In his celebrated book, The Wretched of the Earth, Franz Fanon had warned the press that “the news that interest poor countries does not deal with King Baudouins’ marriage nor the scandals of the Italian ruling class.” Rather, “what we want to hear is about efforts to overcome illiteracy and oppression...”Now the Kenyan media is one of the best in Africa, but its obsession with politics and shenanigans of the ruling class is now becoming almost a national epidemic. It has even distorted historical logic and suspected criminals have now become our heroes and celebrities.
We hear the Ocamp six will return home to riotous welcome and the Kenyan press will be there to jam the airwaves and press pages with the news of this homecoming and its attendant political rhetoric and pseudo heroism. This should be a great cause of shame for Kenya and I urge Kenyans to pose and rethink our national values and aspirations.
Last week, a Kenyan called Evans Wadongo made history when he was one the three winners of the inaugural Gorbachev awards for “people who have changed the world” in a London event. According to the reports, Mr Wadongo invented the first solar-powered lantern in 2004. The lamp has become a clean, healthy alternative to wood fires as a source of light and has transformed the lives of thousands of Africans.
In other words, our compatriot was among the 3 people in the world winning an award for science and technology, yet we have not had time to receive him at the airport but we are ready to receive an army of politicians who have carved a niche as a national liability. Our media also did not bother to accompany Mr Wadongo and report the London event. Or even to bring such a hero in their talk shows because a scientific invention is not as sexy news as politics.
Compare this with the heavy investments the Kenyan media has made to cover the Hague trials. We now know how the court rooms are like in Hague, how hotel rooms for the suspects are and how much they cost. Remember these are not our scientists going for international seminars; they are not our authors going for book fairs or our athletes preparing for Olympics.
They are suspected authors of the most shameful chapter of our history. Suspected masterminds of the killing and raping our fellow Kenyans; of destroying our property and showering our nation with international shame and indignity. But our media has trailed them to the courts and given us documentaries about their lawyers and relatives. Since when did being a criminal suspect become honourable, and where else except in Kenya? What national interest is being served by the media when they feed us with all these news about the Ocampo six?
As I write this, I see a picture in the newspapers of school boys in Eldoret court accused of gang raping a form two student. How can it be different? With all the heroic publicity being given to suspected masterminds of rape, arson and murder, why wouldn’t Kenyan youth want to be rapists?
With such scant attention given to a technological inventor, what would motivate the youth to be inventors and entrepreneurs? Dear reader, between Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Evans Wadongo mentioned above, who deserved to spend tax-payers money in international hotels? Who deserved to be received in a foreign capital by our ambassadors abroad?
Now the culture of betrayal has come full circle. We betrayed our freedom fighters and gave the trophy - of lands and government jobs and business contracts - to the home guards who had undermined the struggle. It took Nelson Mandela to come and tell us that we have a hero called Dedan Kimathi and his wife deserved better life than squalor. It took the international community to tell us we have Nobel Laureate called Wangari Maathai; It takes Kofi Annan to remind us the need for justice for the PEV victims. And now it has taken Gorbacheve to alert us that we have a brilliant inventor capable of making life better for millions of poor people in rural areas.
Dear Kenyans, our priorities are upside down. That is why we are one of the poorest countries in the world while our sons and daughters are developing other countries where they are appreciated for intelligence and talent. In Kenya, jobs and business contracts depend on tribe, political affiliations and corruption, never merit.
And our good press, rather than guide us in discrediting mediocre politics, is guiding us through the path of ignominy and self destruction. If the press cannot ignore this politics, perhaps it’s the high time Kenyans decide to ignore the press.
Ndung’u Njaga is a director and travel consultant with Menengai Holidays Ltd. dnjaga@menengaiholidays.com
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment