TIME TO GRADUATE

With the passage of time, human beings are expected to grow older and supposedly wiser due to their experiences. Similarly, now that our country is 48 years old, were it to be compared to a human being, it would have now come of age, wiser, gray hairs and all! Therefore, what we did as a nation in the '60s and '70s should be considered kid-stuff and left behind. Under normal circumstances, we should now be referred adoringly in the Kiswahili term, "Mzee"(plural - Wazee), a reverend term reserved for a mature and responsible elder in our communities. However, we now seem to use the term a tad too liberally whereby we now apply it  even to young wealthy thieves and other social miscreants without any regard to their character. I think it's time we graduated as a nation from the present situation, where we tend  to treat our leaders with kids gloves even when involved in malpractices, just because of their wealth and social status, and demanded that they be above reproach like Caesar's wife.
Recently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo named six Kenyans as the key perpetrators of crimes against humanity visited on citizens during the post election violence of 2007/8. Among those mentioned are senior government officials and politicians who despite the magnitude of the crimes that they are accused of, are lucky to be feted and given their right of way while keeping their plum jobs becaise as a country, we are still saddled in the "innocent age" of kids which makes us glorify individuals due to their wealth and social status without necessarily interrogating their character. Similarly, three MPs have also been recently mentioned in parliament as key illicit drugs kingpins in the country and as usual, they continue to move about their business as lawmakers and the country looks upon them to even come up with new laws to curb proliferation of illegal drug trade in the country! What irony? It's utter balderdash! I however, know that some people may rush to defend these leaders in the name of our laws that presupposes one is not guilty until proven so in a court of law. But aren't we all aware that the law in this country is more often used to catch the village chicken thief who can't  either afford to hire the lawyers or bribe the courts and never applied to the big boys?
This country has many political parties but we are aware that their registration and regulation is not enforced to the necessary levels of compliance. This could  be the reason why not many citizens are bothered whether they exist or not. This is however a very dangerous trend that needs to be checked because it's the political parties that sponsor candidates who eventually become our law makers. This is even going to be more critical with the new constitution because the majority party will be expected to produce the president who will eventually form the government. There is talk that some political parties are bankrolled by drug barons, which means that, were it to be true, there is a possibility of citizens, out of ignorance and through bribery, voting in such a party that forms the government. God forbid, we don't fall prey to such easy cash in 2012 and end up with a government of drug peddlers!
For ages, politicians are known for smooth talk and incorrigible lies. The 37th President of the United States of America (1969-1974), Richard Nixon, dared anybody with credible information that could indict him during the investigation of the Watergate scandal to come forward and take his seat as he claimed he was innocent and clean. However, the law did eventually catch up with him and he was impeached leading to his vacating his seat as the president. Four and half years ago, the President of Israel, Moshe Katsav was accused of rape which he vehemently refused to accept but was dishonorably asked to vacate his office as the number one citizen. The accuser has now been vindicated after the court found him guilty of rape on 30th December 2010. This shows that political leaders even at the highest level can be vain liars and they should always be held with contempt until they exonerate themselves of the malfeasance. Therefore, it's high time we hold the same principle on our leaders regardless of the stage of their trial process. It's time for us to come of age and "vuka" to a new era of  political maturity and accountability.