Let us review Kenya’s social contract now

President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing a crowd outside Pumwani Social Hall after meeting with Boda Boda operators. [PHOTO: Wilberforce Okwiri]

Since independence, those that took custody of governing over our land also took up the ways of the colonialist. They misinterpreted the meaning of the newly gained governing power and what it meant to be in power. They forgot that they were to be custodians of this power for the people and not the owners of it.

Instead, they ended up owning up to the ways of the colonialists and taking power for their benefit. Our newly independent nation was built on the back of deceit, greed, manipulation, false ownership, bitterness and betrayal.

These qualities held in disregard, the sacrifices our ancestors made, the blood they shed, the lives and limbs they lost in fighting for independence. The indomitable spirit and will to reinstate freedom and power to self-govern were washed down the drain.

The new governors betrayed their own people because while the people were fighting to end colonial rule, those that took over, were fighting to fit into the colonial system. Having achieved this, they became the new rulers since then and they continue to hold that position today.

The self-aggrandisement of this lot is jaw-dropping. From how they have treated us to looting sprees over the years to their continuous canvassing through the system to solidify their power grab. They spare no chances to bend, break and manipulate laws and procedures to suit them.

In their governance, audience was and still is given to people with honeyed tongues devoted to spewing poison to whoever accords them attention.

Love and unity

Scornfully, they have asserted themselves as our leaders and over the years, we have unfortunately bought into their narratives and made homes in their stories.

Instead of upholding the sense of community that existed and build our nation along the lines of love and unity, they have chosen the path of divide and rule as power got into their heads.

Polarisation has ensued along the lines of ethnicity, gender and social status. Probably fuelled by our need to belong and the desire for connectedness. In this pursuit, we have along the way perfected the art of ‘othering’ each other. 

The conditioning that results from our hyper-individualised society has brought us into spaces of entitlement. As a result, the gap between our perceived need and what we actually experience continues to widen. Our collective conscience is numbed out, our humanity is suppressed.

This then makes it very easy to cause harm on each other because we no longer see the humanity in each other.

Social cohesion

In this zero-sum paradigm where the winner gets it all, we take things too personally and focus so hard on propagating our ways. For those with the upper hand, it becomes their way or the highway. Social cohesion is defined by the subjugation and subordination of those that we think are not in on our secrets.

Our socio-political and economic scene is a reflection of what and who we are as a collective. Politicians have mastered the art of capitalising on our defects. They know which buttons to press to seek audience with us because these are portals that run deep into our psyche as a people.

The institutionalised repression and cultural programming rob us of the chance to dance in and with our diversity. We fail to see beyond the filtered lenses of labels meant to divide rather than unite.

The social contract between the governed and the ones governing as it stands now no longer serves us well. There is need to subject it to review. We need to allocate room and space for the oppressed, the marginalised, the ‘othered’ to belong. Belonging calls for everyone to feel seen, acknowledged and appreciated.

It is not about convincing people to agree with each other but is more of acknowledging that a differing side comes to the table with similar and equal rights that are to be respected as a matter of principle.

It is time we emancipate ourselves from the captors. It is time we captured our reality and own it with the honesty we deserve.

We need to realise that misery enjoys company and so we need not register with these falling entities and their failures.

Ms Nyambura is the founder of Jitambue Initiative