Having peace or leaving in a country
where peace prevails at all times should be considered an invaluable gift.
While it is easy to stay with a neighbor over a long period of time without
hurting one another, it is easier destroying such harmony and in the process
hate on one another to the extent of killing each other.
December 31st
polls of 2007 will live to linger in the minds of Kenyans who witnessed the
bizarre incidences that occurred. It will also be a story to be told to many
generations of Kenyans to come and the tale will be a nasty account. Friends
who had long known each other suddenly became enemies over a disputed election,
and the enmity resulted in mayhem, killings, rape cases and violation of human
rights in its worst form. Fire was set on valuable property; thousands were
displaced from the places they had known/called homes in a long time. The
economy was quickly tumbling. It was a period of mourning. The deficiency in supply
of necessities such a food was gradually encroaching. And to mention that the
root course to all that was thirst for political power is something not
pleasant to talk about. It beats logic when human sense can be overridden by power
and political greed.
5 years down
the line, we are back to a period of voting for our leaders again. It is
patriotic to exercise one’s voting rights and choosing a leader whom s/he
believes in. Therefore, going through a period of uncertainty in terms of who
will be declared a winner or loser of the upcoming 2013 polls is not an option.
We have to get there somehow. But this time round Kenyans have learnt a lot more;
that our nation is bigger than any one of us; that our lives are more valuable
than the leaders who seek our hand in the ballot box and that we are a nation whose
peace surpasses anything we could ever desire. I am particularly impressed by
the efforts that the youths have made to ensure that we don’t have a replay of
what we saw after 31st December. According to statistics, majority
of Kenyans who voted in 2007 were youths. The youths make up the largest
demography figures and matter a great deal to any aspiring contester. Most of
the violence experienced in 07 had huge participation from youths (whom of
course were incited by political figures). In a way, the youths determine the
leadership of this country, they may not be controlling the economy for now,
but the rate in which they are taking up responsibilities is amicable.
Several initiatives and projects have
been started by youths throughout the country with a key purpose of promoting
peace. Talents are used to preach a gospel that every Kenyan needs to hear……”may
we dwell in unity, peace and liberty as our national anthem puts it.” We have
learnt not to take peace for granted. And we will not let it be taken away from
us, no matter the cost. One group that I managed to catch up with on the
weekend of August 11th is “I AM KENYAN PROJECT”.
Led by an 18 year old Sophie, the team has
managed to use social media and photography to preach peace. It’s a simple
thing to do; take photos of you or your friend or your community with a message
that you are Kenyan, feel proud that you are Kenyan and take a step further to share
the photos through I am Kenyan social media pages or email. The Saturday event
marked a climax of a project that has been long running (for almost a year now)
by capturing voices and videos in more than 60 countries. It had Kenyans(majority
were youths) make a peace walk from Uhuru park through the city’s CBD on Haille
Sellasie avenue, Kenyatta avenue and back to Uhuru park where a live music
concert was held incorporating Local artists such as Juliani, Eko Dyda and Holy
Dave. Also present was Helen Mutawali (singer/ lecturer at Daystar university
but popularly known for her principal role in Tusker Project Fame Academy). Sponsored
by Coca-cola, USAID, PACT, ACT and G4S among others, the event brought together
hundreds of Kenyans from different tribes, and they all stood out in one voice
of “I am Kenyan”. Thanks to our local media (ntv and kiss 100 fm) for blowing
the event details through their daily broadcasts. Each participant had a chance
to sign a banner promising to keep peace in Kenya. Sophie and her team would
thereafter take these signatures to the office of the president and other
leaders informing them on what the voice of the youths says regarding peace,
and requiring them to sign as well in agreement that they will keep/preach
peace in the next polls whether they win or not (for those who intend to run
for office again). I have no doubt that this will be a wakeup call to our leaders
that they must do as the public wishes. After all, we choose and task them to
lead us, it is not a favor they do us when in office. We cannot lose Kenya in a
day, never ever.
Over the
last 5 years, I have seen youths lead campaigns to promote peace. As youths, we
know that we are the people who can save our nation from the haunting scenes we
witnessed. I have a reason to believe that it is the voice of the youths that
will determine the aftermath of our polls. We may not have significant number
of youths run for office, but our stand is significant. It is upon us to remind
other youths in all parts of our nation that we cannot let our leaders tell us
how best to treat one another. “I am Kenyan project” is one of the ways a youth
can get involved in a peace promoting initiative. Follow them on face book,
twitter and website and talk peace to a fellow Kenyan. Come Aug 2013, same day
and time as 12th August, my wish is that we will be celebrating the
peace we upheld in our polls, and feel proud that no one influenced us to hate
on each other. We are now in a period of panting….everyone is watching with a
lot of “what if it happens again?” Predictions already have it that should history
repeat itself, we will be in for a multiplied and worse experience of what we
saw in 2007. We cannot let that happen. Each Kenyan should cling onto the words
of our national anthem and pride oneself in the words that it says.
