Kenyan Values: A Case for Majimbo

What are Kenyan values? You may wonder why I ask this question, but living in a foreign western country one cannot avoid the constant drum beat championing western values, and after 9/11, the demarcation of them (non westerners) against us (typically Americans) is louder than ever. During this American election year, you will hear a candidate try to appeal to the core values of the nation. Love or hate this drumbeat, one cannot deny that its questioning percussion. Do I share these values? What are my values? What are values anyway? Is there really that value thread shared by those of the same national heritage? These questions are even more confounding when looked at in the context of recently independent African nations. Our nations were defined by European powers, our boarders were drawn based on foreign interests and our cultures within each nation are varied and diverse. We have no particular affinity for ideology and our intelligentsia have not sparked any social movements on the strength of their ideas. So we have no Communism, no Capitalism, no Marx, no Plato, no Mao, we are largely Muslim or Christian and the primary philosophies of our indigenous cultures are fast fading if not all together gone. So what are Kenyan values.

At this point you may be asking what do I need these values for? We have made it so far without clarity on what they are, but before tackling this, let us establish a baseline. So what do we really have? I pose that currently Kenya is primarily a political entity that is evolving into a socio-cultural entity with common values. In a sense, Black Africa hided Kwameh Nkrumah's bidding "seek ye first political kingdom." But in the words of that famous philosopher, Heavy D and the Boyz - Now that we have the political kingdom, what are we going to do with it? Politics does not exist for itself. Harold Lasswell defined politics as who gets what, when, and how. That is where values came in. We have to use our values to determine how to grow and share the mythological national cake. Economics has been defined as The study of how people use their limited resources in an attempt to satisfy unlimited wants. I quote this definition just to emphasis that that the resources are limited and the needs/wants are unlimited, hence the need for a value system to guide these decisions. Without the agreed and articulated value system, everyone with power will push their value system on the weaker members of society. That is why we have a developing country with one of the the highest paid legislators.

History will show that there is one thing that Kenyans from all corners of the country will agree with and have fought for - a corner stone of their values. Each community in Kenya resisted the the advent of colonialism to varying extents, but all the same resisted. From Kisii to Wajir all Kenyans value there freedom more specifically their liberty. What is Liberty - immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority, the condition of being free from restriction or control, the right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing without trespassing against that same ability in others. The infringement on liberty or control does not have to be foreign, it is possible for your oppressor to be your brother. Therefore, from the mob justice matted on a pickpocket to the loathing of the police, chiefs and other exploiting government official, to the disdain of foreign interference in Kenyan affairs, are all expressions of our quest for liberty.

So how do we guarantee our liberty? Majimbo or devolution of power has been trashed as a tribal and divisive form of administration. The key question is why has Majimbo become synonymous with ethnicity, while Majimbo is a recognized and preferred form of government? The truth lies in our history, and the KANU - KADU slogan fight in Kenya's first election. The thinking then, was that our leaders were benevolent and had the interests of Kenyans at heart and would be different from the Mzungu, because they had black skin. Therefore consolidating power in one black man's hands would give us order and direction - positive direction. Nobody thought checks and balances were needed because one of us was king, thus, Majimbo looked irrelevant and its purpose would only serve narrow sectarian and divisive interests.

History has proved us wrong. We now know that the oppressor can be one of your own and consolidating power in one man/woman has been disastrous. We have witnessed land theft, our taxes misused, Kenyans tortured and killed and general mismanagement for personal gain by our own leaders. Majimbo has a unique cure for this. First, it decentralizes power bringing it closer to the people this has the dual effect of having power accountable to specific people and compelling power to align to the people. Secondly, we can affect that power directly, that is the most important government official is your local representative not the kingly president in the capital, therefore our priorities are communicated directly to the person who can address them and the position of power is maintained due to direct performance on those priorities. You do not need a Nyayo Monument or Stadium if pit latrines and wells are the priority. Third, a reduction in ethnicity is inevitable under and devolved system, in addition to seeing performance in regions outside your own, the regions will test out their leaders and find their fools and favorites and realize that ethnicity has nothing to do with performance. Finally and most important, you will have more liberty. If you do not like the policy of your region you can change your government or change your region. Many small changes are easier than one large change. As witnessed in the past elections we voted out almost the entire government, but by hook or crook the king held on.

So how do we organize ourselves under Majimbo, well that is the topic of my next article, but remember whatever increases your liberty increases your life. As Patrick Henry said in 1775 - Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death.