Hon Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta was NOT my prefered choice for the presidency. In fact my preferred candidate performed heart-breakingly dismally – and was clearly a non-winner even before the IEBC abandoned the digital tallying process. But today, I was still immensely proud and moved when he received his Certificate of Results from the Chairman of the IEBC Mr Isaack Hassan – and would have been just as proud if it was Rt Hon Raila Amolo Odinga receiving that certificate! I believe it should have been a proud moment for all Kenyans for its symbolic potency – the very first president elected under our new people-centred constitution, and after an election that in all likelihood reflected the sovereign will of the people. Sadly, the moment was diminished by the forthcoming legal challenge to the results, and our characteristic take-no-prisoners partisanship.
But even as I did not support Hon Kenyatta’s bid, I have made many social media posts over the last many months asserting that whether or not Hon Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta can contest and win the presidency is determined by his conscience, our applicable domestic laws and the duly registered voters, and AND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE! I have declared numerous times that neither Hon Kenyatta’s family lineage nor his ethnicity should in any way whatsoever determine this important question, because neither factor is provided for in law in as far as eligibility for the Presidency of the Republic of Kenya is concerned. As for that ICC thing, I have repeatedly said that if indeed there is evidence of his involvement, he should be subjected to thorough investigations, conscientious due process, and appropriate retribution if he is found guilty – but I have also declared that until and unless he is found guilty, his electoral eligibility is a matter of our laws, and that it would be a great injustice to bar him from contesting because that would nullify the presumption of innocence.
For these positions I have adopted, I have earned myself many ‘friends’ – many of whom I am sure genuinely agree with my views, and many more that I am equally sure are just devout adherents of the Cult of Uhuru! I have gladly welcomed both! These positions have also earned me many cherished ‘enemies’, some of whom have used on me terms as simple as ‘sell-out’ or as sophisticated as ‘Kikuyuphile’. These ‘enemies’ too I have welcomed! Of endless fascination to me, however, is the fact that quite often neither the ‘friends’ nor the ‘enemies’ presented any cogent arguments why they stood where they stood – beyond knowing where they stood!
During this time, a hate page was created on FaceBook, singularly dedicated to spreading the most vile lies and hateful drivel about Hon Kenyatta. I visited the page one day and studiously examined the ‘Likes’ – and every one of my friends that I found on that list I named and shamed right on their own timelines; asking them whether they truly subscribed to the gratuitous rubbish that was being spewed out of that page. They did not love me for my troubles! I also asked everybody I could to visit the page and report it so that it could be shut down, and indeed it was shut down; but was soon replaced by another that was just as unsanitary, and I started the campaign all over again! And I did exactly the same for a hate page dedicated to purveying the most foul content about Rt Hon Raila Odinga and his family!
‘Conventional wisdom’ and ‘common knowledge’, both of which I heartily detest – being cheap excuses for refusal to utilise one’s own intellect, provided that Hon Kenyatta could not possibly be elected to the presidency. The retarded opinion was that he was a Kikuyu, his father had been president and he was a ‘wanted criminal’ – and that the man was unelectable whichever way you looked at it, given all the baggage, and ‘garbage’, he was carrying! But in a process that in my insignificant layman’s long-distance opinion appeared to have been free, fair, transparent and credible, he emerged victorious! And that is worth celebrating; even for the most committed of his opponents’ supporters, if it is indeed Kenya that they love and not just the candidate that they supported!
This unelectable man skilfully corralled his base into a monolithic vote basket; deftly crafted alliances with other leaders and built a formidable campaign juggernaut that carried him many thousand votes beyond the 50% + 1-vote Constitutional thresh-hold! And that is in fact the main reason I celebrate President-elect Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta’s win – he resoundingly repudiated the myths of in-electability, the spurious supposition that just because your father was, you cannot be! He stood his ground, he insisted on his rights and he got the prize!
But am I a ‘sell-out’, a ‘Kikuyuphile’? Absolutely not! I am a citizen of the Republic of Kenya who takes seriously the constitutional guarantees of the right to conscience – which is essentially the right to personal sovereignty, within reasonable limits of course. In fact, I scourged the Uhuru Campaign with just as much fervour when I felt they needed it: for their blatant ethnic mobilisation and scare-mongering; for their unrelenting demonisation of the Rt Hon Raila Odinga; for their liberal use of misinformation and disinformation; and for their cynical diminution of the concept of sovereignty into a crude weapon for beating their opposition over the head.
And if indeed the forthcoming judicial battles affirm Hon Kenyatta’s victory, and he is duly sworn in as the next president, he will absolutely be MY President, deserving of all the respect and deference due to his office. But I will still do my civic duty and demand transparency and accountability from his government. I shall insist that he must be the president of the whole of Kenya, not just those regions that overwhelmingly voted for him – and that he must make it his absolute number one priority to pull the nation together. I shall insist that he must turn off the ‘campaign mode’ and ramp up the ‘statesman mode’, and use his new-found authority to force his surrogates and proxies do the same. We must all insist that he fulfil his campaign-trail promises and electoral platform. He made an excellent start with that inspiring victory speech – and I will insist that he uses his immense charisma, powerful voice and passionate delivery to inspire THE WHOLE NATION to greater cohesiveness and superior heights of achievement.
I must now address President-elect Kenyatta’s core supporters – I am very sorry, but he no longer belongs to you! WE elected him, and by ‘we’ I mean both those who voted for him and those who did not – because the election was OUR process! TNA and Jubilee are merely the racing colours he wore on his way to victory – and not the colours by which he will lead this nation. His fealty must no longer be to you, but to his Oath of Office and the Constitution and laws that he must implement and live and govern by. You must cut him loose from your restrictive parochial apron strings and let him free – HE NO LONGER BELONGS TO YOU! And if President Kenyatta chooses to be the president of only those that voted for him, he will destroy the nation, and destroy you with it – YOU MUST LET HIM GO to serve all the peoples of Kenya! Do not strut and crow and thump your chest with mighty roars, proclaiming victory in a race that is long over – because you stopped having any special claim to President-elect Kenyatta the moment he ceased being a candidate!
Finally, brethren and sistren, the Voice of the People is NOT the voice of God – it is just the Voice of the People! While at times, the voice of the people might reflect God’s will, the two voices are very distinct and often differ.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9
Whatever songs the popular praise-singing musicians sang, whatever the prophets (real and false) prophesied, whatever cryptic and esoteric messages were received from the world beyond, whichever mugumo tree fell dramatically and split into unique geometric shapes – President-elect Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta IS NOT some mysterious messianic figure sent to save Kenya at some dark hour of need, neither is he of a unique lineage drawn from a chosen people: he is simply a fellow citizen whom, by the exercise of our sovereign will, we have elevated into leadership over us! We must hold him to account, and we cannot do that when we raise him to the rarefied status of divinity. He must immediately smother the personality cult that some will want to build around him for their own purposes; and he must vapourise those emerging rivulets of sycophancy that began to trickle then flow in earnest at his victory ceremony. And he must do it IMMEDIATELY before they become a raging unstoppable torrent that will drown us all in a bottomless lake of sublime collective unquestioning stupidity.
FredOkono 
There is a great reflection Fred, As a kenyan…..their can’t be a better way to express our patriotism than the way you so adeptly have expressed it!
Brother Peter,
Thank you for your kind words. Indeed that is what I am pleading for – patriotism. If it is the country we love, and not just individual leaders, then we must indeed be ready to accept and firmly support whichever leader WE elect. THAT is a duty incumbent on everyone of us that carries the title Kenyan. And supporting our leader includes calling him or her to accountability and transparency and the general exercise of good governance.
Thank you for taking the time to read.
Fred
I like the article very much.I urge you strongly to change the title though. It is quite alarmist. I did vote for ‘Kamwana’ but solely because I knew of the Manifesto before it went public. The document is a gem and if implemented even partially, will transform Kenya rapidly. The belief and zeal He and Hon. Ruto have for it tiltted the odds in their favour. The Hon. Raila is an enigma in himself. His kids did not have a father, nor his wife a husband as he sacrificed these for the country he loves. I respect him for that and sympathise. But he commands the trust of Kenya and that is huge. The President elect, if clever, will rope him in for the sake of the nation.
Kenyanese,
I very deliberately chose that overtly provocative ‘in-your-face’ title for the very purpose of causing alarm and hopefully getting as many people as possible to read the piece and meditate on the issues I raise! I knew the title would call to battle the Kikuyu chauvinists, catch the attention of the anti-Kikuyu ethnophobes and also provoke patriots such as yourself that abhor the xenophobia that is slowly damaging our country.
I agree with you that it would be great for the country if Hon Uhuru Kenyatta and the Rt Hon Raila Odinga would make a deliberate mutual effort to pull the country together and firmly remind us that WE ARE ALL KENYANS. In all probability, Hon Kenyatta is our next president, and history will show that Rt Hon Raila Odinga was one of our great leaders; this country cannot afford the price of perpetual hostility between the two of them.
Thank you very much indeed for reading and sharing.
Fred
Fred this ideas of debates based on facts and logic are what this country needs. Regretfully most of what we pen on social media and other avenues of dissemination is filled with the ideals of sycophancy. When we can find it within us to “call a spade a spade” only then will we have matured.
Bettie,
It is my ardent prayer that indeed in the not too distant future, our people shall learn to talk to each other with honesty and passion – but also with courtesy and empathy. When we get to that point, those conversations will drive our country to great heights of growth and development in all sectors.
Fred
dude you oughta start writing for a daily, this here was much better than contemplating Mutahi Ngunyi’s tyranny of numbers or even Prof. Makau Mutua’s bottomless pot of ethnic vitriol. Mervyn Samuel Kinuthia File No. 11764
Brother Kinuthia,
You flatter me greatly – well beyond my limited ability! My aspiration is to talk to my fellow citizens if and whenever I can, and only when I am led to feel I have something of value to share. I am not sure I can sustain the the demands, pressure and editorial correctness of a regular column in a regular publication.
Thank you for reading, and for those very kind sentiments.
Fred
Make no mistake about it, the voice of the people IS the voice of God. Specifically because he was “unelectable” read Daniel 4: 17:
“In order that the living may know
That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
Gives it to whomever He will,
And sets over it the lowest of men.”
Reggie,
Thank you for taking time to read and express your opinion. I absolutely do not claim exceptional knowledge of the Scripture or the mind of the Almighty. I have been and probably will always be just a humble seeker. But on this one, I do not agree with you.
The essence of my message is that we should not vainly, and possibly for ulterior motives, elevate the Hon Uhuru Kenyatta, or any other leader for that matter, to the level of a deity. To do so, would be a great injustice to both ourselves and to him.
Fred
Wonderful piece. I love it. However be careful to contextualize the scripture that you quote. That portion of scripture was to a wicked Israelite community. The voice of a righteous people is the voice of God. The question is only on whether we would consider ourselves righteous.
Nash,
THANK YOU! You have indeed hit the nail smack on the head! It is only when we are righteous and blameless, when we are not motivated by selfish and other evil motives, when we bear no hate or envy towards our fellow man, that we can truly claim to speak with the voice of God. My country and its citizens, I am afraid, may not meet the criteria for righteousness.
Thank you for reading, and for that valuable incite.
Fred
I love your creative writing.
Anthony,
Thank you – both for reading and for loving!
Fred
The electoral commission has and will never be independent. We know who controls them!
KENYA is not a democracy, whoever has support of the largest tribes is assured of winning the election.
GOD Bless and Protect RAO, the “People’s President” who some people have sworn will never be President
N,
When an objective history of our nation is written, it will record that The Rt Honourable Raila Amolo Odinga was one of our greatest leaders. No person thinking objectively, untainted by ethnic and partisan biases, can dispute that. The purpose of my piece above is not to denigrate or diminish Rt Hon Odinga – and that is why I also wrote this other piece at ‘A national hero, despite you…’ at http://bit.ly/Y2hI5y. Please read it also.
The essence of the piece above is to acknowledge that as things stand now, Hon Uhuru Kenya is the President-Elect, and in as much as the Supreme Court may nullify his election, there is also the very real possibility that it may confirm it. I am hence making the plea to those Kenyans that voted for Rt Hon Raila Odinga to support Hon Kenyatta, should he be confirmed as legitimately elected; and pleading with those that voted for Hon Kenyatta to realise that he no longer belongs exclusively to them. Most importantly, I am urging Hon Kenyatta to KNOW that he would be the President of ALL Kenya, not just those that voted for him, and act accordingly. If it is the Rt Hon Raila Odinga who had won this election, my message to him as a citizen would have been exactly the same.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Fred
Thanks for your comments Mwalimu. But people ain’t seeing the resentment below all the silence. There is a feeling of despise towards our so called “Elect” President: I summarise below the mood of people I have had various discussions with:-
“Am sure the Supreme Court has a history defining decision to make that will mould future elections and also define democracy and end IMPUNITY in KENYA.. I support CORD and am sure the election was rigged.However, I was reading the constitution and it is stipulated that the Supreme Court’s decision is based on the good of the country. If the Supreme Court rules that the election was rigged hence Uhuru Kenyatta should not be in office, I forsee serious irrepairable hatred towards the Kikuyu and the view people have of them as being “thieves” and people who do anything to succeed sticking with them forever.There might even be attacks on them as they will all be labelled “THIEVES” though it will be only the few Mt. Kenya and Kiambu Mafia who are responsible for the rigging. On your point of tribalism having escalated, I think this is true, after the results announcement, the country was in shock but the KIKUYU could be seen gloating about their victory. There is pented anger and resentment which I fear might explode any time when circumstances arise.
For this very reason, though CORD has over-bearing incriminating evidence and even though the Rule of Law has to prevail, I don’t see the Supreme Court voting in their favour even though am confident on the courts impartiality.
However, though we can lie to all ,men, there is one Man we cannot lie to i.e. GOD. You can enjoy the privileged position you bought/ stole but God doesn’t sleep. He judges and punishes all evil people accordingly.
GOD BLESS & PROTECT KENYA”
let me be honest here and say that cord did not stand a chance in this election..why??looking at their campaigns the jubilee guys commonly known as UhuRuto wa clearly trying their best to empower the youth and women as a whole by encompassing people like Mike Sonko and Charity Ngilu who has fought for the rights of the youth since 1992 and Shebesh who has overthrown Martha Karua in the title of ‘Iron Lady’..to be honest Jubilee nationwide only had 2 politicians UhuRuto while all the others are simply Activists and Members of the dotcom era whom the youth can relate to…CORD on the other hand is called Railonzo..surely..they shouldnt have tried to fit in..Kidero couldnt have used Raila’s name in campaigning for the Nairobi seat since Nairobi is very dynamic and follows the trend..Raila based his campaign on Land that was just to console himself since his CORD campaign team had collapsed…they stooped low when they convinced Sang to join their campaign team which was a sign of defeat..
Let us wait for the Supreme Court’s ruling. This was a stolen election.There is no way Jubilee could have won fairly.The only evidence you have is just look at how many people celebrated Uhuru’s win last Saturday.Only Central Province; there was no jubilation is the other 7 1/2 provinces.Something was really wrong. GOD BLESS & PROTECT KENYA.
I am not a big fan of political debates but this lie that only the kikuyu”celebrated” should be put to a stop. It is in fact a continuation of the propaganda nonsense that only 2(sic!) tribes voted for Uhuruto. Somebody please remind me of Corsds strongholds.
I was in Meru where people were hooting and dancing when Uhuru was announced as president,are Merus not Kenyans?
Lets wipe off the simplistic tribal views we are all known for and look at issues objectively..Jubilee strong holds….Rift Valley, Central, Upper Eastern,N.E.
Cord strongholds….Luo Nyanza, a part of western Kambaland, and coast.
The rest were generally split one way or another so spare us the 2 tribe presidency as propagated by simplistic tribe leaning analysts.
Dear Kithinji,
I am not quite sure how to say to your comment – hence my delay in responding, as I contemplated an answer. I am at a loss as to whether the remarks you make are with reference to my piece or some other writings “by simplistic tribe leaning analysts”, to quote from your comment. I make no claims to being an analyst of any shade whatsoever, I am just a citizen that loves my country and takes seriously both my civic rights and my civic duties.
I have not in any way in this article implied that Hon Kenyatta and Hon Ruto were elected by only two tribes, and quite honestly it is of no relevance to me what the strong-holds of the two main candidates were! For me the two important things are: that the president must be and must be seen to be the president of Kenya, not the president of those that elected them; and that whoever we may each have supported in the elections, we must now support whoever the electoral process determines is the legitimately elected President of the Republic of Kenya.
The campaign season, as it often does in many democracies, has divided the nation – and it must be the incoming president’s absolute number one priority to erase that divide; as it is the duty of every citizen to support him in doing so. That is the gist of my piece – and it is my hope that acknowledging that divide, and proposing that it must be sealed, does not qualify the piece as a ‘simplistic tribal-leaning analysis’.
Fred
furthermore the ICC cases made Uhuru look like Dedan Kimathi and his family name made it even worse showing that he was a freedom fighter…Raila shld have stepped up and supported the sovereignity of the country by stating that the west shld not involve themselves in kenyan elections..Raila’s silence on the issue made him look suspect..the jubilee youth empowerment campaign failed where many people still looked at each other from the tribes they reign from..if raila could have won it could have been extremely difficult for him to control the kalenjin and kikuyu youth …the solution is that the 49.3 % who didnt vote for JUBILEE should try and catch up in terms of being empowered..
Chris,
It was never the purpose of my piece to evaluate the relative merits and demerits of the two campaigns – that is for another day. The truth is that both, depending on each person’s biases and preferences, made great mistakes but also registered major achievements. Both campaigns liberally employed misinformation and disinformation, ethnic mobilisation, scaremongering and despicable personal attacks. Truth, basic good manners and common decency were all serious casualties in the political war between the two sides. NEITHER side can claim the moral high ground in the manner they conducted the campaigns.
The essence of my piece is that the campaigns are over and mutual respect and national cohesion MUST be restored if this country is to survive, thrive and prosper. Part of that process is accepting the fact that a winner was declared, and should the challenge to his election be dismissed by the courts, he will be OUR president – all those that voted for him as well as all those that did not vote for him. And he MUST rise up to the challenge of leading the WHOLE country accordingly.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and make such a detailed comment.
Fred
[…] With Fred Okono’s permission, I repost his article verbatim. This represents not only by sentiments but our thoughts as a nation and the new posture we must adopt. This is a prelude to my images of the President-Elect at Bomas and Catholic University of Eastern Africa. […]
Thank you for disseminating – much obliged.
Fred
It has taken me a while to get your full name to enable me search for any other article you have written. This is one of the most objective and balanced political commentary i have read this entire campaign and post-campaign period. Keep them coming bro. Btw I am not that blog savvy, can you save me the time and direct me to your past and future articles?
Dear Brother Marete,
Thank you so very much for your kind words. God willing, I propose to continue contributing to the national dialogue on the current state and future of our nation!
All my recent articles are in this blog https://fredokono.wordpress.com. Along the sidebar on the left, you will find quick links to all of them – including those that have been archived. You will also find a link on which you can click to follow my blog by email – you will receive notifications whenever I make a post. I am also on Twitter – @FredOkono and on FaceBook -http://www.facebook.com/fred.okono.
Once again, thank you for your kind words.
Fred
(corrected version, sorry the first note had typo – an error or two!)
Hello Fred,
I read your blog post with interest and really enjoyed it, as a fellow Kenyan. I see your balanced view, lovely!!! for me too, Mr. U Kenyatta was also not my first choice; my choice of person who is a god fearing candidate, also chose to step down long before the process of debates and etc..
I also understand what you are saying about voice of people Not the voice of God as the Lord Jesus is my LORD and Savior. I see the scripture you have taken from Isaiah Chapter 55, but it was written in a different context, it is an invitation to the thirsty to come to GOD! I also tend to believe, that we have to look at all scripture in its totality and not just one verse, my brother! Because, God ‘may’ use the votes or any other human means to accomplish any of his eternal purposes. The Bible also tells us that promotion and demotion comes from the LORD, he brings one down and raises one up. Victory and defeats are always in the hands of the good Lord! Whether it is Hannah, the mother of Samuel saying it or Mary the mother of Lord Jesus saying it or any where else in the Scripture; or Apostle Paul telling us that it is God who ordains and institutes the government. (Romans 13 the first paragraph!) GOD is and will always be in Control; and God chooses. His sovereignty and our free will go hand and hand in terms of running the world. Nothing takes God by surprise! As I heard many years ago, “He knows the end from the beginning also knows the present” and so, wanted to make that point.
Otherwise, I agree with you on your take and am honored to see the maturity and patience of our fellow Kenyan brethren! Absolutely a good read and would love to share it on my face book or in email, with your permission as I sit thousands of miles away from our home land but would like many folks to read it. I am sure even in USA people will benefit from reading this as it was a big thing for the elections here too, few months ago! God bless you and use you mightily! in Christ, Kalpna
Dear Kalpna,
Thank you very much indeed for taking the time to read my rumbling thoughts, and making such an insightful and detailed comment. Please feel free to share the piece.
You are indeed right that we are co-Creators with God – humans and various forces of nature are merely instruments by which the will of God is done. I am probably not as well versed in our Sacred Texts as I should be, and I am thankful for the blessing of gentle correction! But I do believe that the Voice of the People is only the Voice of God where they are a righteous people in the eyes of God.
Above all, I believe it would be sacrilegious for us to elevate our future president to the level of deity just by virtue of our having elected him. We must always remember that he is a mere mortal that we have elevated into a sacred position of leadership over us – and he must therefore perform the duties of that office in full accountability to God and to we that elected him. Indeed if he does so, the nation will prosper and overcome all challenges under his guidance.
Fred
Thank you, too, Fred,
You are welcome! And yes! I agree with your reply, completely! We simply can NOT deify any human to the divine level. I am so glad the Bible also gives us examples of many good men who started out well but finished poorly, including giants known as Bible heroes. That is where when one reads the Bible carefully, they see and realize the utter sinfulness of man, be it Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon or any other character for that matter. Only God remains GOD, pure, holy (set apart) and divine. We all are sinners (all of us) in DIRE need of grace from a loving and JUST Savior! Finally, even for the entire world, I would never agree to elevate any human to divine level! Thanks for that powerful reminder! Much appreciated! Please continue to write, touch, move and inspire people! With every blessing! Kalpna
Fred,
I am one of those who have been at pain in the past few weeks or so reading hateful comments in the social media. I thought about how scary it is that Kenyans have taken their wars to the social media! I became afraid of commenting on threads of postings lest i find myself in the midst of a war of words. That said, it is refreshing to read your article and for the balance and objectivity you bring to the table! Thank you!
Mary,
I deeply empathise with you – I have witnessed the virulent hate that you describe, and in fact I have been a target of the same for some of the opinions I have expressed in this article and in others.
But I passionately believe we mustn’t be afraid if we are to redeem our country from a toxic minority that are spreading their lethal poison while hiding behind the supposed shield of anonymity that social media provides. If we are to get to appoint where our citizens can talk to each other and express divergent opinions without degenerating into a shambolic exchange of insults and other verbal fisticuffs, we must name and shame those that have adopted vitriol as their preferred literary style. We must not let them chase those of us that prefer a more respectful, restrained and considerate approach from social media – because if we do, then this powerful tools shall become the sledge hammers by which our nation will be destroyed.
Thank you very much indeed Mary for taking time to read the piece and write a comment.
Fred
A superb article. I am still of the opinion that despite the presumption of innocence, something of the magnitude of being indicted at the International Criminal Court should preclude anyone for running for Presidency. As one Martha Karua rightly said, we would not hire such a person for a housegirl, so why have we made them President and Deputy? (This still boggles my mind.) I think the statesman-like thing for Uhuru and Ruto to do would have been to get their cases sorted and then run for office.
But I wholeheartedly agree with the rest of the article, superb piece of writing. And thank you for coming done hard on this serpentine lie that the voice of the people is the voice of God. One would be tempted to ask: which people exactly? And which god?
Thank you Sam for reading and commenting!
I know your strong feelings on one presenting themselves for elections while under indictment for very serious crimes – but I believe that is where individual conscience comes in. Criminal law in Kenya is based on the basic principle that ‘better a million guilty people go free, than that one innocent person be wrongly convicted’ – and this of course then sets a very high bar for ‘guilty beyond a reasonable doubt’.
But I truly believe that it is in protecting the rights of even the most obviously guilty, that we protect the rights of the truly innocent! And this is of even greater importance where the matter is as grave as the ICC issue, because that would be a life-ender!
Fred
I love your writing … impressive 🙂
Thanks you Jeff, for both the kind words and for taking time to read and comment – much appreciated.
Fred
GREAT ARTICLE!!
The alarmist heading drew my attention, the words drew my heart. I love the honesty in the article. this should be published for everyone to read, though with a softer titling 😉
Fred, this is a good one.
Kenyans need to start appreciating such honesty.
I have been under immense pressure from ‘my people’ on my stand and for ‘wasting Uhuru’s vote’. I have responded resolutely that it was my vote and not his; he cast his in Gatundu. Each of us was given a vote so that we could make a decision for ourselves. My candidate lost but I am ever so proud that I stood by him and my conscience is clear. Given another chance, even knowing that he will lose, I would still vote for him.
However, Uhuru is now my President. It is my concern now to hope and pray that the many challenges …’personal challenges’ as he calls them, will not be cause of my misfortune. I will continue to play my part in building this nation even if that means challenging him and his government. I refuse to be beholden to ethnic manipulation
Brother Stanley,
Thank you! It is the few that dare swim against the current that will ultimately change the course of the river! And it takes immense courage – I know from personal experience!
But like you affirm – we now have a president-elect who will in all likelihood become president; and we must continue to do our civic duty by one, supporting him and wishing him well; and two, ensuring he does his duty for the whole country.
Fred
who are you? we need to be friends! Sober commentary 🙂 I hope this non-partisan, sober approach characterizes our social media rhetoric. Sharing this PAP! There is still hope for Kenya.
Samson,
Thank you for your kind words. I am just a humble Kenyan who firmly believes our country can be great! You will find me on both FaceBook and twitter by the same names (Fred Okono) that I use on my blog – and I heartily welcome the friendship of all like-minded Kenyans, and even that of those that are not so like-minded … Feel free to share my jumbled thoughts and rumbling words!
The way we will change the timbre of conversations in social media is by actively participating, and stubbornly refusing to be forced out by the toxic hate-mongers – however hard they try! I am often greatly disappointed when a really rational, objective and polite interlocutor gives up and withdraws because they cannot withstand the insults any more! We must not let them win!
Fred
I really like this intellectual piece. Especially this:
“I must now address President-elect Kenyatta’s core supporters – I am very sorry, but he no longer belongs to you! WE elected him, and by ‘we’ I mean both those who voted for him and those who did not – because the election was OUR process!”
Publish this article but with another title, please. Say “He’s no longer your candidate but our president”
Dear Wageni,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and write a comment – much appreciated!
I very deliberately chose that overtly provocative ‘in-your-face’ title for the very purpose of causing alarm and hopefully getting as many people as possible to read the piece and meditate on the issues I raise! I knew the title would call to battle the Kikuyu chauvinists, catch the attention of the anti-Kikuyu ethnophobes and also provoke patriots such as yourself that abhor the xenophobia that is slowly damaging our country.
In that title, I tried to capture the very horror that is dismembering our country, and I am glad it has provoked considerable discussion both here and on other fora!
Fred
Very well written and balanced piece. Yes Uhuru won and is President elect but no, he is no deity.
Thank you very much indeed for reading and taking the time to post a comment. Much appreciated.
Fred
I wish as Kenyans we would think like this, it is so heart breaking when we are not able to see beyond our communities. Uhuru was also not my candidate due to various factors which i found hard to reconcile with especially being one of displaced persons from the Rift Valley but i do respect him as a leader. However, he is now our president and deserves due respect for that.
Uhuru gave a great speech which if followed through will take our country to the next level. I found myself looking at his deputy in a new light and even began to readdress my misgivings and hostilty towards him. If we call our leaders to be accountable, then we will have hope for this country.
In 2007, we forgot that we were kenyans first but merciful this time although we have voted on tribal lines, we have shown some maturity and respected our Kenyaness. However, i long for the day when we can vote for the best candidates without any reference to their regional background.
Hopefully, your article has been sent to the media because we need to hear some of these truths.
Dear Juliet,
Thank you so very very much for taking the time to read and make such an inspiring comment.
It is because of people such as yourself that I write Juliet. I was not directly affected by the national madness that overtook our country in 2007/8 – but I have seen the suffering, the grief and the mind-boggling pain. As you may have seen from my other posts, I have protested the use of the term IDP and the tossing around of that figure of 1,133 – because acronyms obfuscate and statistics numb: I have insisted these are human beings with names and faces and families and dreams and aspirations; people that had built a life, and who were in a flash reduced to penury and helplessness.
It is my daily prayer that our country shall indeed never forget the high price of bad politics informed by selfish ambition and immoral methods; that when we say Never Again’ we really mean it.
If indeed Hon Uhuru’s victory is confirmed, he has a unique opportunity to really lay the past to rest permanently; to heal the long-running rift between the Luo and the Kikuyu; to consolidate the peace in the Rift Valley; and to truly make every Kenyan feel and know that they are both a stakeholder and a shareholder in our country. I pray ardently that he has what it takes to realise this and actually ensure it happens.
I do not write for the mass media Juliet, preferring the flexibility of conscience and operations that a personal blog gives me. But I through persons such as yourself, I hope that the message reaches as many Kenyans as is possible.
Fred
My dean, you make me proud with your great talent of expressing ideas. I was even more proud when while reading through stumbled upon one of my posts. But sir you quoted one of my posts from my facebook status updates (which makes me feel proud) ad verbatim and you did attribute the quote to me…
An oversight?
Aaron
Dear Brother Aaron,
Thank you so much for reading, and taking time to post a comment.
That is interesting! I actually got the idea to include that verse from one of my other interlocutors who was passionately protesting against an unsolicited email message that we both received that stated that Hon Kenyatta’s election was a fulfilment of divine prophecy and divine will, that he was an equivalent of a modern day Joshua – maybe even a comparator for Christ; that he was from the royal house of a chosen people; and that it is God that led the people to elect him. My interlocutor did not wish me to attribute anything to him, and hence I did not.
I have indeed just checked and seen the self-same words on your timeline and indeed. I am conscientious about attribution, as you may have noticed from all my posts and writings, and I do apologise profusely if indeed this was lifted from you. I am inquiring right away and will make appropriate attribution if it is so. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, truly appreciated.
Fred
No worries. Thanks Fred.
Fred; Thanks for a wonderful piece am sure those reading this will change their mindset and learn indeed PRESIDENT ELECT UHURU KENYATTA BELONGS TO ALL KENYANS!!!!!!
Thank you very much indeed for reading and making a comment Liz! It is my desire to pull our country together as one nation, and if my puny efforts in this post will have that effect, I will be a man infinitely contented.
Fred
Niiiiice!!!…. soo patriotic really…. please read this dont ignore. the title is actually paradoxical
Dear Kwash, my profuse thanks for encouraging others to read the piece. Much appreciated.
Fred
Dear Fred,
At first, when I read the title of the post, I was like, “I am not going to waste another minute of my life on tribal and disgusting politics!” However, my boyfriend encouraged me to read the article, saying it is not what I thought it to be. I am very glad I did; this article was a breath of fresh air in a polluted environment. Severally, I have despaired at the future of our country given that, in my humble opinion, PEV happened again, only it was on social media. I am glad to see that there are people (most commenters included) that believe that we can move forward despite said candidate of choice not winning. I also believe that we can agree to disagree, but it should never go beyond friendly discourse and respect of other people’s opinions.
I will reiterate what you said above: that we should all rally together and support our president (whomever it may be – should the courts find in Raila’s favor) and hold him accountable to the promises made to the people of Kenya.
I am officially a follower and look forward to reading more of your work.
Dear Coco,
Please thank your boyfriend heartily on my behalf for encouraging you to read the piece! I deliberately chose a very provocative title because THAT, captured right there in that title, is the devil that is destroying our nation!
I have not thought of it that way, but you are most certainly right: pre- and post-election violence happened on social media! We seem to be a nation that is yet to learn to talk to itself, without degeneration into gratuitous insults and name-calling. But like you, I am immensely encouraged by the responses I have received to this piece both here and on Facebook and Twitter. Progress is being made, I only wish it was a million times faster!
The problem is that so many of us that think differently tend to be of a moderate temperament, and would rather leave a conversation than take on the haters. I am a firm believer in the words of Winston Churchill (I think) that you cannot appease evil – you must confront it, fight it, defeat it and banish it! Of course in doing so, we must not let ourselves descend into using the methods of evil!
Thank you so much for becoming a follower; I am an erratic blogger who only writes occasionally when I feel strong inspiration – but your words give me great encouragement!
Fred
I am no one to say otherwise, being an erratic blogger myself, but I will ask for you to keep on keeping on. You have a gift of vocalizing that which we moderate tempered individuals are thinking and feeling – perhaps the pen can be your sword that you wield unsparingly in favor of tolerance.
One day at a time, I believe. After all Lao-Tzu’s words couldn’t be truer – a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Dear Fred,
May God give you many sons and daughters to inherit this God given wisdom!!!; May He grant you long life to see their children’s children to the third and fourth generation. I also pray that God elevates you to a position of authority and make you an ambassador of peace across Kenya and beyond! Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God!!
Dear JK,
AMEN and AMEN again! I am overwhelmed by the blessings you speak for me!
I am greatly blessed to be the father of three daughters, and having been a teacher for many years, I am also blessed to be a father-figure to several hundred young men from across our nation. I hope that in my interactions with them, I have communicated to them love for country and love for all their fellow citizens – immaterial of ethnicity and creed.
We pride ourselves as a praying nation, and many of us consider ourselves a Christian people – but sadly, we do not live our faith as demonstrated by Jesus Christ in his parables and in his personal dealings with the downtrodden and despised.
It is my ardent prayer that our country shall find peace and harmony under its chosen leaders, and that we shall all be brought to the realisation that our collective prosperity is our collective responsibility – and such prosperity shall not come to pass for as long as we exclude our brother/sister from the table in thought and deed.
Fred
This is a very objective and powerful piece. It was a pleasure to read it!
Dear Joanne,
Thank you for your kind words, much appreciated.
Fred
Amazing!
We need more writers like you, objective and foccused on a goal greater than the self, we need more true citizen’s, willing to lay down their will and follow God’s
Keep writting, am greatly inspired
Lucy
Dear Lucy,
Thank you so very much! Indeed we must each contribute, in whichever we can, to the emergence of the Kenya we all want and deserve. I am much encouraged by your words.
Fred
Dear Mwalimu,
I pen down my thots having followed your comments and responses on FB thru your charade of following, mostly from your students. Forgive my English, you taught me English in the early 90s. I sent you a friend request on FB and no response recd so far but Thank God I can expresss myself on this blog.
As we go thru the jubilee transition, we need to take the words of the PM RAO to Heart. ” Democracy is on Trial”. If we ask our learned historians the answers we get from History whenever this test has been conducted we get very interesting answers. How about if we ask our Egyptian brothers the effect Democracy had on then with the arrival of the Arab spring? What answers do we get and what results should we Kenyans expect? Then what way forward and which way out?
History is clear that leaders like Adolf Hitler were popularly elected a result of a democratic process. Not even for one term but two. A butcher like George Bush jnr was similarly popularly elected. When you have a highly competitive electoral process with campaign funds running in billions, what level of bruises (quote from UK and the reason why his first meeting with religious leaders to start a reconciliation process to heal the bruises) should we expect and entertain without necessarily compromising peace? How should we ride the victory wave on the backdrop of Tribal votes without raising political temperatures and fanning stereotyping? How do the investors in this process recoup their investment and still avoid post election inflationary effects and subsequent increase in the Country’s wage bill?
So, whatever verdict the supreme court arrives at, the real winners and losers are not RAO and UK, but Democracy. If we want to truly adopt a system that will guarantee us peace and a leadership that can deliver, we need to read more HISTORY. We should fill our parliament with more historians and NO lawyers.
Dear Abu,
Thank you for taking time to read and leave such a detailed comment.
I entirely agree with you that whatever the outcome of the Supreme Court proceedings, the winner MUST be the people of Kenya and the democratic process.
Sadly, in politics, as in any contest, there will always be a winner and a loser. The tragedy of our situation is that the process is highly tribalised – so often the winners supporters have unrealistic expectations of gain, while the losers supporters are in fear and trepidation of being marginalised and punished for their choices. A true leader in this situation must caution their celebrating supporters that he no longer belongs to them, and reassure his opponents supporters that he will serve with equal dedication and without prejudice. That is what I am asking of Hon Uhuru Kenyatta – because any other path would lead to the destruction of our nation.
Fred
I love how you have verbalized this rather thorny issue. Great read 🙂
Thank you very much for reading my random and rambling thoughts Miss Mugethi and for taking time to make a comment. Much appreciated.
Fred
You are very welcome 🙂
This is a great read chief… Very intellectually challenging & inspiring…You know what, even me, my candidate performed very very dismally but we accepted because the process seemed free & fair…. Could you please consider publishing this piece in our dailies. I’m sure it will reach a larger audience. If all Kenyans could reason like this, we would get quality leaders and ethnicity would be a non~issue…
Brother Wamalwa,
Thank you so much for reading – and for your kind comments.
I am but a humble (and erratic!) blogger who would probably not meet the rigorous criteria of the popular national media and their editorial strictures. But thank you for the thought.
Fred
I gladly appreciate this sober write up but I also feel your apprehension on whether uhuru will be a president for only those who voted for him or not.In my view uhuru Kenyatta has never been a tribalist,you only need to examine who were his campaign team;a sakaja,who is luhya and the c.e.o who is a luo….that should tell you something.Go to his ICC lawyers,I believe there is a luo…. a lot also can be revealed from his body language,which I can explain but perhaps can’t help you understand!….making observations from the moment he was declared winner; his speech and manner of conduct in reaching out to his competitors, can reveal that he is a unifying president….l pray that his deserved win will carry the day after the petition
Dear Ceccy,
Thank you for reading and making such a thoughtful comment.
I pray you are right – and that is indeed my hope too! Our country is in desperate need of re-unification, of the assurance that each and everyone of us is an important stakeholder and shareholder. That must absolutely be President-elect Kenyatta’s number one priority the moment he is sworn in should the Supreme Court affirm his victory.
Fred
Sir, well said. I suggest you amend the title of the article to say “Uhuru, Raila or anyone else, Kenya stands as Kenya” then send it for publishing in our local dailies. I’m inspired by the patriotism sir Fred
Dear David,
I very deliberately chose that overtly provocative ‘in-your-face’ title for the very purpose of causing alarm and hopefully getting as many people as possible to read the piece and meditate on the issues I raise! I knew the title would call to battle the Kikuyu chauvinists, catch the attention of the anti-Kikuyu ethnophobes and also provoke patriots such as yourself that abhor the xenophobia that is slowly damaging our country.
Unfortunately I am just a humble erratic blogger who would probably not withstand the rigours and strictures of publishing in the popular press! Thanks for the suggestion all the same.
Fred
Wow!! what a great read. how I wish we opebed our eyes and call a spade a spade. Good article, eye opener, educative aswell. keep it up Fred….I love it.
Thank you Schola for your way-too-kind words! From the fullness of my heart, my keyboard spoke!
Fred
Excellent write-up. I certainly love this site.
Continue the good work!
Hi, I log on to your new stuff like every week. Your story-telling style is
awesome, keep it up!
Fred to say the least I am impressed by the logic of your arguments But not at surprised since In our History class you are the only one who got a distinction 1 .It is a pity that such articles are not widely read as Newspapers articles or columns instead of some that we read by so called political analysts that hardly make any sense and the arguments are illogical to say the least and lack any material substance or ideas for as they say simple minds discuss people ,ordinary minds events and great minds idead