My favourite poem

 My favourite revolutionary poem is The Internationale: It was done by Eugene Potier in 1871. it became the theme for international socialism, and it was translated into tens of languages(it was originally done in French),

The Internationale

Arise ye workers from your slumbers
Arise ye prisoners of want
For reason in revolt now thunders
And at last ends the age of cant.
Away with all your superstitions
Servile masses arise, arise
We'll change henceforth the old tradition
And spurn the dust to win the prize.

So comrades, come rally
And the last fight let us face
The Internationale unites the human race.
So comrades, come rally
And the last fight let us face
The Internationale unites the human race.

No more deluded by reaction
On tyrants only we'll make war
The soldiers too will take strike action
They'll break ranks and fight no more
And if those cannibals keep trying
To sacrifice us to their pride
They soon shall hear the bullets flying
We'll shoot the generals on our own side.

No saviour from on high delivers
No faith have we in prince or peer
Our own right hand the chains must shiver
Chains of hatred, greed and fear
E'er the thieves will out with their booty
And give to all a happier lot.
Each at the forge must do their duty
And we'll strike while the iron is hot.

Eugene Pottier

Benedict Wachira Mamluki

Blame the system

Blame the system

The government is responsible for everything that happens to Kenyans and non Kenyans within our borders, and Kenyans without our borders. The government has the mandate and the power to control everything (literally), every aspect and all sectors of human life.

This mandate, whether given by the people -democratically, stolen from the people, purported to be from the people, passed down in the family, gotten through revolutionary means (both popularly and unpopularly), acquired through a coup d’etat or gotten through whatever means, is a mandate that any government must fulfill as long as it is in power.

In Kenya, people have this habit of blaming some things on themselves, or amongst themselves, instead of putting the blame where it belongs (in the government!). Kenyans also have this habit of praising other quarters for their successes, which should not be the case.

For instance, here is a person in my village, called Mwangi, who drinks irresponsibly, and talks vulgar, sleeps on the streets, causes some village fights and commits other SOCIAL misbehaviours, which not only irritate the other villagers, but sets a bad example to the younger generations.

It is the role of the government to apprehend this fellow, take him for counseling, and probably together with his family and other neighbours, get to the root of his behaviour, and come up with a method of helping this fellow change.

If the government tries all this (and other measures) and still fails, Mwangi should be removed from our village, and taken somewhere where he can receive further help.

If it is realized that Mwangi does all these misconducts intentionally, fully aware of his mischief, then he should be arrested, prosecuted and jailed.

If Otieno is a farmer, and his cow falls sick and dies. He should blame the government for that. It is the role of the government to inspect livestock in the whole country. It is the job of the government to employ enough (qualified) field officers who should advice on, prevent and treat any livestock in their regions.

If the govt has already employed and facilitated this officer, but the fellow is not doing his rounds, then the fellow should be dealt with accordingly.

If the cow died of some incurable disease, it is the role of the govt to prevent further spread and deaths by ensuring that the dead cow is disposed off appropriately, and that all the other animals in the area are screened and probably quarantine till the situation is arrested.

When Wafula, who pursues some strange convictions, decides not to take his son, Wanyonyi, to school for some reason (including a vision from God), the govt must compel Wafula, to take his son to school, and ensure that Wanyonyi has the best environment for learning. Wafula should also be warned that should he continue with his convictions which go against the govt’s policies, he will be arrested and charged.

If Wafula is a member of some cult that promotes these kinds of ideas, then the leadership of this church should be taken into custody, and the followers should be de-educated off these teachings.

Should Wanyonyi go to school, but performs miserably, it should be the role of government, through the teachers, supervisors and inspectors, to know the reason for this poor performance,,,, Could it be that Wanyonyi lacks the necessary reading materials? Is it that his teachers ignore him? Could it be that Wafula doesn’t give him space and the moral to learn? Could Wanyonyi be having some brain problem? Then the govt should come up with some solution to help Wanyonyi.

If Wanyonyi sits his KCSE, the govt should provide him with an option of furthering his studies, sharpening his skills, or building on his talents. Should he make it to the University, he should be advised accordingly on what to course to select, the expectations in that course, and basically what it entails. On Wanyonyi’s final year at the university, he should fill a form on where he wants to work, or what he wants to do with his life after school. If he wants to go into business or agriculture, the govt should help him build on his idea, interrogate it and make it feasible, and eventually loan him the necessary funds to start off.

This type of responsibility should obviously be duplicated to higher govt (and private) offices, and should be implemented in much bigger scenarios.

The same case applies to whatever good happens in the citizens’ lives. We eat, sleep and work thanks to the systems of the government.

Benedict Wachira Mamluki

The Kenya I want.

The Kenya I want.

I want a Kenya where we have minimums. Minimums in all aspects. A Kenya where we have standards, standards that are always revised and improved after given periods of time.

There should be stipulated standard of housing. A standard that covers the types, materials, minimum size, number of rooms, the minimum standards of sanitation among other things. Once these minimum standards have been established (by professionals of course), the government should purpose to implement the proposals from the professionals.

In my opinion, for Nairobi in particular, Slums like Kibera, Korogocho, Mathare, the Mukurus and the likes should not be in existence in an economy like ours.

The slums in Nairobi (at our current economy), should be estates like Dandora, Kayole, Kawangware, basically most of eastlands, the good side of Mathare, and places equivalent to these estates.

By 2025, our slums, with proper planning, should be places comparable to BuruBuru.

Should such standards be set, issues which cost a lot to the economy like communicable diseases and crime (both in the slums, and those who use the slums as their hide outs) would considerably reduce, and most importantly, there will be a general uplifting of the social well being of the citizens.

Laws on these minimum standards should be passed, and anyone who goes below these standards, should face an extremely severe punishment.

Minimum Standards should be set on the kind, quality and level of education that one can have. This is irrespective of whether the education is offered by the government, or privately.

Again, In my opinion, with the current conditions in our third world country, the least (minimum) level of education that Kenyans should have is mid level college education.

The quality up to this level is currently of agreeable standards (in my opinion!), only that it needs to be modified a bit, so that it can train people on how to deal with small situations like procedures to be followed in the hospitals, the importance to behave soberly on our highways, the need to adopt adoption, encourage people to know and always demand for their rights when it is not forthcoming common decency etc. it should also inculcate in to people the importance of blue collar jobs and the capacity to create jobs, rather than to be employed (especially for campus graduates).

We should have minimums on the kind of health care that one can get from our hospitals, the minimum facilities that can be available to an institution that qualifies to be called a hospital, the minimum staff (nurses, doctors and subordinates) that should serve in such institutions and many other minimums.

In Kenya, with our poor economy, anything that qualifies to be called a hospital should have at least four doctors, thirty nurses for a bed capacity of two hundred people (which should be the minimum capacity). Should have a morgue with a capacity of 20 bodies (to cater for those who might pass on while undergoing treatment, and for those who might be brought in from outside).

The Kenya I want should even determine the minimum quantity of food that people should have, and it should be the obligation of the government to see to it that this actually happens. This should be done by ensuring that food (proper diet) is affordable to all. Every region should have the capacity to feed and nourish itself in the worst of the situations.

The nation should even have a minimum level of poverty, such that people cannot be poor below a certain level.

The Kenya I want.

The Kenya I want is a Kenya that will facilitate me to build the nation, a Kenya that will help me have a comfortable life.

If I am in business, and I have one employee, and I would like to expand my business, hence employ some two more guys, get some more profits(hence pay more taxes), increase the amounts that is being distributed to me(hence benefiting those higher in the production chain) , then the government should facilitate my expansion, by ensuring that there are enough credit facilities, that charge an affordable rate, that there is enough security, and that I can access the latest and the best methods of conducting the business that I am in.

If I am a millionaire, and I would to invest in the entertainment industry, the government should provide me with a conducive environment to invest in this industry. If it is the licenses, the process should be easy and expeditious.

The government should always seek to improve people’s lives, and those who would like to improve their lives further, the government should facilitate this.

Unless we have these minimums, and unless Kenya reviews these minimums so as to always improve on them, then this cannot be the Kenya that I want.

Wachira Benedict Mamluki