A few days went by, and still I did not see it published. So I wrote one of the editors and asked about my submission."Your article was very well written, it was brilliant in fact. Unfortunately, with the current situation in Kenya we have decided not to publish it.", was the reply I received.

I agreed, perhaps not fully, at the time. But I have since changed my mind. In my article, I wasn't advocating the position of one of the protagonists in the debacle that is Kenya right now. I was actually calling for their demise. The collective end of all of them! I don't think the government or the opposition have earned the right to run Kenya for Kenyans. And if they had, they've surely lost that right.

I would postulate that the loss of even one life over greed and hunger for power is too much. And for that I call for the dismissal of the current crop of politicians. It is well and good to play the blame game. I do engage in it myself from time to time with my friends, family and workmates, but I do not think it is appropriate on a national level, and especially not when there are lives being lost every day in the most gruesome fashion; not when there are people rendered homeless and destitute on no excuse but their ethnicity.

Both parties in this conflict have betrayed to us what truly lies in their souls; the greatest callousness and disregard for the public good. It is clear now that each thought that the other would cave in once the violence and deaths occurred, but playing games with innocent people's lives is no joke. It is not something that they should be proud to do, these strategies, this poker.  It would have cost no lives should one of them had been grown-up enough to compromise. What would it have hurt to recount the votes? What would it have cost to concede defeat and wait for next time? Is five years worth all those lives? Is this crazed hunger for power worth all those lives? If he felt so bad about it, why not commit the ultimate form of protest and kill himself? We could always do with one less politician.

I am sure it would've have captured everyone's attention and at the same time sent a profound message. Speaking for myself, I'd surely have sat up and listened. There are a lot of arguments as to why the swearing-in had to be done so speedily, so stealthily or why the protests had to happen, or be so passionate; but bottom-line is, there are NO reasons whatsoever for any of the deaths.

I do not see why two pig-headed men should cause all those deaths; cause all those families to suffer; and hold an entire nation to ransom.All I see from these politicians is just plain greed. There is nothing nationalistic or patriotic about their words and actions. Their hard-line stances have only caused deaths of innocent people, and now the violence has taken a turn for the worse.

There has been a lot of disenchantment amongst Kenyans, especially the poor. The whole election fiasco has brought to the fore what everyone knew, but didn't want to talk about: tribalism is an issue in Kenya. And it will continue to be the central, polarising issue for the foreseeable future. Most of those committing violent acts are acting from fears, or perceptions of injustice, fears amplified in no small way by their political leadership. By engaging in this mindless, egocentric gluttony for power, they are simply fueling their people's anger, and furthering their bitterness. The Kenyan press has taken to avoiding mention of tribal affiliations when talking of attack victims and their attackers, everyone can judge for themselves whether this is right or wrong. All I know is that things have now moved far beyond it being a clamor about rigged elections. This is something else, and if it is not addressed soon, God help us.