Uhuru Generation Speech: A Response

[In early July 2000, I traveled from Johannesburg to St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, to attend the annual conference of Kenyans Citizens Abroad (KCA) and delivered a keynote address challenging Kenyans born after independence, the Uhuru Generation, to take up responsibility for the future of their country (http://njonjomue.blogspot.com/2012/02/uhuru-generation-taking-stand-on-high.html ). In the weeks following the speech, it elicited robust debate from Kenyans at home and around the world. Life Magazine of the Sunday Standard in Nairobi carried a special feature on the speech in their September 24 - October 1 2000 edition. Nancy Kairo, the Editor, wrote the following introduction to the Special Feature:]


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After Thought

Truth be told, for a very long time now I have been feeling very disillusioned by the state of things in Kenya. I have not yet lined up outside any embassy in search of immigration forms, and I don’t think I’m likely to get to that point, but I sometimes envy those who’ve had the guts to do so.

Even my closest colleagues will admit that I am not the most patriotic Kenyan right now. Practically every day they are subjected to my unsolicited comments about our declining state of affairs. I am sure they all secretly wish I would just sit down and shut up! So you can imagine their amazement when one day I walked into the office and started passing around copies of a speech that I said made me feel proud to be Kenyan.

Mildred Ngesa in particular almost fainted. She could not believe she was hearing correct. The speech in question, entitled The Uhuru Generation, was written by a gentleman named Njonjo Mue.

His speech starts on a rather harsh and depressing note. But as one progresses and reads between the lines, one starts to see the light – an unmistakable ray of burning hope.

I read Njonjo’s speech using candle light due to the on-going power rationing. My daughter had not seen me this excited in a long time. As I read on, I realized that I had allowed myself to be caught up in the here and now instead of keeping my eyes on the goal – no matter how distant.

To borrow from Njonjo’s words:

“…if we focus only on the legacy bequeathed us by those gone before us, a legacy of lost days, of greed and corruption, vice and violence, of battered lives and broken dreams, then we can only but see dry bones at the bottom of the desolate valley of our painful yesterdays.

“But if we lift up our eyes unto the hills and focus our gaze on the distant horizons of our new tomorrows; if we defy the odds and rebuild together; if we make God our closest ally and vision our guiding principle, then we shall see our homeland of Kenya once again become a heritage of splendor.”

I firmly believe in what Njonjo has to say. Even if I was born before the stroke of midnight on December 12, 1963, I have a daughter who depends on me for a brighter tomorrow. Therefore, I too, in mind and soul, belong to the Uhuru Generation.

God bless!

Nancy Kairo

- Editor

Letter from Cape Town

[I lived and worked in Johannesburg from 1997 to 2001. During a visit to Cape Town in November 1998, I wrote the following letter to a friend of mine in London sharing my initial impressions of one of the most beautiful cities in Africa. But it was not the physical beauty of Cape Town that captivated me; it was its history. The letter was a private one, but the issues it raises are of sufficient public interest to warrant wide circulation.]


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Cape Town

Monday, 16^th November 1998

My dear Ann,

I hope that this letter finds you well. I write to you from Cape Town on the third and final day of a truly delightful visit here.

I got here Saturday morning and linked up with my friend Ciru, who is a student at the University of Cape Town. She and a friend of hers took me to Cape Point – the southern-most tip of Africa – where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean meet; the place Vas-Co-Dagama thought was too beautiful to be called the Cape of Storms and re-named the Cape of Good Hope. That was, of course, when he stopped by on his way to go and get spices in India.

Cape Point is a story of bitter-sweet memories. Its beauty being the silver lining; but it was also the gateway that ushered in not just the Portuguese (at least they just stopped by and passed on), but also Jan Van Riebeck, who landed in 1652 and stayed – the fore father of Africa’s only white tribe – the Afrikaners. I need not recount the sad link between him and Hendrick Vervoed, John Vorster, PW Botha and FW De Klerk, and 400 years of white domination of black people and apartheid.

Which leads me to that other place of pain and hope just off the coast of Cape Town – Robben Island. I made the half hour crossing yesterday, followed by a memorable tour of the island and the prison – including cell number 5 – the womb from which sprang forth the democracy and formal equality I now enjoy alongside 40 million black and white South Africans. Being at Nelson Mandela’s cell is almost a spiritual experience for any human rights activist – it should be a recommended pilgrimage for anyone who fights for the dignity and fundamental rights of all humanity.

But I have to say that it is really disheartening that after the trip to Robben Island, I had lunch at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, and the glaring inequalities of modern South Africa returned to haunt me. 95% of the shoppers and diners at the Waterfront are white, while 95% of the menial workers are black. And this is replicated elsewhere in South African society. Although there is no longer any law telling people where they can or cannot go on the basis of skin colour, simple economics ensures that the colour bar is maintained. And it will be a long time before black people can participate in the fortunes of this country on the basis of full equality.

But back to Mandela. It is clear that after 27 years behind bars, and eight years of steering the transition to democracy, the old man had done his part. The challenge to bring about the required transformation clearly now lies with others (Thabo Mbeki et al); as well as the South African people in general. I am blessed to be here to witness how they rise up to the challenge.

But I hasten to point out that I don’t consider myself to be merely a spectator in all this. Not only does my job dictate that I participate in the transformation, but I believe that God has brought me to this place and time to teach and prepare me to participate in a transition that’s taking place all over Africa; for as Franz Fanon says, “Every generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, and either fulfill it or betray it.”

Whether we like it or not, the torch is about to be passed on to us. The future of our continent lies in our hands. We are an integral part of the unfolding of our era; and I pray that we would play our part fully in realizing the full potential of the people of the land of our birth.

I would, if I may, like to narrow down my reflections to the situation that currently obtains in Kenya. Over the last few years, I have seen more and more Kenyans immigrate to other countries in search of opportunities. It is clear that many people feel rather helpless to stop the tide of decay that has befallen our country the responsibility for which lies squarely at the feet of an inept and greedy leadership. All of these immigrants are young people in their twenties and thirties – people who are at their most productive. A number are students abroad, but the vast majority are illegal immigrants trying to eke out a living in Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles and such other places.

I do not blame them; they are the new exiles seeking economic freedom. The silver lining, however, is the fact that Kenyans never really leave home. Many still look for opportunities to invest back in Kenya and many would invest back home if we had systems that really worked. For me, this presents a challenge for those of us working in the area of democratization and good governance. What I perceive from the growing population of Kenyan exiles is: ‘Get the act together and we shall return ourselves and our money to build our homeland.’ It is a challenge that I take personally.

And in return, our challenge to those of you resident abroad is the same one that Nelson Mandela gave to a group of young South Africans who were about to flee into exile just before Mandela began his life sentence in 1963 – “We shall need your skills; go and prepare.” Among the group hearing this was a young man by the name of Thabo Mbeki, who took these words seriously and is now preparing to take over from Mandela as President when the latter retires next year.

And like Mandela, I believe that Africa is the continent of the future. The obstacles are doubtlessly numerous, but we must prepare ourselves to take advantage of every opportunity; for success comes when opportunity meets preparation.

And so as I sit in the shadow of Table Mountain looking over the Atlantic Ocean to the island of despair-turned-into-a-symbol of hope, I cannot help but reflect on what our country, and this continent, could truly become – a place-of-hope, and a destination for anyone seeking to know how accidental divisions of tribe, colour and race, can blend together in a symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood, equality, fairness and justice for all.

Sincerely yours,

Njonjo Mue. 

When my own wisdom fails...

I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day - Abraham Lincoln

Would a military struggle against Moi have been justified?

[In January 2000, Kenyans were an extremely frustrated lot with the KANU and Moi Government. While working in Johannesburg at the time, I was active in rallying Kenyans abroad and the international community to bring pressure to bear on Moi to step down after 22 years in power. A friend of mine, a prominent journalist back home, wrote to me an email proposing we consider starting or supporting a military option for the removal of Moi. Below are two emails that we exchanged back then, with mine explaining why I would be hesitant to go that route. His earlier email to me follows my response to him. I have changed his name to protect his identity. After my email dated 17 January 2000, I never heard back from him and since nothing happened, I imagine the proposal to take up arms against Moi never saw the light of day.]

From:                Njonjo Mue

To:      

Date:                 1/17/00

Subject:             Re: xx-rated

J

While I am not a pacifist at all cost, I do strongly believe that any initiative we undertake must empower our people. I am keen to hear what you chaps have in mind, but you will agree with me that the info you give so far is insufficient to base concrete decisions on.

One would like to know, for example, what the overall strategy of such a move would be (without of course giving away operational details.) Likewise, one might want to know what balance there would be between civilian leadership and those on the other side. Any movement, in my view, must be firmly entrenched in civilian leadership; which is what worries me about our situation where all civilians on both sides of the political divide are just a bunch of bungling buffoons!

I could only consider supporting any military action where this was merely supporting a bigger ‘People Power’ movement (a la ANC and uMkonto we Sizwe). I do not at present see such organization in Kenya. And if that balance is lacking, one sees a situation where the saviours very quickly become the oppressors, especially where there is no political philosophy that they are pursuing.

Finally and most important, in my view, Kenya’s problem has never been the ruling clique alone. We all have a share in responsibility for the mess we have created. Which means change at the top may not deliver us to the promised land we seek. Any movement that fails to address our need to look inwards and recreate the soul of our nation will fall short; and the kind of struggle you speak of sounds a lot like the sort of short-cut we shall celebrate for a while but regret for a long time afterwards after discovering that it only replaced the head without doing anything about the ailing body.

Over to you.

N

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01/12/00

a guy

we have been discussing for some time now about forging alternative leadership for this country. we have looked at all the options available and there is obvious likelihood that things will not improve under the present system or by a gradual phasing out or retreat of the current regime. Yet it is apparent a few patriots have to volunteer to lead a clear move to change this status quo radically through a movement. Lets be pragmatic. i am talking struggle. we are contemplating and thinking options. can you possibly identify a source of support for an initial USD 100,000 to kick off the campaign in the next 45 days? can you possibly act as spokesman for the movt in SA when it strikes and gets underway or can you identify another spokesman even using a pseudonym (drop some names of an external leader for the movement which of course will have local leadership – I discussed some names with you) and generally advice on levels of support to be expected from SA (any comrades there and source of supplies and resources?

Drop me a line on all this by Friday. I have a strategic meeting with some hyenas on Saturday who need some feed.

Joseph*

NB meanwhile some squatter citizens invades Moi’s farm in Laikipia today to occupy it. There is considerable tension (ethnic fomenting along the coast. The constitutional review initiative – parallel or regular is hopelessly wobbling on .

*The name has been changed to protect the identity of the writer of this email. 

Kenya: Proposed Roadmap to a New Dispensation (February 2000)

[In February 2000, the Moi Government was in an advanced stage of sabotaging the constitutional review process. After ten years of trying to get a new constitution, it seemed President Moi could not fathom a new dispensation and was throwing all sorts of obstacles on the way to the rebirth of the Republic. The country was in gridlock and Moi (or rather his removal) held the key to recreating our republic. We were desperate for new ideas that would satisfy most interests and create space for a new Kenya to be born. At the time, I lived in Johannesburg and I engaged in private conversations with a group of friends brainstorming on possible ways out of our national quagmire. I publish below, under my 10 year rule of keeping private papers private, a possible road map to a new dispensation which I developed for discussion in early 2000. Reading it now, I see I was a bit naive on a number of important points, but I also see that I was ahead of the curve on a number of others.]


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KENYA: ROADMAP TO A NEW DISPENSATION

DISCUSSION PAPER BY NJONJO MUE

4 FEBRUARY 2000

1. Current situation:

1. Kenya is grinding to a halt in all spheres, especially the political and economic.
2. There is clearly no vision on either side of the political divide as to where the country should be going. We have collapsed everything to the middle and we all surround the constitution (making process) like vultures around a carcass.
3. KANU is the majority party, but its perceived dominance is not sustainable; and though they may huff and puff, they must surely realize that the future for all of us is really rather bleak, and that by themselves, they are clearly incapable of leading the country through the treacherous path that lies ahead.
4. The country is fast approaching breaking point, and may not stand up under the strain towards and beyond 2002. This is a truism that most observers will have noted. Challenges include poverty, the AIDS crisis, economic collapse, non-existent infrastructure, huge social disparities, ethnic suspicion and disunity, etc.
5. President Moi, after 21 years at the helm, is clearly tired and would like to retire, but he is uncertain as to his own safety after retirement and that of his people. And so he belligerently continues to cling on to power and to try and extend his tenure beyond 2002, either directly or indirectly.
6. All role-players have accepted that Kenya needs a new dispensation, but we cannot seem to agree on how to go about achieving it.
7. Most role-players in the reform process have vested interests and there is mutual suspicion even when good ideas are mooted. It remains impossible to find common ground and proceed in good faith for the good of the country. Yet common ground must be found if the country is to be saved from imminent collapse.

2. Voices of reason, forces of moderation 

We are agreed that Moi’s government has done our country great damage. But this is not the time to apportion blame. Therefore, while retaining a non-compromising attitude publicly, we should think about the possibility of engaging in some realpolitik privately. In this regard, can we try and privately approach Moi to try and strike a deal in these terms:

a)      finding out what are his primary concerns post 2002;

b)      finding out what is negotiable and trying to guarantee that which can be guaranteed within the bounds of reason;

c)      once this is done and in return therefore, then Moi might be persuaded to agree to the adoption on an interim constitution by the end of this year;

d)      all stakeholders would be invited to propose a set of constitutional principles (20 – 30) which would bind a Constituent Assembly in drafting a new Constitution after the next General Election;

e)      The next election would yield not just a parliament, but a Constituent Assembly;

f)        Prior to the 2002 election, there would be a formula for setting up a government of national unity to govern during the 5 year (?) tenure of the Constituent Assembly. If this process sounds familiar, it is because it is what was done in South Africa to usher in majority rule.

3. Process 

Short term – Kenya Eminent Persons Group (KENPEG)

The key is Moi. If we got an Eminent Persons Group that does not include any of the chaps currently scrapping it out in Nairobi, we might just wield sufficient credibility to persuade key governments to put pressure on Moi. But for this to work, it would have to be top secret because Moi can’t afford to be seen to be caving in to pressure from any quarter.

Practicalities:

Step One: Bring together a working group of say 5 to 10 eminent Kenyans – these would be people with a track record, but also who are known to be non-partisan with regards to the specificities of this particular debate. Preferably the beginnings of this initiative should be based wholly outside Kenya. This is because the situation in Kenya is so polarized, that the people involved are too close to it to be able to wield credibility.

Step Two: A Working Group of KENPEG should work out transitional arrangements – i.e. what happens between now and Elections 2002? This would include drafting a credible Interim Constitution (IC) under which the elections would be conducted; also deciding on what guarantees to offer Moi et al, which would encourage them to back the necessary changes (carrot and stick). We should cover all bases in a way that the initiative, once made public, can curry favour with most role-players, including the people and the international community.

Step Three: KENPEG would then make secret contact with friendly foreign governments – Britain, USA, France, Germany, SA, and any others that have influence in Nairobi, as well as Bretton Woods. To make the pitch, the Group would have to have developed concrete proposals and a viable vision, and to assure their audience of their bona fides and their seriousness.

Step Four: Secret contact would be made with Moi. The direction the talks take and Moi’s attitude would determine the course of the rest of the initiative. The Group would also make discrete overtures to certain key leaders of the business community, as well as to opposition politicians. But it should be noted that all this will be going on at the same time as the shenanigans currently surrounding the reform process and it will be necessary to keep a sharp eye on developments on the ground and factor them in as we go along.

I would repeat that for this initiative to work, secrecy would be of the utmost regard. The bona fides of the group must be above reproach. The whole initiative would be a long process (from now to election and on to a new final constitution). But if something doesn’t start now, Kenya is history – a view that is shared by many, all of whom seem to be paralyzed as to how to act.

If we selected the Group to be not only representative, but also to have a viable geographical spread, and with the aid of email to communicate and debate ideas, we can achieve much. What The Group would need to emphasize to itself is that this would be no ego trip; there is hard work ahead, most of which will have to be done away from the limelight; there are monumental risks as well, but there are also opportunities to start resolving our problems.

4. Tasks

Much needs to be done.

1. Transitional arrangements – To begin with, KENPEG needs to draw up transitional arrangements. This would involve putting in place mechanisms to ensure free and fair elections e.g. repeal of laws that inhibit free political activity; placing the management of KBC under an independent team of experts to ensure fair coverage of all viewpoints; constituting an independent multi-party task force to oversee the activities of the police and the provincial administration in the one year run up to the election, etc.
2. Drawing up an Interim Constitution – This should be a simple document whose aim would be to be a bridge between the old order and the new. Specifically, it should ensure free and fair elections to a new Parliament in 2002, which would in its first 24 months, act as a Constituent Assembly (CA). The IC would include a mechanism for constituting a Government of National Unity (GNU) post-election, which would have executive powers and would govern the country for a period of five years. Any party with a pre-agreed percentage of the vote in the CA would be entitled to respresentation in the GNU on a proportional basis. Separation of powers, the powers of a GNU presidency, etc would also be clearly defined in the IC.
3. When KENPEG has all its powers and proposals in order, initial discrete approaches would be made to friendly foreign governments offering a way out of the current quagmire. Britain would obviously play a key role, as would the US. South Africa might also be able to make a contribution given its own recent experience with constitution making and also its emerging role as a regional power. The reason for involving foreign governments is that experience shows that Moi and KANU do not change of their own accord or at the behest of their people alone. The IMF and World Bank would also be made discretely aware of what was being considered, as would the UN at an appropriate level. The idea is to ensure that our audience recognizes that this may well be the last chance to arrive at a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Kenya. But this all needs to be managed very cautiously. It should be remembered that time is of the essence, and so we should have concrete deadlines and stick to them.
4. Once all our ducks are lined up, KENPEG would make initial contact with Moi (probably through Head of Civil Service, Leakey, as I am already in touch with him following my letter to Moi last December). Again, this will be secret diplomacy. Moi must be assured that we are not working with any of the forces he perceives to be against him. We must make it clear that this is an independent initiative for the good of the country. Jus at the point we make the initial contact, it would help if we got a loud hint coming from the US Embassy or the British High Commission that they endorse what is afoot – again remembering that we have to carefully balance the carrot and stick. We should explain to Moi that he will get what he has been looking for – a constitution drafted by Parliament – only difference being that the final constitution will be drawn up by a CA elected for that purpose, and not by a group of MPs who most of the time don’t know if they are coming or going. If Moi is agreeable, he should be able to appoint a couple of negotiators to agree with KENPEG on transitional arrangements. He would also be appraised on the substance of the IC and be invited to comment, though we should be cautious not to have the whole process scuttled again. Most of the IC should not be negotiable once initially drafted because if it is open for debate, it shall be watered down into a shadow of itself.
5. Once Moi is on board, civil society and all role-players would be invited to agree on a set of constitutional principles which would form the basis of the new final constitution and from which the CA cannot depart. This is the point at which civil society can input into the process. Of course they will be free to lobby the CA at every step of the 24- month constitution drafting exercise.

5. Monitoring

This whole process will need to be carefully monitored including by the international community, especially the friendly foreign governments we shall have contacted. They will be needed to offer relevant guarantees – to Moi that whatever agreement regarding his safety post-retirement will be honoured, and to KENPEG that agreements reached with Moi and the government regarding transitional arrangements, The IC, GNU and CA will be honoured in good faith.

For this to work, it will involved all the brains we can master. This is just an initial suggestion. If and once KENPEG is constituted, we shall be able to take the process forward in an inclusive way.

Please let me have your comments soonest. I need not point out that if this matter is to bear any fruit, it must be handled with the utmost discretion.

Thank you,

Njonjo Mue

04 February 2000

Letter to Daniel Arap Moi

[At the dawn of the new millennium, Kenya had sunk to an all time low. It was faced by seemingly terminal decay and intractable problems that seemed to overwhelm the body- politic. At the centre of it all was Daniel Arap Moi, in his 21st year of largely unsatisfactory rule during which his government seemed hell-bent to block any form of democratic advances. Despite the Constitution setting a 10 year presidential term limit, Moi gave no indication of preparing to leave and indeed went around the country saying that no one could fit into his shoes. I wrote the following letter to the President from Johannesburg where I was working at the time, warning him of the anger and frustration of Kenya's young people and urging him to leave the stage so that Kenyans with a real stake in the future of our country could take charge of the affairs of their land.] 

Njonjo Mue

P.O. Box 30942

Braamfontein 2017

Johannesburg

Republic of South Africa

22 December 1999

H.E. Daniel Arap Moi

President of the Republic of Kenya

Office of the President

Harambee Avenue

Nairobi

Kenya

Fax: 254-2-721515 / 210150

Dear Mr. President,

I write to you, at the dawn of a new century, on a multiplicity of national issues that are undoubtedly already well known to you, but which we dare not turn away from, as long as they remain unaddressed.

I am a Kenyan citizen who, at 32 years of age, has a real stake in the future of our country and, though not mandated to speak for anyone but myself, I can confidently assert that my concerns are shared by the majority of Kenyans of my generation.

Sir, one does not need a college degree to see that our country, under your leadership, is getting into the 21^st Century in very poor shape indeed: The economy has all but collapsed, social services for the poor are non-existent, poverty is endemic, corruption is still out of control, the education system has failed, the infrastructure is a shambles, the agricultural sector is struggling, and HIV/AIDS threatens to annihilate our nation, relentlessly wiping out the most productive age group in our country.

In all this, your government has woefully failed to provide the leadership that is so desperately needed to turn our country around and to avert an inevitable humanitarian catastrophe. Instead, the political elite has turned its whole attention to a constitutional reform process that has been sabotaged by you and your supporters at every turn.

You are due to retire from office in three years time and yet you continue to undermine the structures that should guarantee a smooth, peaceful and democratic transition after your exit. You subject the country to a dangerous guessing game and behave like a monarch who is reluctant to step down. Moreover, you have threatened to personally handpick your successor, as though 30 million Kenyans are incapable of determining their own destiny after you are gone.

Such prevarication on your part is draining national energies that would be better expended sorting out the mess that your government has created over decades of misrule and corruption. Your government continues to obstruct any good-faith efforts to build a truly democratic and united Kenya, even as you traverse the country paying lip service to these values.

You have gone on record as saying that you wish to leave a legacy of a prosperous, united Kenya at peace with itself. But how can this be when you have made tribalism the hallmark of your administration? After the damage that you have done to our national psyche through decades of diabolical divide and rule tactics, just what magic wand are you now planning to wave to undo in two years the effects of thirty years of merciless pillage and reckless plunder of our beloved native land?

Thankfully, despite your years of dividing Kenyans along tribal lines, a new generation recognizes the need to remain united. And though you have thrived on confounding us by those things that divide us – tribe, class, history and anything else that can weaken the people’s resolve and enable you  to rule and reign even from beyond the grave – young Kenyans have chosen to start defining those things that unite us as a nation. We are prepared to stand up to the new challenges that face us as Kenyans and as Africans, not by denying our rich cultural diversity, but by harnessing it to create one nation out of many communities. We shall not promote a form of unity while actively denying its substance, an art that has hitherto been perfected by your generation.

I wish to warn you, sir, that young Kenyans are a very angry and extremely disillusioned lot today. They have watched your generation snatch their future from them and trample it underfoot with impunity. We are excluded from any real decision-making processes as you bid us wait our turn to assume leadership. But we fear that, at the rate at which the current political elite is going, by the time ‘our turn’ comes, there shall not be much of a country to talk about. Young people are tired of being treated like children who can play no meaningful role in national matters except to be youth wingers and praise singers to old guard politicians who are well past their prime.

Kenya is not lacking in the ideas or the human resources needed to confront the myriad problems that our country faces today. But you and your government have proved wholly incapable of offering any workable solutions. The best service you can render your country now is to gracefully get out of the way and let the people with a real stake in the future of our country guide it into the next century.

And it would be a great act of patriotism, Mr. President, if you stopped trying to fool the world that without you, Kenya would crumble. For we shall go on; we shall survive, indeed we shall thrive; and we shall reclaim our pride of place among the family of nations.

That is a given! The only variable in question is the amount of effort it will take to get our beautiful country back on track. This will depend largely on whether you and your clique of court jesters and praise singers can still your deafening self-adulation long enough to be able to hear the still, silent voice of the vast majority of Kenyans. Their unequivocal demand is that it is time for you to go.

Can you hear their voices? Will you heed their rising voices? They are the voices of a new generation of Kenyans, which, to quote Nelson Mandela, “are emerging to answer new historical challenges; the voices of men and women who exist in all communities and across all cadres of our society, and who will define themselves as leaders in their capacity to identify the issues that unite us as a nation.” They are the voices of real patriots who will raise the banner of Kenya and bid us to confidently follow as we march together, proud and united, into the next millennium, one nation under God.

Yours sincerely,

Njonjo Mue

Let my people go!

When I was a child, I was made to believe that the reason for Africa's desperate suffering was that our great great grandfather, Ham the son of Noah, was cursed by his father shortly after the flood for laughing at his father's nakedness. He was thereby condemned to become a slave to his siblings Shem and Japheth. While it is true that Africans are the descendants of Ham, it is a blatant lie that we are a cursed race. For Scripture says clearly in Genesis 9: 18 - 24

                   "The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.). These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth. Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan!  The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”

It is clear from the above Scripture that Noah did NOT curse Ham. He cursed Ham's son Canaan. Ham had other children, for we are told in Genesis 10: 6 - 20:

⁶ The sons of Ham: 
   Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.

 ⁷ The sons of Cush: 
   Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka.

   The sons of Raamah: 
   Sheba and Dedan.

 ⁸ Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.” ¹⁰ The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. ¹¹ From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah ¹² and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.

 ¹³ Egypt was the father of 
   the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, ¹⁴ Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.

 ¹⁵ Canaan was the father of 
   Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, ¹⁶ Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, ¹⁷ Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, ¹⁸Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.

   Later the Canaanite clans scattered ¹⁹ and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.

 ²⁰ These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.

From the above, we see that Ham's descendants with the exception of the lineage of Canaan, were great and accomplished peoples and builders of some of the greatest civilizations of their age. Canaan however, became the father of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, and other 'ites' whom God later commanded the children of Israel to utterly destroy as the latter inherited the land that the former had settled in after the Exodus from Egypt. 

Genesis Chapter 9 has been used (or rather misused) to justify all sorts of evil and injustice committed against the African peoples, from the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in the West to colonialism in Africa to segregation in the US to apartheid in South Africa. It has also been used not only to visit unimaginable brutality upon Africans, but also to brainwash them to think that they are the children of a lesser god and that it was divinely ordained from before the foundation of the earth that they should forever be subservient on the basis of the colour of their skin. 

Scripture records that the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt for 430 years before God sent Moses in to get them out. Africa's children have likewise been held in captivity for millennia by their erstwhile brethren. But no slavery can last forever. Sooner or later, a disillusioned  but troubled old Shepherd lifts up his tired head and notices a burning bush that does not seem to get consumed and, drawing closer, he hears a Majestic Voice command him, "Take off your shoes, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of their captivity."

In the case of the Israelites, God was 'late' by 30 years bringing them out, for He had promised Abraham, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there." What was the reason of God's seeming tardiness in delivering His people? My guess is that He needed a willing agent who was prepared and courageous enough to go up to Pharaoh's palace and tell him “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go," The other reason that the children of Israel had to endure four centuries of slavery had been intimated by God to their Father Abraham: "In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” (Gen 15:16)"

As I look around at those who hold the children of Africa in captivity in so many ways, I am tempted to weep and ask God, "How long?" But He has already given me the answer that I seek. "The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." But it is clear that their civilization is in terminal decline and it is just a matter of time before it collapses altogether. My calling therefore alongside other African children who desire liberty for our people above all else, is not to be pre-occupied with collapsing economies and decaying societies, but to ensure that when the sin of the Amorites has reached its full measure, God will find us ready to go and lead His people out of slavery into our Blessed Land of Promise. 

Nkosi Sikelel i'Afrika.