the stink of injustice

I have been watching for sometime now with great unease as events unfold in my beloved country Kenya. With the injustices that have occurred recently, I find it difficult to even call Kenya…my beloved country for we as Kenyan Citizens in all reality seem to have lost what our ancestors and predecessors fought for. The painful question comes in mind. Did we really gain independence? If we indeed gained independence, from what or whom did we gain it from? Let me rephrase that question. Did we gain our freedom or did we simply switch masters?

I recall the late Honorable Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s book, “not yet Uhuru” were he enumerated facts on why Kenya was still not free. Decades after the Honorable Jaramogi wrote the book, it is with immense sadness that I say today, and some may agree with me; that the chains of sadistic oppression were simply handed over to a darker-skinned colonialist.

Lately the news from the motherland that has been crossing the seven seas are the disturbing reports regarding the eccentric dramatics and may I dare to say shameful acts of the first Lady Lucy Kibaki and the criminal activities or should I say purported criminal activities of Tom Gilbert Cholmondeley. To add insult to injury the chief law enforcement of official in the republic of Kenya decided out of his own merit and discretionary powers that two individuals in the country were above the law and therefore should not be held accountable for charges ranging from public affray to trespassing to assault and battery to murder of an officer in the line of duty. There is also the seemingly uncontrollable graft, a new constitution that despite a hodgepodge of promises by the very “vibrant” Kibaki government is yet to implemented. Before I continue any further let me say this; I am not a politician, have no ambition to become one and for the Love of God hope never to become a politician. Having said that however, the issue that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to the point of a nauseating sensation is the ridiculous and gross abuse of power by our attorney general, the Honorable Amos Wako.

In two very public criminal cases that infuriated Kenyan citizens, our honorable attorney General decided to enter a “Nolle prosecui”. Let me explain. Under the current Kenya Constitution, the Attorney General can use his discretion to halt a criminal indictment and prosecution and yes...no one apart from the president can do a goddamn thing about it. In these criminal cases, one of them involved the first Lady of the republic of Kenya assaulting a journalist who was on duty in the full glare of television cameras and a host of witnesses. Can anyone say guilty? Then there is the sickening case of Tom Gilbert Cholmondeley, who happens to be a descendant of a colonialist who shot an on duty law enforcement officer. I was even surprised that the guy managed to get arrested without getting accidentally shot while resisting arrest. If this fellow was a black Kenyan say with the last name of cheriyot he would have been dead by now while the police tried to “apprehend” him. Anyways, this guy gets arrested, after a few days gets arraigned in court and guess what ladies and gentlemen, not a visible scar on his body, he didn’t accidentally fall while in police custody. By God! He must have had his own cell while in custody! Either that or his ass would have been made into scrambled eggs by the wanugus. To top it all, while the regular suspected criminals of meager means arrived in court in prison attire, the murderer of a law enforcement officer was arraigned in court styling in a designer suit and designer eyeglasses. Nothing but the best for the grandson of a former colonialist. After all they did us such a great favor by introducing tarmac roads, hospitals and schools right?

With a surmounting amount of evidence, the attorney general of Kenya, the chief law enforcement official decides that different rules should apply to the first lady and a colonialist’s son and therefore no prosecution of criminal acts should proceed. Can you smell the stink of injustice? I doubt that the Attorney General of Kenya in his very busy schedule of enforcing the law reads my blog but if you do Mr. Wako, I have a few questions for you. How do you sleep at night Amos? Can you hear the cries of the grief stricken families of the murdered officer? Can you see his children growing up without their father who lay his life on the line in order to provide food on the table and a roof over their head? How does it feel to let a millionaire get away with murder? What about Lucy Kibaki the pride and joy of Kenyans everywhere? I mean if it is so difficult to prosecute the murder of a law enforcement officer with a bog of evidence in your face, you could at least prosecute a simple assault. As a law enforcement officer myself who has in the past made arrests for anywhere from probation violation to sexual assault and subsequently testified in court proceedings under intense cross examination from American trained attorneys, I can surely tell you that the immense evidence of audio and visual data should guarantee you a conviction and win some justice for Mr. Derrick.

I have questioned myself numerous times and wondered, what if the tables were turned? What if the nation staff and the KTN journalist had simply walked into state house and held a sit in for 5 hours. Lets take this further. What if Mr. Clifford Derrick had slapped the first lady? A cup of Nolle prosecui anyone?

Now on defense of Lucy, there may have been a host of mitigating circumstances that could have lead to the first lady having to react the way she did. The mitigating issues could have ranged from self-defense to mental health issues. Any of this could have been a possibility. Right? Either way Justice is blind and having said that, she should have been treated just like any other Kenyan. Being the first lady she is held to a higher standard of conduct. There is still time for Lucy Kibaki to redeem herself. A simple public apology to the victim and the public would go a long way. Kenyans are a loving and forgiving people and humility is a respectable trait. Wish you all the best Lucy. As for you Mr.Cholmondeley…justice will catch up to you soon. . We hope. I am not yet done with you Mr. Wako, all I can say is we once held you in high esteem and to me you may as well be a lion with no teeth. Simply a barking chiwawa.