That we are a nation who lives for drama and theatrical presentations has never been in doubt. That national debates that split us right down the middle either on our ethnicity, party affiliations or social classes has been the order of the day is a fact no rational Kenyan can even try to refute. From the fur ore surrounding food shortage in the country and the possible persons responsible to whether or not a leader is criminally responsible for graft allegations or politically accountable for a scam that took place under his watch, to the Hague debate to the efficiency or lack of it in the public scrutiny for public office nominees, we as a nation have taken hard line stands on issues that don’t warrant such magnitude of sentiment.
The Genetically Modified (GMO) foods issue is the latest in the fray. With our history of melodrama I don’t know why am even surprised with the posturing and camaraderie that has surrounded the whole dispute. The effects if any of ingesting the GMOs is in public domain and any information on them has been made even closer due to the technological advances that the globe has witnessed in the recent years. Search engines such as Google, yahoo have made the acquisitions of such information accessible in a matter of seconds.
The cabinet may have cleared the genetically modified foods as a short term solution to the raging food crisis as the possibility of landing a long term and permanent solution looks as a fast fading mirage and it maintains that their decisions were based on relevant government sanctioned projects and medical examinations carried over a period of time. The naysayers point out to the hazardous effects suffered elsewhere from the ingestion among them loose of virility and potency in men, brain and body complications, reduced life expectancy and among others including even death!
Whilst the debate swirls around and protagonists take sides one person who is likely to bear the greatest brunt has been left out, again! In the public debate of who loves the common mwananchi more one side that is likely to shoulder the load of any decisions made is once again spoken of as a third party-the dumb brother who must be spoken for as he can’t articulate his desires in a clear way. This isn’t the first time the ruling elite have dragged’ their people’ into a debate that has completely nothing to do with them but as mere stooges, as a means to an end.
The desire to settle old scores and satisfy egos is ever first, laced with the sweet words and camouflaged in concerned faces of our leaders and more often than not we take the bait. Am not asking you to forsake your constitutionally stipulated right to freedom of opinion. Neither am I asking you to forsake your civic duties. All am asking is that the next time you wish to say yes at a referendum let it be because you have real issues that you think will put food on your dining table and if you wish to say no, let it not be based on paranoia and fear of the Kadhi courts instilled by some political and religious leaders; a fear that may remain unfounded for an entire lifetime. And of course the next time someone is accused of graft let’s not lynch him if he’s of the other tribe and cry wolf he is our’ brother’.
Mzee Varaq
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