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The Absurdity of Hopelessness

Written by Patrick Gathara

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

First we are the only country in the world to declare a public holiday to honour the election of a foreign head of state. That was bad enough. But our national obsession with Barack Obama knows no bounds.

Our MPs have declared their intention to hold a thanksgiving prayer meeting at Uhuru Park, Obama's grandmother has netted an international job as Ambassador-at-large for some algae and newspapers are full of reports of an expected economic bonanza heading our way. Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his pet poodle Otieno Kajwang' are both claiming to have played "crucial" roles helping secure Obama's victory in the expectation, I wager, of invitations to visit with the future First Family in the White House or Cabinet posts in the new Administration. I wonder how many kids unlucky enough to be born this year will forever carry monickers such as Kogelo, Whitehouse, Election etc.

And when the party is over, when all euphoria has dissipated, we will be the same divided Kenya. After celebrating another peoples' milestone on the road towards true unity, we will ourselves retreat from the call of History and head back into our tribal cocoons, sharpening our pangas in readiness for the next round of bloodletting masquerading as election campaigns.

Or, perhaps, just perhaps, we can change?

Yes we can! But we won't.

Patrick Gathara
		About the author:
		Patrick Gathara is a Kenyan cartoonist and the Secretary General of Katuni, the East African Association of Cartoonists. He writes/ draws regularly on political matters and is Politics and Society Executive Editor at KenyaImagine.

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written by Mwangi - the Displaced Africa , November 11, 2008

As much as I am happy that a place that can be as cynical as our lovely home country can actually have moments of unbridled euphoria and hopefulness from time to time (this one probably eclipses the rainbow ecstasy of two elections ago) I do find it kind of sad that people seem to be so open to delusions like, " we won't need visas to visit the States," and that they do not seem to be focussing on problems on the ground as you said.
After all, the fact that Obama is president occured because a lot of people of African demand did the not-so-glamorized work of coming together and fighting the system and creating a more egalitarian society day after day after day.
Sadly it appears that human nature(or it maybe just cultural) is to focus on the flash and the superficial and latch onto that while working our hardest to avoid working on the substance.
Hope that wasn't too meandering

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Uh no
written by njoki , November 12, 2008

Uganda declared a two day public holiday and Iran a one day public holiday.

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Yes we cannot
written by Daktari , November 12, 2008

Patrick, you were precise and straight to the point. As it has been said before, we have tortured,maimed and often killed any Kenyan man or woman that threatened to awaken the Kenyan people. Yet we are quick to claim Obama's victory as one of our own. It is true that Obama's victory is an inspiring story of what Kenya can be,but wont be, unless change starts right here at home.

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written by Ciruni , November 12, 2008

Well I agree it is rather absurd for the average Kenyans to think that Obama's win guarantees them maana in heaven. But honestly, lets not generalize that all Kenyans think so. Actually, majority of the populations admire Obama's victory and the milestone he has reached as a Black man but I do not think they are naive that this means life will change in Kenya for the better ! I think we are overly harsh on Kenyans on this issue and I tend to believe the average Kenyan is intelligent otherwise this "obama savior analysis" on Kenyans attitude towards his win is exaggerated basedon a few comments from some minority section of the population !

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Uh Yes
written by gathara , November 12, 2008

Njoki,
Please post links supporting your claims. I have been unable to verify them through Google.

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ironic
written by Mlevi , November 13, 2008

We should not be surprised; the Kenyan economic and political mindset is fueled by conjecture, hyperbole, questionable logic and ironic euphoria.