Kenya has been commemorating its 50 years of independence
dubbed Kenya@50. It is an opportune moment for all Kenyans to reflect and
meditate on the struggles of founding heroes and heroines who unshackled us
from the doom of imperialists; the Second Liberation warriors who paid the
ultimate price, but outwitted Moi in repealing Section 2A of the constitution
to welcome the first multiparty elections in 1992. Kenyans also rejoice in the
visionary leaders who teamed up to finally oust the ‘Nyayo Error’ after 24
years of blatant misrule.
It is, however,
not lost on Kenyans how the country martyred one of its eloquent and brilliant
sons on the Saturday afternoon of July 5th, 1969. Thomas Joseph
Odhiambo Mboya fondly referred to as Tom Mboya, only aged 39, was fatally shot
by Nahashon Njenga – a lone gunman–later tried, convicted and hanged according
to official accounts. Kenya would never be the same again.
Former American President John F.
Kennedy and Tom Mboya: Both men who
were to fall victims to lone-gunmen changing
the course of history in their
respective nations.
Crisis
of Confidence
Unbeknownst to some, Mboya was a sharp and deep thinker
who penned books among them The Challenge
of Nationhood. In this incisive and engaging text, Mboya displays his
nationalistic ideals on a wide range of issues. Confronted with steering a
nascent nation to social and economic prosperity, the man who facilitated the
famous US airlifts warns leaders on the perils of offering ‘over-simple
answers’ in the introduction: Crisis of
Confidence. He also cautions against
solving African problems particularly Kenya with answers lacking practicality
and only meant to hoodwink the masses.
This echoes recent anti-West rhetoric by African rulers
in spite of failing to amicably stop the sectarian bloodshed in CAR that has claimed
innocent lives. Mboya confidently believed that the African people could
integrate African ways in managing their challenges, albeit, without totally
discarding the noble values learnt from the West.
Intellectuals
and Government
Intellectuals
continue to discourse with some vociferously longing for the ‘exciting’ 60s and
70s when a majority tackled the government head-on without fear. It is in this
tortured trajectory that Mboya believed the success of Kenya lay. He observes
that the intellectual “…has to make himself felt and not…grumbling and getting
frustrated.” Mboya was also careful not to confuse the ‘educated’ with the
‘intellectual.’ A common trend today in our public discourses. The former Economic
Planning and Development minister beseeched the elite from basking on ‘comforts
and conveniences’ while abandoning nation building process.
MARTYR: Mboya in a lively moment.
How many of our
esteemed elites are playing puppets to their ethnic masters at the expense of
the suffering citizens? To attain speedy economic and social development, Mboya
noted that discipline had to reign amongst the educated and intellectual classes.
He warns of the intellectual who will “…use his privilege
position to acquire more personal wealth through corruption, indulge in empty
theorizing on ideologies thereby confusing the people who expect guidance...”
And for “…that man who thinks he can be an honest intellectual and a tribalist
at the same time.” How true today?
Press
Freedoms
The recent signing into law of Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill that regulates journalists
triggered outrage amongst a majority of Kenyans who expressed their
displeasure. Of course media had to ‘accept and move on.’ In establishing
effective relations with the government, Mboya made a few, but pertinent
demands from the press.
The press had to demonstrate sympathy to the nationalist
cause, avoid being reactionary in its reportage and instead, embrace the virtue
of progressiveness. He believed freedom of the press did not include turning
into ‘…an agent for neo-colonialism’ and objective reporting that does not
sensationalize a story to generate sales. The idea of ‘…preferring a story
about failure or fear to a story of achievement or endeavor…’ According to
Mboya, the media had to clearly identify with the struggles of the people and
contribute in the national development.
In the book Tom Mboya explores other equally fundamentally
issues such as the role of women in national development, conflicts that
afflict nationhood, pan-africanism, and state of aid and development in third
world countries.
The persistent question remains: 50 years later, have the
relevant institutions and individuals done enough to free us from poverty,
ignorance and diseases?