The site of news papers, the internet images is appalling! It
shocks my eyes and causes my heart to freeze. The images of lifeless bodies,
badly mutilated, some lying in pools of blood, others lying on the soil without
any cover; in their birth-suits, which reveal deep and gaping cuts, some on the
head, the neck, and God knows where else. I take a look at one lifeless body in
the foreground and all I can see are holes…big holes on a human body! Two of
the bullet holes are on the stomach and they seem to gaze at me, probably they
are seeking permission from me to spill off the contents of this victim’s
belly! The more I continue staring at the holes, the more they threaten to
spill off the beans and ugali that this victim had just eaten,
yesterday, before the cruel attackers came baying for his blood. By now, my
heart is angrily racing and I can hear the sounds of thump! Thump! Thump! It’s
hard to believe that these despicable acts happened somewhere in Kenya, my
beloved motherland, my haven, the place where I fondly call home; where even as
I travel to other countries in our continent, I will always remind my friends
that I am from Kenya, the land that I have always sworn to love and protect.
For a second, the memories of the love I have for my motherland,
the memories of the many occasions during which I have declared that Najivunia
Kuwa Mkenya, flood my thoughts. It escapes my mind that these brutal
attacks happened in Mpeketoni Kenya, to be specific. This town is almost
700 kilometres from the capital city of our nation. However, the newspaper
seems to have brought the Mpeketoni town to the city; thanks to the
cameraman because I feel like the incidents happened at my doorstep! I now
realize how wrong I am when it dawns on me that Mpeketoni is actually a
town in Lamu, one of Kenya’s Islands. My realization is worsened by the fact
that I have relatives (blood or not), from my mother’s home, who went to live
in Lamu, Mpeketoni, over twenty years ago. Twenty years ago, Lamu had
vast and unoccupied lands; hence, due to congestion of the land at home, my
relatives, led by my aunt who fondly called me ‘mum’, vacated our land in Meru
and went to live in Mpeketoni. It’s so difficult for me to come into
terms with the fact that my relatives could actually be victims, maybe the
lifeless body lying in a pool of blood in the back ground is that of my cousin Mugendi
(translated to mean traveller). A cloud of anger and sadness engulfs me,
drops of tears escape my eyes; immediately, I close the newspaper and throw it
away into the dustbin, I bite my lower lip and swear that I will never want to
see such sites as long as I live.
I have become sick and tired of this bloodshed! The other day, we
experienced an attack on the Westgate Mall, which lies at the heart of our
country’s capital; despite the fear and heartbreak it caused me after realizing
that I only escaped death by a whisker, I penned down a request to all of us,
proudly Kenyan, to unite, pray, and protect our country. I did not know, then,
that calm would only last for a few months. In just so few a month, it seems
that something happened to Nchi yetu ya Kenya, Tunayo ipenda, Tuwe Tayari
kuilinda…What happened to the declarations that we always made since our
baby school days, those that we recited with the help of our national anthem,
to love and protect our motherland? Somebody please tell me, has it just become
another line in the most common song in Kenya? Probably, we should amend it,
accept and move on…like we all seem to agree! Imagine if you woke up and found
that 50 people; your friends, neighbours and their friends, all from one
locality have been slain in cold blood. How about if you woke up to go to the
nearby kiosk and found 50 bodies lying on the road, lifeless and bearing deep
cuts, with dried blood on their foreheads, probably with their tongues stuck
out …ouch! Would you ever sit down to eat or would you always be reminded of
the incident? The sound of it is unbearable; yet, this is a real experience for
someone sitting in Mpeketoni. The mothers have to figure out a whole new
way of life, how to feed and educate their children. Their peaceful and calm lives
have changed, just like that!
What happened to the quiet country that I once knew? Are we back to
the nchi ya kitu kidogo days? Haven’t we lost our patriotism? Did I hear
them say that someone slept on their job? Couldn’t something have been done to
save us from the ugly incident? Dialogue we sang and forgot that there was
an enemy staring at us; the monster grasped the chance and hit us right below
the belt, where it hurts most! We failed to guard our borders and let the enemy
in with a smile. We watched the World Cup and forgot that a dirty game was playing
right outside our doorsteps. Our hunting game almost failed and for a moment we
became the hunted! Our country’s security is not negotiable. We are gambling with
it and woe unto us because we are losing big time. I pen down this with
bitterness because I believe that neither the President nor the security
Minister failed us...rather, we failed ourselves! We kept complaining and
forgot that guarding the nation is a collective responsibility. Do not be quick
to judge me; I have not lifted the blame off our government. However, remember that as they travel in
hammered vehicles, we walk by faith; as they shield themselves with electric
fences; we shield our vulnerable selves with walls that are so weak that even
jackals can bring them down!
So what now my
fellow countrymen; the time is now for us to take the bull by its horns; a time
to play our part by guarding our souls and beautiful motherland; a time to stop
the blame game, the finger-pointing yet criminals remain at large. Haven’t we
shed enough blood and tears already? Now I say to us countrymen, go ye forth in
peace and prayer…love, shield, and protect your brother and nation. Ulinzi
unaanza na mimi, ulinzi unaanza na wewe!
BY Sarah Makena,
Co-founder Ukabila ZI
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