President William Ruto and AUC Nominee Raila Odinga
By Simon Bodo
How you treat people who hurt you says more about your faith than how loudly and emotionally you worship. Much as it may need a coalition between the heavenly values and earth’s presumptuousness, it behoves that the heavenly values supersede the presumptuousness in a leader; more so if the leader purports to be a honest Christian. This is simply because the comportment of humanity has been fashioned towards religion most of which vouch for meekness over dominance, thus, advancing the mantra that the meek, not the dominant will rule the earth. Meekness in a Christian leader should be a badge of honour, a strength but not weakness and is exemplified in Christ himself. It’s, therefore, neither a product of cynicism, nor an exercise in defeatism.
The earth; that is humanity, therefore , constantly seek for a leader not defined by domination, but transformation that transcends egoism and emanates from inward purity. It is actually the divine conception of ones heart aside from even dancing to the platitudes of the praise singers. Hon. Raila once exuded this in his quest for constitution and equitable resource apportionment. In the process many of his followers who have ever stuck with him in the trenches have been maimed or lost lives as many properties of innocent investors go down the drain. An absurdity to humanity!
While our constitution favours an egalitarian approach to life, majority of such victims have not been compensated; even the victims of last year’s GenZ’s protests. This is what Raila’s voice echoed during this year’s Madaraka day celebrations (1/6/2025) in response to president Ruto’s supposedly reconciliatory message during this year’s national prayer-breakfast. Whether Hon. Raila’s appeal was done through conviction that emanated from his heart’s desire or he was just working up the crowd’s emotions is for him to explain. The former may stand out when you watch it from the sideways because Raila has been an auxiliary government courtesy of the many handshakes he has partaken of but compensations have remained elusive to date! This, actually, portends that when we humans make exceptions and do what’s expedient instead of what we know is right to the wider good of our society, history will remain as the sole jury.
The enormity of this reality alone should make us feel incredibly insignificant regardless of our social standing. It should be more cogent to a leader of president’s stature given that the public hold that office with lots of moral standards especially after the bearer of the office has audibly sounded the reconciliatory bells. Surely, it’s not the office that brings distinction to a man, it’s the man who brings distinction to the office. By this, the ethos of the office remains self defined. This is because as humans we don’t always operate our lives according to human impulses when we are imbued with wisdom; because wisdom will ever remain the hallmark of a just society.
The abduction of Njeri by the DCI that came hot-on-the heels moments after president’s exuberance of piety on prayer-breakfast strayed far from the ideals of Christianity, open governance and free discourse in a liberalised society. It flies flat on the promises recently made by the president before the glare of the world, at the state visit by Finnish President Alexander Stubb, after having been tasked by an international journalist on the rampant violation of human rights and incessant abductions within our borders that there would be no more human rights violation. Succinctly, irony of preaching technology, innovation, and citizen participation; and then with the other hand criminalizing a young lady for offering a technological solution for ease of public participation!
A citizen that comes up with a digital innovation that could easily facilitate public participation on crucial matters as Finance Bill deserves an award, not a charge. But strangely, ours is a country where presidential decorations are apportioned to looters of public coffers and miscreants who, in a healthy society, belong to jail.
While forgiveness forms the central tenet of Christianity, thereby deserving to be apportioned, justice should be equally served to everyone without discrimination on the basis of social stratification or political affiliation. The broad-based government will be judged on no more other pedestal than this.
bodosymon@gmail.com
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