Our Courts have Lost their Ballast. A Mombasa Magistrate has sentenced 5 activists to Jail for participating in a demonstration against COVID 19 funds theft on trivial COVID rules that were not proved an the trial. Boni is right to be apprehensive about his date with a Court in Machakos. EDITOR PATRICK OCHIENG
“A lie doesn’t become truth, wrong doesn’t become right, and evil doesn’t become good, just because it’s accepted by a majority.” ~ Booker T. Washington
I write because I can. I write because one day when my generation is all gone, my writings will live on. I write as a testimony of the times we live in. Tomorrow, I will be in a Machakos court for a judgement on a case against me. A Machakos court gagged me from speaking my truth; truth that the information in my possession – and with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations as well – is that Alfred Mutua played a critical role in the bombing of our family home in Lukenya. Mr. Mutua has told the court that my public demand for justice is contempt of court and that l should be jailed. Actually, on 8th February 2022 his lawyer, Harrison Kinyanjui, had requested a warrant for my arrest because I was not in court for the proceedings. This is a civil matter and the court had been duly informed that I was out of the country. The perpetrators are crying out more than the victims. They hurt you, then they blame you for saying they hurt you. Just because past victims were quiet doesn’t imply everyone can be threatened.
As l go to court tomorrow, I’m reminded that I’m facing other court cases. Later this month, I will be appearing in a Nakuru court in a case where I assisted Naka Primary School reclaim some of their school land in 2016 that was sold illegally. The school occupies the land but the private developer was able to convince the police to charge me and four others, including the school’s headmaster, with malicious damage. It’s obviously a weak case and an affront to justice, but the court is still pursuing us, five years on.
I write this because I want to let Kenyans know that, in the past nine years, our government has shot and killed more peaceful protesters than it has jailed corrupt people. In the past nine years, the Kenya government has arrested more citizens for taking part in peaceful protests than arrested corrupt people. In our sometimes insane and inverted system of justice, you’re more likely to be arrested for protesting against corruption than the thieves who actually steal public money allocated for hospitals and schools. Case in point is the Covid theft billionaires who are currently walking free, while 6 people who protested against the theft were found guilty in a Mombasa court. Yes! That’s right. Guilty of protesting against corruption!
Kenyans are very good at vilifying good people – hating and calling them names for doing the right thing. On the other hand, the politicians who steal from Kenyans and order the killing of peaceful protesters are wildly celebrated. The artists who create art and music, the doctors and teachers who serve us, the police and military who keep us safe, the activists and journalists who tell us the truth are not celebrated. Kenyans find ways to bring them down. It’s sheer insanity.
I am an award-winning journalist, an activist and a globally-recognised leader. When someone planned and sent people to bomb our home, it was an open secret who was behind it. What hurt me most was not only the evil man who ordered the bombing of our home, it was the silence of my friends and the civil society community. People who have dined in our home. Journalists and colleagues whom we have even done fellowships together. They were quiet.
What happens after someone decides to bomb your home? Your family is adversely affected – we had to go for therapy as a family. People didn’t understand that even if there was a disagreement between me and the person who planned the bombing of our home, ordering such a drastic action was not just a criminal act, but also a blatantly and irrevocably evil one. And it doesn’t make sense to my children that I’m the one in court, not the person who ordered the bombing. That home is a personal sacrifice, built by sheer hard work and savings from our children. We have poured our souls into it as a family – it’s our sanctum.
While a brick and mortar home can be rebuilt, the emotional damage left behind has left permanent scars. It’s the first time violence has visited our home. In the past, the worst that had happened to us was getting arrested at home while the children were in school. I have been beaten, ended up in a hospital bed. I have also been shot and had to undergo surgery but all of that happened away from our home. The bombing, however, was different. Violence visited and violated my children’s innocence. They are afraid that if someone did this to our home, what more can they do to us?
I don’t have much faith in our justice system but if tomorrow the court finds me guilty of contempt, that will not stop me from speaking – from saying this injustice happened to my family. Those who speak the truth in Kenya experience more danger and violations than criminals. Our existence is threatened with lies and impunity but we soldier on because the truth is more powerful than any bullet or bomb. To those who believe in the truth, speak it. When impunity becomes a way of life, no one is safe.
The truth is a seed, often it is buried, so it can germinate and confront all those who busy themselves in the acts of comfortable lies. This reflection will be in vain if l don’t appreciate one organization and two people for going out of their way to ensure my family’s safety – Defender’s Coalition family, AB, and PC who offered my family a safe place to go. Thank you for the love and concern you showed us after the attack. AB, I appreciate you. As you advised me, “Choosing safety and longevity is definitely the best option. All children deserve to live with their father.” I choose safety and peace of mind for my family. Tomorrow the court decides, but the truth will never be buried. That is why l write.
