My Dear Brother In The Struggle,
I have no words to say what I am about to say either in the English language or in our respective 3 vernacular dialects. However please accept these weak substitutes as they are the only widely understood words available for now (Taabu has not lent me his unique Dictionary which contains some words and common expressions that date back to the Stone Age. Joke!)
I thank you most sincerely for the mature, cool way in which you have taken my recent critical remarks on the candidate you believe is most suitable to be the next president of our beloved motherland. And also the way you took the inevitable aftermath and follow up remarks that were sure to follow and indeed did follow.
You have displayed a level of maturity and political give and take that is admirable and clear for all to see. It really touched me that if anything, you have increased your comments in this blog and gone out of your way to continue to do what you do best without any bitterness or venom in you. You have done your candidate, and indeed the entire long-vilified community of the Luo, very proud. In generations to come many will be able to point to this as one example to prove that this long suffering community does not deserve the shoddy treatment it has received and continues to receive in the hands of many insensitive Kenyans oblivious of the history of this country and where it all started and why.
Let nobody get me wrong. I am not taking back what I said about Raila Odinga. In fact I believe that there are many major issues concerning this candidate that need to be addressed urgently and discussed in the open. My prayer is that there is enough courage in those who are here in this blog to do it (without abusive language please). Indeed in the next few days I am expecting a long letter from an expert (and former insider) on this issue who will raise many of these questions. Incidentally this Raila critic believes (and will conclude so in their thesis) that Raila is the best hope Kenya has got at the moment. Which is acceptable although personally I DO NOT share their view. However this does not stop me from being their friend and from publishing their views here without changing a single comma.
Some Raila Odinga supporters have often complained why it is that he is the most discussed candidate? I believe the answer is to be found in the masses of Kenya and the support this candidate currently enjoys from them so that everywhere he goes, people will stop what they are doing to listen to him. I believe that this is because the disadvantaged Kenyans feel that he is the closest candidate there is to their aspirations and challenges. I have personally verified this (and many other neutral people leaving comments here also have) from many ordinary folks, most of whom do not hail from the Luo community.
But I digress. This post is dedicated to Phil. The man of the moment.
In my heart I feel that you are indispensable to this meeting place where we meet daily, and the day you get very busy with campaigns for your favored candidate (which may be very soon) and don't have the time to drop in, things will never be the same again. I especially treasure your insights into the life of the common down-trodden Kenyans living in places like Kibera where a first time visitor who takes a flushing toilet and a fridge for granted will not believe that they are still in Kenya. That place where every day is a bitter and desperate struggle for survival.
I asked a question here about how many people have visited places like Mathare and Kibera slums and you saw for yourself how loud the silence was. But you see the folks who read this blog are well-meaning and most of them are genuine about wanting to see change in our beloved motherland. It is therefore very important that you educate us all Phil, on how those poor brothers and sisters of ours really live. I sense that this is so very important for our country at this particular moment and time in our history when the monthly salary of just one MP is enough to make a huge difference within a huge area of either major slums.
I pray for you my brother that you will continue in your steadfast service to the motherland and that we will continue here and elsewhere together, oblivious of whether we agree with each other or not, for that is the cornerstone and most fundamental basic building block of this thing we call democracy.
For the love of the motherland,
- Kumekucha -
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