Ajenda Afrika
Ajenda Afrika is a forum that seeks to address holistically, issues affecting the lives of Afrikan people both within and without the continent. It seeks to do this by looking at Afrikan issues through the deeply-spiritual eyes of Afrikan people; which shape their culture, experiences and worldview.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Uhuru Kenyatta, class consciousness, and the Kenyan revolution
My least preferred candidate is about to become the fourth president of Kenya. This is a big disappointment for truth and justice forces in our country, but we must accept it, regroup, and continue with the struggle for a better Kenya. The entire campaign period has been characterized by overt ethnic bigotry that seems to have heightened after the presidential results were released on Saturday.
This ethnicization of our politics can only be combated by raising class consciousness in Kenyan society. The presidential race was hotly contested because the office of the president safeguards the political and economic interests of a particular faction of the ruling class. For this ruling class, money and power are far more important than ethnicity. That’s why Mount Kenya elites were, at some point, willing to support Musalia Mudavadi’s candidature because they knew they could coerce him into protecting their interests if they made him president. Ethnicity only becomes important when the various factions of the ruling class are flexing their muscles and fighting for control over various sectors of the economy. Currently, Mount Kenya elites control the banking sector, insurance sector, real estate, drug trade, and the multi-billion shilling industry that is the M-Pesa Service. Control of these sectors is what was at stake in these elections.
In my view, Kenya needed the fourth president to come from a different faction of the ruling class, besides Mount Kenya. At the very least, he/she needed to be a non-Gikuyu even if, like Mudavadi, they would have been puppets of Mount Kenya elitist interests. Having such a president would have made it easier for Kenyans to realize that specific class interests, and not ethnicity, are the main driving force in our politics. This is because, after one or two presidential terms, their material conditions would have remained more or less the same. However, the same realization is more difficult to arrive at with Uhuru Kenyatta as president. This is because of the nationwide contempt for what is perceived to be absolute Gikuyu hegemony— but what is, in fact, only a hegemony of the Mount Kenya faction of the ruling class. Gikuyu peasant farmers and workers face the same challenges as peasant farmers and workers from Nyanza and Rift Valley: low wages, landlessness, and lack of government incentives. Even though the Mount Kenya middle class—consisting of intellectuals, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals—sometimes benefits from the hegemony of Gikuyu elites, they are still held hostage like all other members of the Kenyan middle class. They might secure some jobs, promotions, and business tenders—crumbs from the master’s table—but they are still forced into the rat-race of trying to eke out a comfortable living. Just like in American southern plantations, the “house slaves” were better treated than the “field slaves” but, at the end of the day, all of them were still enslaved people who were used, abused, and dehumanized for the pleasure and profits of their master.
But this does not mean we can simply wish away the ethnic chauvinism that has been on display throughout the election campaign period and after the announcement of the presidential results. We must have honest dialogue about the privileges and setbacks that our last names have accorded us with regard to securing jobs in government and private institutions, gaining school admissions, getting services in public offices, and accessing regional infrastructure. Such an honest dialogue would pave the way for healing and reconciliation, and enable us to replace deep-seated ethnic chauvinism with the sharp class consciousness needed in order to clearly articulate our class interests. By “our” I mean the Kenyan peasant farmers, workers, and middle classes who form 98% of the population.
These class interests would be the basis on which we make political decisions. For example, a class-conscious electorate in Nairobi would have pushed Kidero, Waititu, Sonko, and Wanjiru to formulate concrete plans for efficient public transportation in the county. Public transportation cannot be left in the hands of private investors and cartels that are only out to make profits. A class conscious electorate would have demanded for a centralized transportation system similar to the old Kenya Bus Service, albeit a more efficient one. The fare to be charged from Buru Buru to the CBD should not be left to the discretion of an arrogant and intoxicated matatu tout who exploitatively charges whatever he want. Mere signs of rain should not be a justification for Githurai residents to pay fares of almost Ksh.300 to get home from the CBD.
Raising class consciousness is imperative for the next phase of the struggle for a better Kenya. It will unite Kenyans and help us to effectively articulate and demand for efficient public services. I want my children to grow up knowing that they have very little in common with Kalonzo Musyoka’s children and grandchildren. Despite being Kambas, our families live in very different neighborhoods, attend very different schools, go to different hospitals, and use very different means of transportation. I want them to know that we have much more in common with Mama Rahma, our Swahili neighbor from Lamu, than with the incumbent Vice-President. Hopefully, raising class consciousness will give more substance to ongoing discussions about class in Kenya. As my mentor Wandia Njoya says, “to be middle-class is not to tweet about your cappuccino experiences at Java!” Rather, it is to rely on public transport, public hospitals, public schools, public housing, and other public utilities.
Time will be ripe for the Kenyan revolution when peasant farmers, workers, and the middle classes come together and transcend ethnic chauvinism, class bias, regional marginalization, religious fundamentalism, and gender discrimination. This will not be easy under an Uhuru presidency but the struggle has never been easy, anyway. It will require love, prayer, reading and dedication in order to restore the dignity and humanity of every Kenyan citizen. The future of our country cannot be left in the hands of just one percent of the population, which is fighting for political and economic power. The struggle for a better Kenya continues with or without the son of Jomo as president.
Aluta continua!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Mombasa riots, Terrorism Bill and Psychological warfare
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Treat it well it could be your dinner
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The Suicide Debate
Calling this specific topic sensitive is an understatement, sometimes
you came to a stage in life when everything is going wrong, when it
seems like no one understand you, constant fights with your parents
over your choice of friends, how you spend money,your coming home at
the wee hours of the night , just nver ending petty issues that drives
you to pack your stuff and move out ! You come out into the world
think that at least you have some peace that life will finaly look up
only for the cycle to begin with the boss picking at you at
work,nothing you seem to do is ever right, a boy friend who never
calls or is always missing in action,not forgetting the romour that
he's been seen with so and so at such place. so you decide to
compromise coz maybe that will make him stay only to hate your self
more,...when they try to seek help from a friend who tries to rape
them, when you look at yourself in the mirror all you see is a failure
as a daughter ,an employee and a girlfriend,as a woman you convince
yourself that no one wants you, no one will ever realise your gone,
people who commit suicide think of two things
1. I will finally put an end to my misarable pathetic life, am a
failure,an embrassment,no one wants me or will miss me anyway....so
yes it is selfish.
2. They (who are left behind) will bear the guilt and the shame, the
question "why" will eat them up to their graves, they will wish they
had stretched ther hands and helped, they will wish they had stopped
yelling for one minute and listened to me.....why they dint save me.
Its people who seek approval of whom they,how much they are loved, if
anyone notices they exist at all and when they fail to get this
approval then they dont see their importance as to why they should be
alive, one thing is for sure its all a matter of choice...when you get
to choose to find your true identity in Christ and no longer look out
for the approval of a man or woman you make the choice to start over
and give life a chance.....
@muthami you asked - If God knew even before creation, that someone
everyday what we would eat,wear,go to school, who to date,which church
to attend etc....my belief is that God has our lives planned to the
last detail yet some of us die even before accomplishing what He had
planned for us, we live in houses that we never consulted God we
should live in ! we date poeple we never consulted God about, we study
courses and graduate from MBA'S to Phd's never having asked God if
thats what we should have studied or in careers that ...you get my
drift ! choices choices choices they change the course of
everything...
in my opinion
ciiku
Frankly, I don't think one can ever put their finger on precisely what causes suicide. The literature in me see suicide as a tragedy - as one of those mysteries we have to deal with and whose final answers remain the privilege of the gods (or God for the Christians). Suicide points to the other mystery of life being ours but not ours. The fact that we live our lives does not mean we have complete jurisdiction of it. So if someone takes his life, what does that mean to God (or the gods)? I don't know.
Maybe its all these unanswered questions that made suicide one of the greatest taboos in African societies, so that no rites were said for the person who died, or the remains and his property would be burnt down. I think it was the African way of accepting that there are some things we will never know.
But that does not mean we should not do anything for those who want to or try to take their lives. Our responsibility is to reduce the risk factors that push people to take their own lives as much as we can. If the person is sick, we get them treatment. If the person is traumatized, we get them counseling. If that trauma is caused by social factors, such as Bush's war that made returning soldiers more prone to suicide, we fight to change the circumstances that make people desperate. And most of all, we just love and pray.
Wandia
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Kenya: Valley of the Shadow of Death
A mzee I traveled with yesterday morning remarked that no one will be prosecuted for PEV 2008 because no one ever is ever prosecuted in Kenya. He argued that Pinto's, Mboya's, JM's, Ouko's murderers were never prosecuted.
It was only then that I realized that I always thought of these murders as simply political evidence of why Kenyatta was a dictator and why Moi had go; I never thought of their deaths as crimes by virtue that those men were human beings. Every time someone was assassinated or people massacred, I just thought politics; I just thought of how we need to challenge the system and get new leadership.
The mzee led me to discover that I was so heartless, but more so, to realize that surely Kenya is dripping with blood, scattered with bones and haunted by restless spirits. No wonder it was so easy to hate and kill in 2007-2008. Our consciences are dead and our minds are messed up. We can never think straight if we have not mourned, performed national rites for the dead and worn sackcloth to repent our evil. We can never think straight if politicians continue to bargain for power with how many corpses each side can produce, or to point at their own corpses to compete on who is more innocent than the other.
This isn't simply about tribalism - it's about being human. We are tribalist because we are no longer human. Killing doesn't start with the pangas. It starts when we have closed our minds to reason and our hearts to justice. We need to suspend the political issues for just one minute and see casualties as people, rather than as playing cards, otherwise we will have a blood bath come 2012. For as our ancestors taught us, restless spirits haunt the living and make the living pay dearly until they are appeased.
Wandia
Friday, December 3, 2010
The Beauty Debate
Here is our discussion on beauty...
...
Kindly find attached a poster for tomorrows Ajenda session. This is a bit different from most sessions nevertheless we are sure it will be a great one just like the others..
A scope of it; It will be a session where people interested in tying turbans will come with a leso and we shall have a session where we learn the history of turbans..Where it all came from. We shall also learn the basic concept of tying a turban and play around with different designs.It should be exciting to have a room full of turbans...
Hope to see most of you there.. the men too are welcome. The one and only Joshu said he'll come learn then go home and teach his wife.
Good day!
However, the pain from scalding for a weave differs from the tatoos of the good old days in one aspect: history. The history of "silky long hair" for those with the kinky hair is one of shame of being black and the desire to be white. On the other hand, the tatooing where marks are cut into the skin (not the colors we see on the huge arms of American thugs in Hollywood movies) is embedded in centuries of African history. I hear people saying that the younger generation doesn't feel the inferiority complex the way it was felt a few years ago. But I don't buy that, because even fashion has history and a historical consciousness. When an Indian woman wears a sari she is connected to generations of women and a fashion that evolved in her society over centuries. But when an African wears a suit, they are connected to a history of colonization.
That said, we have dandyism in DRC, otherwise known as "La sape," which is known for very flashy suits and is a uniquely African tradition. And there's the bling bling of hip hop. So I don't know what principle we can use for dressing consciously African. So far my principle is this: if a hairstyle causes me to fear the rain, pollutes the environment with plastic or costs me more than I can afford, then I shouldn't have it. I grew dreads because I wanted to stop praying that it wouldn't rain every time I came from the salon, which is a prayer no African in a rain-dependent agricultural economy should have. I started them when I was studying in the US, and they were done by an African American brother. I could have done them on my own, but he was a conscious brother whom I enjoyed talking with because he put me in touch with my blackness in a very white town. So I went every month to touch base not only with myself but also with the Africa that was brutally separated by slavery (I am a fanatic pan-Africanist).
But my latest style doesn't really have a deliberate African consciousness as such (to the disappointment of many who ask me). I just saw it on Kanye West and liked it, printed a picture and took it to the kinyozi.
'I grew dreads because I wanted to stop praying that it wouldn't rain every time I came from the salon, which is a prayer no African in a rain-dependent agricultural economy should have.'
On matters of beauty,
What I'm saying is, there seems to be a template that as women, we are expected to fit into in order to feel and be seen as beautiful. This template is goes something like thin, heals, make up, silky smooth hair (surprisingly only achievable through weaves or chemical for Africans), light skin...and much more. Just the fact that we are slowly all looking the same, signals that there's a problem with our current definition of beauty.. and yes the men have contributed to the existing this template.
I have a friend who loves big arms. And he explicitly shares about this love with his lady friends. At first, you could see the ladies he would compliment shying off a little bit ( perhaps doubting whether its truly a compliment).. but after his consistent expression of how he genuinely appreciates big arms, its obvious how comfortable the ladies felt and probably more confident about their arms.
The problem here is not that Kenyans lack their own definition of beauty. In actual fact, Kenya itself has numerous definitions because of all our different cultures. I just think that we need to rekindle the value for our diverse definitions of beauty. Not so that we all stop wearing weaves but so that we don't have to put on weaves in order to be beautiful, so that we don't have to be thin, to achieve beauty and so that we get rid of this template.
When we went to Muranga, the Kikuyu wazee's were very expressive about their thoughts on family, God, sex and beauty amongst other things .By the time we left there, we knew their views on everything that was discussed. Not so that we become like them but just to know and understand them for whom they are. They clearly named their world. Beauty should not be defined for you (template) you should define beauty for yourself. Name your world.
But what is it? Is it just the definition, or is it our own concepts (of beauty) that we have selectively formed over the years? Is there a difference between the 2? I'm not sure, but what I know is that a wrong concept leads to wrong understanding.
Suffice to say that beauty has never been defined the same way by two people. So I'll not indulge in the attempt to define it lest I irrigate the misconstructions. However, it is a universal law, I must say, that physical beauty is a fleeting whirlwind which is too soon replaced by wrinkles, toothless mouths, gray or no hair at all, stooping spines, sagged muscles, sunken eyes, brittle nails, etc.
So what is the concept of beauty that defies the harsh realities of the passage of time, traverses cultural boundaries, and is self defined and sustained? I guess there lies true beauty. I rest my case.
First of all, I love this idea Claire. Secondly, there's so much going through my head about this, I can't even articulate all of it. But I will attempt to.
Wandia, I can't get over your thoughts (I've read your contribution 4 times!). I love that you're now wearing a Kanye West inspired look..just because. No deep meaning. No looking for connection. Just because. I think it's important to allow that too. Sometimes people or women wear permed/relaxed hair just because they honestly think it looks better and it's a better reflection of who they feel they are. We shouldn't assume that they are ignorant or 'disconnected'. Afterall, isn't culture dynamic? Isn't it a bit naive of us to assume that western/global influences have not shaped our definitions of beauty? (sad but true). Actually not sad..beautiful. It's what makes the human experience so varied and rich. We can all have our definitions of beauty and appreciate them.
I believe our history (though painful) has some value, I think we miss out when we totally shun it. It's part of our make up. Whether it's our definitions of beauty or generally how we look at the world. I guess my point is, beauty is very relative and dynamic. It is not in a turban or permed hair (I think that's just a representation of our identity) but in us. Beauty is in what makes us Kenyan/African.
The only problem I have with weaves and relaxed (first of all, how is it relaxed? It's strained & burned if you ask me!) is how fast we (many africans atleast) ran to embrace anything white, we don't even protest we always see it as better. It's truly unfortunate.
Hope am making some sense!
Nduta
I've posted my "Kanye West" hairstyle on the Daystar Language and Performing Arts facebook together with Turban day photos.
The thing that makes this discussion so complex is the fact that beauty is determined by the individual, by society and by history. Therefore, saying that it is ultimately ME who decides what is beautiful is not entirely correct. Getting my version of Kanye West's hairstyle was my decision, but it was influenced by someone else (West) and I found it through the internet (globaliezation).So one cannot argue that they wear weaves simply because they find them beautiful. You must have seen a weave on someone for you to think it looks nice, and that someone invented the weave because they thought kinky african hair is not acceptable.
So let's be honest on that front. You may not think that long sleek hair has anything to do with white folk, partly because white beauty has been normalized, and partly because your ancestors sacrificed their lives so that you don't have to confront white people directly. In other words, you are removed from raw racism and colonialism because someone fought against it, so you don't feel the pressure to look white the way our grandparents felt it.
On the other hand, I like what Nduta said - it was so on point. Dressing "just because." The thing about colonization and racism is that it denies us black people to dress "just because." It doesn't allow us to put on the first thing we think of. Whether we dress African or European, it has to be very deliberate - because you want to make a point.
But dressing "just because" is a habit you develop. Having a Kanye West's cut was a "just because," after 8 years of wearing dreads. When I started the dreads, black people (both in Kenya and the US) would ask me why I am doing it. Some thought it was unChristian, others thought I should be straightening my hair rather than working with its kink. It used to be so bad, that sistas would stop me and say they love my hair but they don't have the guts to do it because their female relatives would object. Others would start and then give up in between because of pressure. At one point we had thought of coming up with a book in which black women tell their experiences starting their dreads. But my struggle through dreads opened the way for me to do the Kanye West "just because," because it established my reputation as someone who doesn't follow the norm (though I hear that some Daystar staff complain that I seem to get away with alot that others cant).
When I started wearing African clothes in the 90's, it was such a problem for Kenyans. Some would tell me I look like a tourist, others would ask me if I am Masai (and I would them ask if they are American since they are wearing jeans), and others would say "you look so African" (and it wasn't a compliment. In any case, am I not African? Why do I have to "look" African?) Then, wearing "African" prints and designs was deliberate. Now, I don't even think about it. When I want to buy a new outfit, I know where to go (Muindi Mbingu, Biashara street or to individual designers). I think the only people who know Kenyan fashion designers more than me are the designers themselves.
But now, many young Kenyans wear dreads without a second thought. You were kangas, kitenges, turbans :-) on an every day basis and not just for weddings. The "just because" is result of struggle of those we know and don't know.
So, if you wear slinky weaves and get your scalp burned (the way I used to), that's both decision and habit of both you and society. And if you are a thinking human being, you have to gather the courage to confront that decision you made or that others made. Or you can ignore it. But I don't think Claire or Muoki are being judgmental when they ask the tough questions. They are just questioning the beauty decisions we make.
This long story is already telling about the internal struggle African women go through. We need to collect our stories.
decide to create man.. aaaa he dint speak people, he created. Took his time and created. The results were beautiful hence he said it was good. He created us in his own image. Now follow this when it came to me, he put my man to sleep and formed me from his rib. Walala when my man awoke all he could say is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh I shall call you WOMAN. He called me that without make up. A weave, plastic surgery you name them. My man called me woman in all my natural form. Now don’t get me wrong a lady can do all she wants. From make up to the rest. But she should not miss the fact that she was called woman in all totality when she was in her natural form. I am a woman and I am beautiful. Beyonce and the rest don’t define me coz my God did and my man affirmed it. He seconded the motion.
The issue of make-up is another that is very touchy. while I don't use make up myself it, I see nothing wrong with using it, in the right way. make-up is meant to accentuate your natural features, or hide a few trouble spots, not to make you look like a totally different person. As I watched TPF last night, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Palek, the contestant from Southern Sudan. Their attempt to make her look like a better version of herself failed miserably if you ask me. Her face looked a lot like village dancers do after washing off the paint on their faces-unsightly. It seems there just aren't any shades of make-up for the ebony-skinned!!!
So here's my problem. Many women out there don't look the way they want to- they look the way they think they should. That's why some go for surgery to "correct" their flaws. Others starve themselves to look thin, even others wear padded biker shorts and jeans to appear to have a fuller backside!! Don't forget about the ones who apply all manner of concoctions to their faces to appear more fair skinned...sadly some forget to bleach other visible parts and end up looking like victims of industrial accidents. It may sound funny, but for the ladies involved, the pain and struggle is real. Muoki said that a lot of it has to do with the men in their lives, and I totally agree. Take for example a lady who was told by her boyfriend that he would only commit to her if she lost weight. Ridiculous, right? well, not to him.
What people forget is that genetics plays a major role in how we look. For example, I have a very high metabolism so I can't gain much weight, no matter how hard I try, or how badly I want to. My younger sister on the other hand has a much slower metabolism, so even when she eats half my portion sizes, she has a fuller figure. Even then, lifestyle plays a big role as well, don't spend your life on the couch chowing down on junk food then blame it on a slow metabolism or genetics when you gain 50kgs, that's just wrong.
Women need to take charge of their own lives, define who you are, and what you want to be. Take care of yourself, eat right, exercise, and generally stay healthy. Then dress in what makes you comfortable and best represents who you are- and don't forget the most important accessory- confidence!!
Beauty is an outward expression of an inward thing- if you feel good about yourself, it shows in the way you walk talk and live your daily life, and there is nothing more beautiful. And as for those sorry brothers who cannot commit to a full-figured woman, you're not worth the trouble!!
So despite the encroachment of outside influence, the negativity, and all else that can be said about Afrikan definitions of beauty, there is still hope for our people, thanks to forums like these that expose our misconceptions.
- Dressing just because is a concept that I had never thought about until these discussions started. I remember in an earlier discussion on ‘Hip Hop’ someone highlighted that he listened to music to be just to be entertained. To experience music’s pure unadulterated pleasure without attaching a political, spiritual angle to it. I guess 500 years of injustice and atrocities have taken a toll on us as a people. It’s like we have a collective low self esteem, and insecurity. A collective need to justify all our actions lest they be deemed inhuman or afford some form of punishment. In all this despondency who then could afford the luxury of dressing ‘just because?’ or creating music and literature ‘just because’?
- Beauty as a concept has an expressive quality about it. We may chant all we want about ‘not judging’, but the fact is we cannot be beautiful in a vacuum. There has to be some form of recognition or affirmation from some quarter. That is why this thread keeps getting longer because many opinions exist on this issue. The fact that society terms some people as beautiful or ugly means that some perceptions exist in the minds of those that do it.
- Beauty is multi faceted. The problem with our generation is that we have emphasized the physical aspect of beauty and ignored the others. Kindness, intelligence, confidence, a calm spirit, empathy, humility… are great signs of beauty in my books.
~Helen Keller ~