The Tyranny of Poverty in Kenya

Every day, innocent, decent Kenyans who want to work and survive on an honest living are set up by snakes (powerful men) biting the little they have managed to scrap together against all odds. They steal in plain sight. No need to name them, you know very well who they are. A lot of money should have gone to development, to schools, to hospitals, to housing. But the sons of dogs are instead filling their stomachs! Those who defy authority and break the law with impunity seem to enjoy the good life and have everything go their way at the same time displaying a disgusting appetite for vanity and opulence in the way of material possessions amidst starving fellow human beings. On the other hand, people who work hard, struggle and suffer much are the victims of greed and indifference, the losers, who have lost the race even before it begins. This insane reversal of values imposed by a system that ruthlessly seeks its own rewards, no matter what the cost in wrecked human lives presses heavily on your children.

The boundaries of democracy have to be widened now so as to also include economic equality. This may be realized by either reform or revolution. The youth have been sidelined, mistreated and condemned for way too long for faults which are not of their own making. It is very ironical when a generation tasked with raising another is predominantly preoccupied with castigating that which they were tasked to mould. So, will we blame the mould for being ugly or is it really the molder, who didn’t do a good job moulding it? The youth are confronted with the most vexing aspect of our society today, the rational character of its irrationality. They are pushed into a corner by societal pressures of young adulthood, are faced with a government and society ready and waiting to rob them off the little they have and an older generation that instead of playing their role in guiding their sons and daughters are dismissive, condescending and plain unsupportive. This in turn condemns the youth into a sea of endless misery and what they resort to when faced with the desperate reality of their situation then condemns them to either sure death or life rotting in prison. Yet, our youth are full of energy and talent. Empower them to do better at what they are good at in such a way that they can make a decent living out of it. Many of them riot and rot for lack of discipline; they need an outlet for their combativeness, their adventurousness, their weariness with prosaic routine. Limiting the definition of ‘success’ to a certain pre-meditated end that has nothing to do with each individuals capability is crippling them and setting society up for a catastrophe. Let our youth explore, after all, mankind was made by men and women who were driven not by the desire to be ‘useful’ but merely out of the desire to satisfy their curiosity. The real enemy therefore, is the man who tries to mould the human spirit so that it will not dare to spread its wings.

I, on behalf of the youth of this country, declare that we are no longer willing to accept the tyranny of poverty, the dictatorship of ignorance, the despotism of poor health, the oppression of hegemony and prejudice not forgetting bigotry. We are struggling for our birthrights and inheritance, which being infringed on as they are, renders all our blessings precarious in their enjoyments and consequently trifling in their value. Let us disappoint the men who are raising themselves on the ruin of this Country. Let us convince every invader of our freedom that we will be as free as the constitution envisions. We want change, we want progress, we aim to get it and we will get it! We fight not to enslave, but to set our people free, free from misery. And to make room upon our dear country for honest men and women to walk, work and live in. To the youth; I ask you to join in this defiance of history, in this resolve to extend Love to the relations among our people. Our honor to all Kenyans is to enter this journey in full sincerity and trust with allegiance only to the truth. When we succeed in this historic undertaking, we shall ensure for posterity a dignified existence for generations to come.