THE IMPLICATIONS OF ELECTING MORALLY TAINTED INDIVIDUALS TO STATEHOUSE

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n the Bible the story is recounted of the first King of Israel. His name was Saul, son of Kish from Gibeah. In every sense of the word he looked regal. Tall, charismatic, handsome and noble no other man bestrode the landscape like he did at the time. Despite the fact that in his early days he was merely a herdsman looking after his father’s herd of livestock he still oozed leadership potential. A day came when a few of his father’s donkeys strayed away and he and a servant were forced to look for them. Their search took them to Ramah where was domiciled the prophet of the most high, Samuel. They had now walked for miles and were on the verge of abandoning search because let’s face it, what are 7-10 donkeys anyway compared to the herd of probably 500 left home? The servant he travels with knows a thing or two about prophets and suggests that the search would be made all the more easier by consulting Samuel. The two men resolve to make a bee-line for Samuel’s home. They find the old man outside, probably just chilling and recounting past glories. Immediately Samuel catches a glimpse of the lanky and stately Saul from among the crowd something is stirred in him. He hears the immutable and unmistakable voice of Jehovah saying a leader may be within Wi-Fi range. This is at the height of the clamour by Israel to have a King like the surrounding nations. They opine about being in need of a tactical leader and reference frame to always give them the rallying cry that will imbue them in battle against their neighbours, who they have to surmount to inherit in peace and prosperity the ‘Promised Land’. The yammering had become unbearable and Samuel ran the matter by God who dismissively okayed their wishes. So when Samuel saw Saul something gladdened his heart. Saul warmly welcomes the party of two, wines and dines with them and helps them find the donkeys. They depart grateful for everything. In due course Samuel assembles the people at Mizpah in Benjamin and organizes them by tribe and clan and draws lots. After a short but interesting process involving walking sticks Saul’s staff comes up and he is king-elect. Of course some people are riled by both the process and its product. Samuel secretly calls Saul and anoints him king. A few weeks later the Ammonites prepare to lay siege on Jabesh-Gilead. They have a huge force and are renowned for their brutality after victory. Surrender to them is not favourable either as the vanquished will be forced into servitude after having their eyes gauged out! An SOS message is sent to Israel and a battalion rallies behind Saul. By now Saul has psychic powers consecrated by the Lord and fighting with a sword personally delivered by the Supreme Deity. He delivers a stunning victory and in euphoria laced with jubilation men and women congregate in Gilgal crowning Saul as their King. He is magnanimous enough to refuse retribution against those who opposed his election as King initially. Here henceforth, things take a downward spiral as the dark side of Saul is revealed. He becomes quick to anger. He turns disobedient against the same Lord who no less delivers the sword with which he roundly smote the Moabites, Edomites, Aramites and arch-rivals the Philistines. He goes soft on the Amalekites preserving their King and choicest livestock for himself. However among his vices, none is more pre-eminent in ignominy as the choice to become fiercely jealous of one of his priced upstart sensations, future King David. In an instance of bad timing, he infuriates Yahweh who deserts him just when the Philistines have assembled their most valiant army yet. Saul panics and decides to consult a witchdoctor who has no good tidings either. In an impulsive nay head-strong onslaught decides to go into battle sans-Dei. He is roundly defeated and the rest is history. As sages put it, “power corrupts but absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Why would I recount this story in such depth, in my current capacity as one with neither grounding on theology or divinity but also no intentions of becoming a preacher? It is just that the same missteps that were the bane of the Israelites approximately 3500 years ago are the same bedeviling the Kenyan society in 2018. We just don’t have any tool to sift through the wheat so as to take out the chaff. As far as selecting a suitable leader is concerned we are easily beguiled by outward beauty, charisma, wealth, subtlety, height, linguistic flair, the suave mannerism and booming voice ignoring all the other more important characteristics requisite for the most suitable leader. Instead integrity is merely a by-word as we prefer to elect overtly corrupt leaders simply because in our ambiguous comportment and misreading of the scriptures quote the verse, “He without sin should cast the first stone.” The wise will tell you that the most distinct form of irrationality and imprudence is seeing an obstacle on your path and instead of avoiding it, believing that some unknown force will make its hand seen and save you from that injudicious manifestation. Famous Science juggernaut and innovator Prof. Albert Einstein is credited with the quote about insanity being the act of replicating past actions expecting a dissimilitude in results.

Many are the times when we lay preference to cursing the darkness instead of lighting the candle. How many times do we delude ourselves with statements like these?

·         He will change.

·         My kinsman, my shortcut to riches.

·         He has our best interest at heart.

·         She is ‘Bae wa Nairobi.’ She stared at me during campaigns. She likes me!

·         His peers are definitely more morally bereft.

·         He finishes his speeches with ‘God bless Kenya’ thus he is a righteous leader.

Just like many others I would have the same problem identifying the more morally upright leader on face value. This is a delicate art sometimes even requiring a trade-off. By this I mean accepting some minor misdemeanours for the greater good. In the United States in recent times we have had George W. Bush and Bill Clinton as former Presidents. George W. Bush was considered a morally upright character and polished individual who sought to enforce such a moral high ground upon society. Unfortunately his performance as a president and in lieu of the economy and unnecessary battles leaves much to be rued. William Jefferson Clinton may not have covered himself in lights if the moral compass should be the prism through which you compare him with other former American Presidents. Incessant slip-ups with female interns and White-house staffers yet during his time USA enjoyed an economic boom thanks to good fiscal policy, the executive and economic decisions he undertook. This is the severe dichotomy among the choices we have to make but is a conundrum we need not have. Call it the opportunity cost of one over the other.

Notwithstanding, history is replete with examples of popular and charismatic characters who eventually became despotic leaders. None fits this mould more than Adolf Hitler. Wikipedia describes him as an astute politician, demagogue and Pan-German revolutionary. This was not always the case. Born in Linz in the former Austria-Hungary he was merely a young man inspired by Fine Art which he studied and practiced. He eventually moved to Munich to eke a sustenance. Come August 1914 at the start of the first World-War he was enlisted into the Bavarian ranks; an administrative error as he still held Austrian not Prussian citizenship, consequent to panicky and the erratic way of war. Nonetheless, he distinguished himself in battle as a brave and reliable dispatcher. In October 1916 in the heat of the battle of the Somme he was wounded in his right thigh and blinded in a mustard gas attack. All the same he soldiered on and even played dead to avoid capture when his entire contingent was massacred. He subsequently was awarded the Iron Class, 2^nd Class honour and eventually the Black wound Badge notwithstanding his low rank. As Germany made reparations, he subsisted in the Headquarters drawing cartoons and illustrations for the Army publication.

His conscription into politics just like the army was incidental as he had been on assignment as an Intelligence Agent to infiltrate the then serious opposition contender, the German Workers Party (DAP). Thinking of him an ordinary devoted party-affiliate, he was given the podium by Chairman; Anton Drexler, to try and drum up the audience on party policy. His oratorical gift shone ever so bright on the day and the topic dear to the audience was anti-Semitism. Both his political career and abhorrence for the Jews was basically born on the same day. At every twist and turn he capitalized on populist sentiment, the then Party member #555 gave vitriolic bar-room speeches that captivated his audiences. He kept to his most popular scape-goats whom he blamed on the populaces’ financial hardships. He is said to have been so gifted that he virtually hypnotized men in large gatherings with his voice and had a sort of flame in his eyes for smaller audiences. Giving vitriolic sermons on national pride he evinced the kind of possessed hysteria that left many writhing on the ground and some experiencing bizarre feacal incontinence as has variously been reported.

Come 1923, in feigned rage he guilefully resigned from the party to force a take-over bid as Chairman of the newly renamed NSDAP- National Socialist German Workers Party colloquially dubbed the “Nazi party.” Impressive to note is that he even dipped into his Fine Art mastery to design the Nazi-party standard bearer, the ‘Swastika.’ In November 1923 he led an attempted coup on the German leadership and was arrested, charged with high-treason and incarcerated. He served 5 years in jail. In 1932 despite fiery rhetoric and support of many of the country’s renowned industrialists, he lost a two round presidential election to Paul von Hindenburg, then incumbent.  Come 1933 fortune smiled his way again thanks to the Great depression. An ineffectual minority Government saw influential politicians Franz von Papen and Alfred Hugenberg along with other industrialists and entrepreneurs prevail on Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor to give the Government a veneer of legislative majority which he reluctantly agreed to. This was a non-party affiliated position as a leader of Government. On 2^nd August 1934, just a day after legislation was enacted to abolish the post of President after the ageing Hindenburg left office, the veteran ‘conveniently’ died. Having roped in the executive and legislative arms of government, the Führer now became Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. He used the legislature to pass the ‘enabling-act’ to deviate from the constitution on specific matters and enact some laws on his own volition without parliamentary approval. He with laissez-faire sentiment now in earnest commenced his purification (creation of the Aryan race) by de-Semitization, de-capitalization and de-Marxization of the German nation. Hitler got his wish and began the extermination of the Jews in the Holocaust. Hubris permitting, he invaded Poland in 1939 over frivolity. This is how Germany triggered World-War 2 and effectively began her own downfall. They were decisively defeated and he eventually committed suicide. The tale of Hitler is the classic tale of how populism can be abused to create despotic and utterly diabolical machinations just to satisfy the parochial interest of a few to the detriment of a planet in general.

So that begs the question, what kind of leaders should we elect to Statehouse? We must accept that this man or woman will be a subset of society and needless to say none is perfect, without sin, blot or blemish. All the same, the Presidency is such a vital and far-reaching office that only the best suited minds in any country deserves a place therein. A president can influence the political will to get any agenda pushed through and he is also expected to exist as a symbol of a nation’s unity. Thus it behoves us to ensure that we do a considered selection process for whomever occupies that seat controls our destiny for today and deep into the future for our progeny. Important to note, the major problem with electing reprehensible characters as Presidents is accountability. Who will have authority to oversight them? So there can be no two ways about it. For my compatriots in Kenya, we can no longer have tribal patronage as the key consideration if at all we are interested in realizing an all-inclusive, development-oriented destiny as a nation. We must take cognizance of our nation as an agglomeration of nation-states and so we have to deliberately accommodate all our ethnic identities in the awareness of brilliance as evenly distributed but opportunity only sparsely. Also in the year 2010, Kenya promulgated an audacious and progressive pristine constitution as a multi-sectoral process, a befitting tribute to our maturing as a democracy. Moreover, it was a product borne out of the great expense of the blood, sweat, tears and sacrificial leadership from our forebears. So I would implore my dear countrymen to perform a critical analysis in future. To kick off the probe, who were in the side that opposed the referendum process which birthed this dispensation? We must remember that Kenya is currently treading a path of positive reform after suffering too many wasted years in the past to condone any more that will be the consequence of choosing the wrong man for the Presidency. In concomitance with that, once we have a name or a list; the answer to the question above, we must then scour our conscience about the prudence of expecting such a man or woman to preserve and live vicarious to the letter, spirit and tenets of this same constitution!

The Questionnaire which I would implore each and every one to carry in that conscientious patch of mind that will be primal to surveying the leadership style we envisage has these keystone concerns:

1.       Does this leader really care about me or could he leave me to harm as collateral damage?

2.      Is this a man of integrity or will he trade me for a bowl of lentils (Or 10,000 Shillings)? [Or Both]

3.      Is he sufficiently noble to possess loyalty to both I, national ideals and his political partners or are they prone to betrayal, as only a traitor can?

4.      Is there any principle whose sanctity he respects or he simply enjoys the life of depravity and disorder trusting only divine providence for a salvation?

5.      Is he a man who can exercise authority in decision making or will he flatter like a flag pandering to the whims of the side that his bread is best buttered?

6.      Does he preach water and drink wine or he exemplifies his ranting?

7.      Are they effective role models or merely as Texans say, “All hat but no cattle?”

8.     Does he practice fidelity or simply collects women and children like round stones from the riverbed?

9.      What is their stance on impunity vis-a vis liability?

10.  Would you rather have one who tells you sweet nothings or a realist to provide the SMART (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Time-bound) analysis to manifesto items?

11.   Do you delude yourself that your preferred leader has to steal public funds for future campaign purposes?

12.  Does your leader give hefty contributions to Harambees during the day only to return demanding a reimbursement at night?

13.  Should your leader really give you that 50/- or 100/- to boost electability?

14.  Should I continue having a war mongers for a leader or do I deserve better?

15.   Should I be comfortable with a supposedly ‘reformed’ narcopreneur cavorting as a leader or would I rather that long-suffering ‘squadi-guy’ who has now morphed into the chairman of a Matatu Sacco?

In his considered opinion, Nicolo Machiavelli argued in his best seller; The Prince, about the need for laws & structures to enforce morality. In respecting the rule of law we are always implored to respect our institutions but I dare aver with unrestrained contrition that it presents a challenge respecting institutions that have themselves lost the moral authority to demand the same. We are under obligation to elect people with the autonomous drive towards self-regulation and an uncompromising obeisance to the strictures of the law and if not we are under no obligation to elect them. To him who much is given so much more is expected.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BURNING OF OUR SCHOOLS

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n Biblical times, there was the torrid feud between Absalom and Joab. Joab was a nephew of King David and thanks to his acts of onerous gallantry, loyalty and unheralded leadership was appointed a commander of the King’s Army. Absalom was product of the concord between the King and one of his wives Princess Maacah of Geshur. No man in this world has ever been greatly revered for his inimitable good looks and charisma as this man Absalom. That goes against popular hip-hop artiste; Big Sean’s track – “Man’s Not Hot” but that is neither here nor there.  But in the same token few could replicate his quirks- a proclivity for rage, vengeance, pride and mere petulance. Some of it could have been borne of the fact that he was the King’s third-born son who after killing his eldest brother and taking some time in sojourn afterwards, now saw himself as all but the straight-up inheritor of the throne, no questions asked. As aforementioned his worst foible was petulance. Patience may have been an idiosyncrasy he most despised and so had problems bidding his time. While trying to lead a coup against his father he attempted to incorporate Joab into his reprehensible machinations. Loyal to the King from way back he had an easy choice, No! That choice greatly irked this upstart who had trouble with the ‘accept and move on’ tag-line common in the Kenyan political scene. Tapping on the putrid mannerisms mentioned above he decided to set ablaze Joab’s field of barley and wheat in full-bloom. The seeds of hatred were now sown. Charisma permitting he led a successful coup and usurped his father’s throne and sent him in full flight for his life and that of his family. When David learnt that an army had been dispatched with Absalom as the spear-head to obliterate him once and for all he went down on his knees in orison to the Lord. The Lord gave the green-light for a counter-strike. Fearing a potential encounter between Absalom and his enraged kin, David urged Joab to be gentle with his son. Burning rage was the only thing in Joab’s psyche but he grievingly agreed. The battle was unrelenting, Team Absalom were routed and the new ‘King’ in headlong flight from Joab and his men got his hair all tangled up in the vines, his horse choosing to continue the flight without the payload. Absalom was found dangling, none of his much vaunted charm apparent then. Joab had no time for niceties. With an axe to grind with the young man; target practice was the only game on the cards, three spears to the chest and the job was done. Whoever coined the phrase, ‘revenge is a dish best served cold had this scene firmly in mind. There were tears from the loving father and a monument built in respect of the young man, but as always I digress. 

In a previous blog I have expressed sentiments about Kenya being a land riddled with peculiarities and experiences of uncommon prevalence elsewhere. Indeed, borrowing an excerpt from that blog: ( https://dennismukoya.wordpress.com/2017/03/18/betrayed-memoranda-of-understanding-in-the-bestial-realm/ ) – { No wonder one Michael Joseph, former CEO of Safaricom; the super-capitalized Kenyan mobile telecommunication troika (voice, data, money transfer) after enjoying abundant returns as a result of this virtue or ilk (depending on where you stand) once quipped, “Kenya is a land of queer habits”.} However, our obsequious deference to this phenomenon has recently taken a turn for the utterly bizarre with the actions of our ‘heirs-apparent’- the leaders of tomorrow currently reveling in the most brutish and retrogressive obsession. This is the bush-fire like spread of conflagration and anarchist-like arson in our institutions of secondary school education. This is no doubt a disconcerting state of affairs which deserves discussion as a matter of grave national importance as it has reached endemic proportions. Parents spend exorbitantly and have to sacrifice a lot simply for the well-being of their progeny. They strive to afford their fledgling clan some of the benefits missed out by themselves in their heyday. So needless to say this turn of events is like a hot knife through butter, the butter colloquially referring to the heavily burdened hearts and consciences of that demographic. Even to me, it is sadness beyond grief. Education up in flames!

But how did we get here? Sermons have been preached time on end about education being the great equalizer. Even dubbed, the only weapon against poverty, destitution and pestilence by the Father of equality in South Africa, the most venerable African Statesman Nelson Mandela. In our time we enjoyed learning and acquiescence of knowledge not just for its own sake but to gain insight into the inner workings of the world. This was no skullduggery but a task we reveled in and greatly enjoyed. As a matter of fact there are men like our current Deputy President William S. Ruto who is currently poised a heart-beat away from the presidency. Many rancid and questionable aspersions have been cast on his character either rightly or maliciously but you cannot besmirch him of the fact that education is the main reason he rose from humble extraction hawking chicken and their products in the streets to his contemporary disposition. And so why would anyone want to destroy an institution with such potential for transformation and harnessing of raw-human potential in such an egregious albeit iniquitous fashion?

In the backdrop of all this, what can be more painful

than the prima-facie informed yet intellectually emaciated knee-jerk reactions from Education Ministry aficionados, threats and evasive opinions from the real causative agents of the problem – arm-chair technocrats, men and women who comment on affairs devoid of information, tact, moral authority, wisdom or even the import of basic commonsense? What academic & professional grounding have such ‘luminaries’ on matters of child psychology and pedagogical development as it relates to the changing comportment of the teenager? Some peddle hog-wash about the previous outlawing of corporal punishment being the cause. Then, a finger is pointed to this age-old un-diagnosable syndrome ‘Examination Fever or fervour.’ Few lay culpability on drug-abuse and devil-worship. From throwing liability on boarding schools the spectrum extends to the bizarre nadirs of lack of unified school uniform. Worse still, the superstitious censure the edict by the previous Cabinet Secretary for Education banning Prayer days, opining that the devil has found a path of least resistance into our children. But to whose profit? When you say that the fruit of your loins, the most intelligent creation of the Almighty can only be guided by the doctrine of the cane like some circus animal, doesn’t that speak volumes of the importance you apportion to your own flesh and blood?

These incidences have proved both statistically predictable in terms of date and time, even seeming orchestrated in some sort of choreography such that like the falling of dominoes when one starts, the rest follow inevitably. They flash a sarcastic smile to all government efforts at investigation and future prevention. Talk of Monkey see monkey do. I definitely hold the views in the above paragraph in absolute derision, preferring instead to pay sound credence to the considered opinion I will coruscate below as the real cause of the problem:

   1. Denial of Extra-curricular and Physical exertion. We may not see it but the teenage years are a period of great physical, psychological & social tumult in the life of a human-being. Changes in muscular strength due to puberty gifts upon them physicality of the magnitude they have never witnessed before. As a period when they are most malleable and amenable to peer-pressure and strife to conform to ideals set out by their friends and others around them. Growth also transects to their mindsets and that need to have social relationship with members of the opposite sex becomes ever so palpable. Concomitant with all these, this would be the best time to let the young men and women exploit all avenues of personal expression through both co-curricular and extra-curricular. This would be the prime-time to get into sports, drama, music, debating and all sorts of clubs which will shape up their characters for the future. This forms of expression ultimately prepares these candidates for their future in the working life building traits like tenacity, team-work, planning, resilience against adversity, innovation in strategy, recovery from downturn, how to win and lose in decorum and many other learning opportunities not easily replicated simply by chalk touching the blackboard. So when school policy fails to recognize the need to support this all-round character development, choosing only to gear scholarly efforts towards solely academics there is likely to be a collision course. Academics is definitely not the sole mode of manifestation and path towards success and people like Kylian Mbappe who were not academic powerhouses but have excelled to reach the pinnacle of sporting success are an apt example. As they say all work but no play makes Jack a dull boy. Studies have proved that people learn the most when they disconnect from their daily routine and it cannot be any different with school life.

2.     Lack of Leadership from school heads and Delocalization. This is closely linked with the point above. Inspirational book author Steven Covey puts it in his book, ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ that the leadership-management continuum is like an iceberg. Scientifically, ice has a specific density of 0.92. So putting it contextually management is like that 8% that peeks above the water surface while leadership is that 92% that though unseen lurks under the surface and could potentially sink any ship unbeknown to the captain. Management involves strict adherence to the rules, giving edicts and providing a plan for implementation to scale to the highest point of the ladder of success while Leadership involves wisdom, discussion, consensus building and basically positioning your ladder against the right wall. The Kenyan system of education is unfortunately academically-based. Success in scholarly pursuit is often equated to success in life. Many are the times where under the strain of this fact, school principals deny students even time to unwind simply to maximize on time for syllabus coverage and revision. As a previous principal may have accorded the students sufficient time for school and rest, the incessant changes in school administration may wrought upon us a situation where a new Principal under the pressure to strive to out-do his predecessor cuts out all fun from learning. Stories of schools going up in flames this year simply because the head teacher lacked the foresight to allow the students to watch a World cup final match have not been unheard of. As a quadrennial event how many will any student experience in high school anyway? For that, hard-earned academic infrastructure is lost. How sad! Delocalization of school administration though a noble venture has brought about the biennial instability a right substrate to foment unrest in many schools and is a policy that should be keenly investigated for future viability.   

3.     Collapse of the societal value and reward system. Among the greatest pitfalls of the Jubilee administration is the continuation of the archaic patronage system of governance. Hard work, sacrifice, experience, academic qualifications and other anachronistic yardsticks to determine the right person to appoint for government jobs have become outmoded in their ‘digital’ dispensation. Instead political patronage, tribalism, nepotism, clannism and reward of beer-buddies to state corporations have become the order of the day. In a country where ‘slay-queens’ are paid 50 Million to supply warmth to state functionaries and septuagenarians pulled out of retirement to ostensibly help out in the ‘heavy’ matters of state. Loyalty is no longer reserved for principle but to personalities some of whom could be people tainted by abhorrent and abominable adherence to no particular credentials of achievement, principle, merit and justice. This does not go unnoticed by the ‘leaders of tomorrow’ intelligent enough to emulate the monkey see monkey do axiom. When you see a clearly illiterate character, struggling with expression in English during vetting being named cabinet secretary in a country teeming with highly erudite yet jobless older siblings, what incentive does this youth have to continue schooling any further? This creates a loss of faith that education will ultimately be rewarded with success. When drug lords and cartel-minted tycoons are stationed in the core of the administration how is this to augur well with avoidance of depravity and creation of upright citizens? Simple answer: burn down the schools, put on some make-up, play harlot to the leading political lights and hope to receive state largesse when they eventually ascend to power.

4.     Overcrowding Due to Free Primary Education Success. One of the greatest items of legacy that the Kibaki administration bequeathed upon Kenya is the uptake of the Free Primary Education. Enrollment soared ten-fold and primary education became universal and accessible to all. Fast forward a decade and a half later and the same infrastructure is expected to house all this cohort of students and afford them shoulder room to manoeuvre in the same way it did for much fewer students. Construction of new structures did not keep pace with enrolment and has now been greatly outstripped. When a student comes to school only to sleep on the floor; something of an oddity where he hails from, impetus to continue schooling is greatly diminished. Add to that the attendant malnourishment due to inadequate food rations created by this situation for their rapidly growing bodies and a reduction in visiting days and you get a ghastly mix. 

5.     Change in Parenting Roles. Societal norms are now in reversal. Unlike any other time in our history children are raised by single parents who still have to toil to cater for their needs and those of their families. In due course they hire house helps, referred to as domestic assistants or executives in politically correct terms. The role of raising children becomes transferred majorly to these individuals. Many of them are children themselves and the older ones are not sufficiently tooled to instill a measure of discipline, sound moral grounding, a value system and even a measure of control upon the children. These young men and women grow in absolute freedom and impunity like trees that have never been pruned. The result of this is that the prism through which these boys and girls are expected to view the kaleidoscope that is right distinguished from wrong is severely impaired. “After all people commit crimes in movies and go scot-free, what is burning of a mere school anyway?” becomes their mentality.

6.     Loss of Appreciation and Gratitude for anything. The British imperialists may have colonized Kenya for nearly 70 years but left us with impeccable academic and government institutions. We can consider ourselves fortunate. Most of the countries occupied by the French and Belgians were not so lucky. Let us take an example of DRC. Under Belgian occupation, exploitation of their rich natural resource is the only activity that flourished. Little effort was made to build infrastructure, local capacity and educational institutions. Come independence time the ill-effects of these acts of omission reared an ugly head. The landscape was replete with illiterate men and women not knowing what to do with themselves. War broke out soon after and has been continuous ever since. Stability is a mirage. The similarities with Kenya is that whereas in the former Belgian Congo it is rebel forces who institute a scorched-earth policy in Kenya it is the greatly fortunate descendants of highly refined parentage who put their academies to conflagration. How uncivilized? This can only point to a lack of gratitude for what we have, and as the greatly revered Kenyan lawyer PLO Lumumba puts it, “when we don’t make use of the good cards that have been dealt to us they will be taken away – by the Chinese. It is then and only then that the iridescent value of that commodity will become apparent.”

7.     Social Media fueling negative peer pressure. The advent of social media has brought about transmission of information at speeds never witnessed before. While love missives would take weeks to reach their destinations social media is instant. Add to that Peer pressure prevalent in the youth at that incongruous juncture and the promotion of instant gratification and moral decadence and you get an insurmountable monster. One minute a school is on fire, two hours later another. Not to be left behind yet another 500 Km away is now in flames.

8.    Failure in conflict resolution mechanisms. As a nation we have to take the biscuit as being quite poor in resolving disputes. One moment someone’s father is smartly dressed in a suit. The next moment the seemingly polished gentleman is rolling on the ground singing, “Haki yetu! Solidarity forever!” Someone’s mother leaves the labour union offices as a polished lady bleach, lipstick, weaves and all. The next moment her hips are gyrating in a very macabre manner in protest of some injustice on national television. I would call this act the greater injustice but I’m simply one man with one vote. We just have to air our dirty linen in public, a characteristic that has escaped neither the attentions nor fancies of these young, highly impressionable minds. Upright citizens of tomorrow, please.

9.     Bad Genetics. The fruit rarely falls far from the tree. For instance we have a man given to impunity, greed, injustice and sexual immorality. He meets up with a woman who by her very nature is only attracted to flashy life-styles, shopping trips to Dubai, Range rover vogues, gold digging with eventual plans of existence as a black-widow. You tell me with such an untoward cock-tail of chromosomes; notwithstanding, how is the fruit of this union supposed to be a God-fearing, value-driven individual? You can never draw blood out of a guava.

A drowning man will eternally clutch at straws. Security measures like CCTV and Access Control systems have been variously opined as solutions to this uncouth menace; and despite owning a company that installs and by extension making a living from the same, I dare proffer, submitting with unmitigated contrition that that is an inadequate remedy to the malaise. The true panacea is the inculcation of good values in our children who we should treat as our most highly valued possession. Allow for free extra-curricular expression. Let us endeavour for leadership over management. If not we should determinately brace ourselves for the next round of school fires in second term 2019!