerang.”
He goes on to say, “I am your top fan. But you and I part on one thing. You are a thinker, just like Plato. Problem is that you always support a perfect society. A society that exists mainly in ‘your figment of imagination.’ A world that does not exist, especially (not) in Kenya. I once told your friend, PLO Lumumba, that he and you should have been born in the USA, not in Kenya. Kenya is Kenya.”
Then the clincher, “When it’s time for Gachagua to go, he must go. When Gachagua leaves, the next DP is Musalia Mudavadi, Omwana wa Hannah. So, Barrack, you can write as many acres of space... We don’t care. To us it’s who is next. And our next is Musalia Mudavadi.”
I have often flattered myself with the thought that I am a sophisticated literary critic in my own way. At the acme of my scholarly vainglory, I imagine that I could be a biblical exegete, and a logical and factual critic; an experimental philosopher of sorts.
At some point, I have even thought I could be a virtuoso in linguistics and, especially, in stylistics. Yet, for all that, I am unable to tell whether Peter Amunga is being cynical, or if he takes a genuine philosophical position on unfolding civics in our country. It is not clear if the biting cynicism is directed at Lumumba and me, or if the writer lampoons his country. I admit to a huge degree of romantic idealism.
I cherish the dream of an orderly, free, fair and just universe, in which the law is blind. Law and governance that applies equally, to everyone – regardless of birth, rank, age, race, creed, or any other divider. And where the idealist meets the experimental philosopher, I have meddled with politics and politicians, to my great disappointment.
Yet, I find solace in knowing I am not alone. Finer and greater minds have tangled with the political class, to later regret that they could have been so naïve. Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) and Mark Twain (1835–1910) were here.
The great Maxim Gorky (1868–1936) cavorted with the Bolsheviks, who took over Russia in 1917. His volume titled ‘Untimely Thoughts’ is a rendition of his disappointment with Lenin and the rest of the 1917 revolutionaries.
Untimely is not just a description of the Russian social and political landscape of the time, it is a scathing condemnation of governance in the post revolution times.
George Orwell (1903–1950) was a disillusioned socialist when he wrote his all-time classic, Animal Farm. This fable censures bad leadership in what is basically a socialist society. It marks Orwell’s own migration, so to speak, from being a “socialist” to a “democratic socialist,” whatever that may mean.
Yet, Orwell was not just focused on the failed ideals of the Russian Revolution. His own country, Britain, had descended into an oppressive class society. He would write that it had become like “a family with wrong members in control.”
Leadership in Kenya, and Africa at large, is the default definition of a family with wrong members in control. Our political leaderships are kakistocracies. This is to say we are led by the least competent, or suitable citizens. And ours in Kenya is not just a kakistocracy. It is also a kleptocracy.
That is to say a society governed by an acquisitive thieving class. Hence, we are a kleptocratic kakistocracy. This class morphs into a thieving plutocracy. That is to say government by wealthy individuals, whose wealth is the product of thieving. Other scholars have described such a government as a “thievocracy.”
Is it too much to ask for common decency in the ruling class? Must we migrate to America to have a taste of fairness and justice? Is astute ethical standing and empathy beyond us? Do we give up on justice and rule of law? Does an ugly mosaic of wickedness, greed and depravity cease to matter if the hyena at the top is from your family?
Africans often complain about the world treating them like the children of a lesser god. Yet, for Africa to hold her head high in the global comity, she has to hold herself accountable to universal high standards.
No, Peter, I am not going to America anytime soon. I missed that train. I will dream on. Where I stop, my protégés will take over.
-Dr Muluka is a strategic communications adviser. www.barrackmuluka.co.ke
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