 |
| Boniface Mwangi |
When Kenya's history shall be written, I have no doubt the form of 'activist madness' espoused by one of our own, Bwana Boniface Mwangi, shall be solidly anchored in it. Equally I believe the names of Boniface Mwangi and his comrades-in-struggle have already found their rightful position in the Kenya's pantheon of modern day change-makers.
This is why, I think, he (and his comrades) hold the qualifications of the 'mad man' Kenya has always longed to get.
First let's revisit some quasi-change-inducing philosophies to locate the correct place of Kenya and her people in the March to Self-examination and inclusive development, why we haven't reclaimed that place and what is demanded of us to be where we want.
Reading revolutionary politics and philosophies and their relations to socio-political change evokes some interesting perspectives which I feel will help us decipher the 'fire' behind the 'madness' of Mwangi and his ilk.
One: Socio-political change doesn't pop up in a day. It is a bitter process that must be fired by thoughts and energies of committed men and women.
Two: Presence of a 'mad wo/man' to spearhead this change is needed. Change is inherently rooted in human beings. However, an inbuilt fear within people negates this pro-change push residing in their hearts. This is why the presence of 'mad wo/men' is indispensable.
Three: Though folks might seem to be in opposition to robust engagement geared at inducing meaningful change and confronting entrenched malaise in the society (the kind of activism attributed to Boniface Mwangi), a closer examination of their leanings reveals that they are indeed in support of this type of activism. It is double standards per se.
The obstacle is simple: They don't want to make their stand known for fear of the unknown or they simply want to be seen as 'good, civilized and non-violent'.
They will rather keep their opinions hidden for fear of being associated with 'mad, unprincipled men like Boniface Mwangi' and live in a state of constant nagging than coming out and demand a total relook of issues.
The interesting thing with this group is that they are ready to act only when their interests are touched – (say, when their salaries are chopped, their properties stolen or other ‘unlawful’ acts directed to them).
Or when the prevailing subject matter (like the Lang'ata Primary School fiasco) is bound to gain prominence. They crave for recognition, you see!
And this is where Boniface Mwangi and his brigade come in. These chaps, I must confess, are the best social observers I can pinpoint so far in Kenya. An examination of Mr Mwangi's street interventions for the past three years gives a glimpse of what creative demonstration of mobilizing power this son of Kenya has.
Take the 'Parliament intervention' protesting against MPs' move to hike their pay, for instance. By marshaling his troupes in publicly condemning 'MPigs', the guy did not miss an inch to pass the message across. It was clear even to the numskulls, to the sworn enemies of public engagement, to the MPs and to the world that high-level greed has no place in Kenya - and the world.
Fast forward to the Lang'ata Primary School intervention. It was clear what happened there left a bitter taste in the government's mouth. The State was caught pants down. It could not justify gassing children for demanding what is rightly theirs.
Then came the game-changer. All schools in the republic got a fresh lease of life. A process to map them and issuing of Title-Deeds is now underway thanks to the 'madness' of a few people and little children.
The real gift of our time is the 'constructive madness' of our brave youths. Gassing, high-handedness, empty condemnations, apathy and unresponsiveness won't curtail the flow of positive energy from this 'madness'.
The question thus is: How many 'mad men and women' are found in Kenya to continue Boniface Mwangi's 'madness' and pull Kenya out of entrenched fear?
Comrade Mwangi keep this close to your heart: Forget the noises of those who see no positives in your works. They are prisoners of their inbuilt fear. They don't want to 'taint' their 'good books'. Kenya badly needs people like you to exorcise this fear.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your thoughts? thanks for dropping them here...