Mau Mau war veterans and their families are marking the sixth Mashujaa Day a happy lot after the recognition—if belated—of the guerrilla army’s role in helping liberate Kenya from the yoke of colonialism.
Last month, the Mau Mau Memorial Monument was unveiled in Nairobi. The memorial, which has been under construction at Uhuru Park’s Freedom Corner for several months, is part of an apology by the United Kingdom government for the atrocities it visited on the Mau Mau fighters during the war for independence in the 40s and 50s.
However, the glad tidings seem to begin and end at the monument. As Kenyans flock to stadia countrywide to listen to their leaders’ speeches to mark the day, they are weighed down by myriad challenges, not least the struggling economy.
Last week, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich admitted the country was going through a rough patch financially, manifest in the delays in remitting budgetary allocations to various sectors such as education and sending money to counties.
Experts say the financial crisis will likely lead to higher interest rates as the government resorts to borrowing from the local financial markets to plug its yawning deficit, further slowing down the economy.
Already, World Bank has revised downward Kenya’s GDP growth rate projection from an earlier six per cent to 5.4 per cent. The bank has also revised our 2016 growth rate from a previous forecast of 6.6 to 5.7 per cent.
Although it may have nothing to do with the financial crisis, there is little doubt that the unhappiest lot this Mashujaa Day will be the country’s 200,000-plus teachers who are yet to receive their September salary following a pay dispute which delayed the opening of schools for the third term for five weeks.
There are concerns the disgruntlement caused by the TSC decision not to pay teachers last month could have a negative impact on the ongoing national exams.
The fiscal woes are being experienced against a backdrop of exposés of financial scandals whose magnitude would be comical were it not tragic.
Latest to come to light are the maddening reports that the government is planning to buy a single bar of soap for a whopping Sh37,500 and a pack of sanitary pads for Sh6,000 all in the name of El Nino response initiative! (Yesteray the government ‘corrected’ the figures).
Add this to the multi-million-shilling scandals at the National Youth Service, the Sh500 million feared to have been siphoned out of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), the false mileage claims by MPs, the “non-carcinogenic” wheelbarrows each costing Sh109,000 and similarly outrageous stories from the counties and one is left wondering whether Kenya produced it last heroes in the 1950s.
Mashujaa are certainly not to be found on the ever raucous and reckless political arena. Besides recently passing a law that does not just muzzle the media but also seeks to insulate the Parliament from scrutiny, MPs have generally been behaving in a manner that falls short of the definition of shujaa.
Irresponsible political activities have set the country on the campaign mode, a whole two-and-half years to the next elections.
Currently, the accusations and counter-accusations between Jubilee and Cord politicians over who “fixed” Deputy President William Ruto and journalist Joshua Sang at the ICC have only succeeded in raising political temperatures to high voltage levels.
Hot on the heels of Jubilee’s prayer rallies, Cord has revealed that it is planning to embark on similar crusades ostensibly to give their side of the story. Fears have been raised by moderate voices, including the clergy, that if unchecked, the polarising effect of the debate may spill over to the 2017 General Election.
In a nutshell, Kenyans are observing this year’s Mashujaa Day at a time when there is a serious need for mashujaa. Will the real heroes please stand up?
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