The politicization of the mass funeral of the victims of a tragic traffic accident in Kisii on Monday July 24, 2013 as reported in the Media the next day was a crying shame.
The harassment of government officials by professional agitators planted strategically among the mourners was an act of both hooliganism and heartless disregard for the departed, their families, friends and sympathizers throughout Kenya and beyond.
Turning a mass funeral into a political circus that constantly verged on violence was brazen, shameless and extremely cynical.
The vast majority of the people gathered at Kisii were there to grieve and mourn. But a tiny imported and drunk and well-rehearsed crowd for hire appalled Kenyans with their brutish behavior when they prevented the delivery of the President’s message of condolences by Information, Communications and Technology Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.
Funeral etiquette the world over demands no other agenda apart from expressions of sympathy and support, a sharing of fond memories of the deceased.
It is not for nothing that mourning at a funeral is universally described as showing your “last respects”. Silent prayers and deep meditation are the salient features of a funeral. At Kisii, there was a massive and regrettable show of disrespect.
The memory of the deceased was brutishly brushed aside. On the VIP dais, there was barely any sharing in the loss or expressions of love, grief, respect and appreciation for the lives that had been lost.
Instead, there was a grotesque campaign rally-like welcome for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who was feted by the “heckler squad” and whoever was in charge of the public address system upon arrival as “Baba amewasili, karibu baba (Our father has arrived, Welcome, father)”
And when Raila rose to address the mourners, he launched into his two favourite preoccupations of recent months – a completely unwarranted over-the-top attack on the Jubilee Government and a selfish self-portrayal as being the victim of wrongs done to him.
It is the same message that Raila has been taking all over the world, whether it be to an all-Africa investment conference in London, addressing 10,000 bored undergraduates in America or as a frequent flyer to South Africa. It is a narcissistic narrative, the political equivalent of navel-gazing.
The former Prime Minister has continuously disparaged, rubbished national institutions in total disrespect for the law and democratic ideals he continuously purports to defend as a “democrat”.
The general elections and its aftermath are over and Kenyans have moved on. Raila’s insistence that any process, institution or official that does not hand him victory on a platter is corrupt and ought to be done away with is becoming boorish and boring.
His assertion at Kisii that the Jubilee Government is governing with an iron fist and is vengeful is mere fiction.
The tragedy of Raila Odinga after the March 4, 2013 elections is of a person who has reduced himself to a one-trick pony. Even if he were to address a nursery school gathering, the United Nations General Assembly or a State funeral (whether in South Africa or Iceland), the self-regarding message would be the same, garnished with the lies he tells about the Jubilee Government. What a keening pity.
Muthui Kariuki is the Public Communications Secretary and Government Spokesman
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