Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Kuresoi

I stand accused and i plead guilty. my head is bowed in screaming shame. my heart bleeds and i feel my shoulders hanging weak in the air coz my bones want to flee. no one wants to be part of this failure.

I went to a place called maela past olenguruone just after finishing school. a friend of mine from that area had suggested that i would make a perfect teacher (somehow i was a star back in college days) and he wanted me to teach the young people in his home area. it was a long bumpy ride but the landscape was to die for . literally. the rolling land, the green country side, the sweet smell of fertility and humus in the air was unspeakable.

after the long ride we arrived in a catholic church where i was to teach. we were welcomed very warmly by an old white catholic priest. he loved me at once. my friend introduced me well and stated his desire. the priest took a long deep breath sighed and then asked us to take a bath. we would talk after dinner.

after dinner the priest looked at me with rather a long face, i knew things weren't well. he said he liked me alright and had heard about my faith and participation in the church. (my friend had been the chairman of our church group) he also liked my grades but he would not allow me to work there. he said the situation was very fluid. the security was bad and my not knowing either of the local language would put me in a very bad situation. so the following day they both escorted me to the bus to get back to my relatively secure place at the lake side

that was about a decade ago. elections had been done. but the volatility continued unabated. it was the time when the kikuyus around kerio valley were taken to the crocodile infested river kerio and ordered to jump in. (river kerio is a deep gorge river with very steep banks. you cant climb out) there was a sad tale about one young man who landed on a rock so the crocs did not get him at first. when help came, the people threw a rope down to him. but when he was being pulled out one crocodile got hold of his leg and there ensued a struggle between his rescuers and the beast down. of course it was no fairy tale and the corodile won.

this year the situation looks worse. i have since started a blog. yet in all these times, have given Kuresoi a huge silence. for that matter, like the catholic fathers taught me, i have sinned by ommision, by silence and by burying my head in the sand.

however the situation in kuresoi, mt elgon etc are a crying shame to all of us who have chosen to be buried in the politics of hatred, in the business of investments and so on.

10 comments:

  1. Its a very sad situation, all because of politics since these clashes erupt during election years to scare away people from certain areas. Its even worse that the government has not been able to contain the situation, the minister of security is busy campaigning. I wish elections could be pushed forward to sort out this mess first but because politicians greedy for power may be involved, nothing much will be done. Why play or sing the national anthem during functions when we cannot stand by its words “May we dwell in Unity Peace and Liberty”.

    Kenyan’s should reject leaders who support clashes and cause untold suffering to innocent Kenyans.

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  2. pretty insightful........ its mass political propaganda!!

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  3. I did not know people were fed to crocodiles in Kerio valley. Shame & curses on all tribalists!!!

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  4. I feel saddened by such news also. Being born and bred in the city, my mind still can't figure out the whole tribal animosity thing. Whether it's education, prayers or military clamp down, Kenya seriously needs to act on Kuresoi, Molo and Mt Elgon.

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  5. @sue, painfully true. we have betrayed every bit of the national anthem.

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  6. @kreativemix, death? that must be the most expensive propaganda in history. do you think the good old president can stop it? or is he too busy looking for a second term

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  7. @mugi, i think when it comes to this, then anyone who has failed to condemn these acts for any reason at all is as guilty of the crimes as the criminals. we as kenyans must feel pain when any one of us is afflicted whether he be of different extraction , conviction or custom.

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  8. @mwasjd, very true. whats your take though on the loud silence by the church in kenya over these issues?

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  9. The church has indeed been "loudly silent" on this issue. If we can get GSU to disperse riot crowds in town at the drop of a hat, why have we been so stand-offish over the Mt. Elgon massacre? Why aren't the politicians in this area - MPs, PC, DOs, Chiefs etc rallying for the Ministry of Defense to step in. I'm surprised that with all the media coverage this issue has not garnered international attention yet.

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  10. I was born in Kuresoi, grown there and educated there (stayed for 18yrs). There are three communities at Kuresoi. Kisii and Kikuyu usually sail at the same boat but they frequently get themselves into hot water since Kalenjin are more than them. During the episode of quixotic, the government usually comes too late. Imagine I experience a chief been accompanied by his bodyguards pushing one community away from their home so that others can get the way for burning the houses. Anyway, the three communities will ever leave like water and paraffin.

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