Catch 2022

The election year 2022 was a crumbling precipice for Kenyan. A break from the past conditioning resulted in no fruits while keeping the excellent but painful lessons. Coming at a backdrop of the influx of jobless graduates in the market, Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, tough economic times, runaway corruption in government and the private sector, and transition politics, among other factors that stretched thin our resilience both as a global community and as a country to new waters. 

 

Kenyans had to make decisions for survival and posterity. A conundrum that hardly comes by. conditions similar to these triggered the Arab spring, and what was presented before us was either we go that route or do something that fits that purpose.

Old political bones continued with their bravado, bragging of how seasoned they were in this game, to their rude shock. Even after unleashing all the resources, money and power could afford, August ninth sirens blasted our ears so loudly, not familiar beat to the political elite. It was an approaching curve that even the madman couldn't sell to them. For a regular Kenyan, it was a sigh of relief. It was a home crowd chanting and urging us to hold on, for it will be soon over.

The deception

The mainstream media, the oligarchy, and State machinery were sharpened and oiled to promote The Uhuru project version 2.0. This time round, Raila Odinga's face as they dubbed the enterprise AZIMIO LA UMOJA. This immediately became the only school of thought allowed, any other grouping became summoned or sanctioned by the Director of Criminal Investigations, Kenya Revenue Authority, or the EACC like in the case of Habits of The Dirty Files, “to my friends anything, to my enemies the law." If you did not support the RAO project, you got treated like dangerous subversives threatening State security and, therefore, attracting whatever descended upon them.

Top bin influencers unleashed to insult the public's intelligence by becoming nuisances on social media. They pushed hashtags intending to suffocate the public space with divisive rhetoric. Veteran trade unionists also had their Damascus moment. COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli later turned all the remaining Labour Days into a podium to promote this new normal at every opportunity.

Parliament was ready to rubberstamp anything pushed to their side by the “Handshake Couple”. The highest moments were the Building Bridges Initiative, striping and replacing any member of parliament aligned with the then deputy president Ruto, and the Coalitions Parties Bill being the take-home trophy. Never had impunity ever reached this kind of utopia since our self-rule. It was first-degree psychopathy treatment from their government and supposed to be opposition.

Undying spirit

 Kenyans had never been left in the cold like this, not even during the Nyayo and Colonial eras at no particular order, and yet we survived as a people. The elite political establishment had no idea how much human beings are wired to survive the worst, even without basic literacy of that kizungu kubwa, bulletproof vest, or heavy artillery. The masses stayed calm and low-key attentive. They could see through this malevolence and choose to restrain since they understood the creatures they were dealing with very well.

I would second guess that the scars and cries of the souls of the 2007/8 post-election victims were still loudly playing in our present memory. This could have been made vivid enough by Kiambaa mini-polls where the government candidate was mercilessly floored by the little-known Kawanjiku of the hustler-favoured United Democratic Party.

Wanjiku (Kenyans) had outgrown many misfortunes throughout her daily life to the point that she would detect scams and scammers through their silhouettes from their entitlement balconies. From here, the rest was left to time. August 9th, when the son of poorly educated folks, from kadogo budget, with no family name child Mr. William Samoei Arap Ruto, defeated the five-star entitled prodigies at the ballot to become the fifth president of our beautiful and forward-ever marching country called Kenya.

Kenyans are now looking into the future with renewed hope and expectations from their new administration, which is already breathing into life our spirit that had stagnated. This has been evident by the appointment of the victimized six judges of the Court of Appeal, return Miguna Miguna, a Kenyan who was forcefully kidnapped, held incommunicado, tortured, and ejected from his motherland even with countless court orders against this atrocity.

Welcome home, NRM General. It's a win for humanity, democracy, and the rule of law. Additionally, it's our prayer that the elements who planned to hijack the people's will and declare the loser as the president at IEBC together with their master shall be brought to book to be a deterrent to other elements of the same feathery in the future. Harambee!!!

OPINION By Vundi Hyphen