Over the past few days, Kenya and the world has witnessed two incidents that are both sad and tragic yet they are both very unfortunate to happen in a country as progressive as Kenya.
First was the story of Boniface Murage, 22, attempting to smuggle his child from Kenyatta National Hospital because he did not see how he was going to clear the KSh56,000 that was due literally brought tears down my cheeks.
Kenyans being reactive did organize a quick funds drive to support him and the guilty plea he took drew the pardon of the court which handed him a suspended sentence.
The young man, lynched by a angry mob, in Litein following a confession to being part of a gang that was involved in terrorising residents through robbery and raping their victims is one that leaves you wondering whether to sympathize with the victim or the culprit because of the fact that young man had spent thousands of academic hours to acquire university education and may have had no choice but to fall into the temptation of taking up crime to make ends meet due to lack of employment.
There was a third incident where Deputy President, William Ruto, sent his personal chopper to airlift a child who needed urgent medical attention in Nairobi, which I find very disturbing and more so because Dr Ruto has been going round the country and all over the world telling everyone who cares to listen and even those who don’t want to hear how successful the Jubilee government had been on the question of healthcare provision.
The first two incidents I have referred to pose a moral question. But I will prosecute my point from a governance point of view – pointing out the failure that leads to the moral angle.
Murage’s was a two-year old child and if what government has been saying is anything to go by then he did not need to worry about the hospital bill because as per the Linda Mama Programme, free maternal healthcare also covered treatment for children until the age of five years.
Two things then come to the fore – either the issue has been more about rhetoric and nothing happening in implementation or someone was taking advantage to make the money from a ‘ignorant’ Kenyan or Murage simply feared he would be asked to pay and thought of taking flight.
The Litein story lays bare the fact of how the youth have been neglected and while we sympathize and empathize with the victims of crimes committed by graduate youth who resort to that for lack employment opportunities, it cannot get worse than this.
Tragedy is there are several millions of ‘hopeless’ youth who have their academic qualifications gathering dust and they have to simply survive.
That wound gets salt dressed on it by the fact that majority of government appointments are based on nepotism and ridiculous experience requirements that new graduates can’t muster.
It is worse that, however few those opportunities maybe, we have seen appointment of old people into positions that require the energy and innovation of youth to succeed.
Any sane human being would be thankful to those that showed compassion to Murage, may the good Lord bless you all. But how many other Murages are out there who are suffering and have no way out of their predicament due to failed governance, corruption and misplaced priority expenditures by county and national governments?
When Dr Ruto fills the internet with photos of how he helped the young soul with the air lift they may never forget, does he think of the millions more that have no chance of living because the government in which is he the second most powerful official is tasteless in ensuring the citizens have unhindered access to affordable, reliable healthcare?
These pertinent questions apply to many other politicians who use ‘philantrophy’ for publicity instead of using their positions to legislate and deliver policies that guarantee Mwananchi of best services from their government.
The country must act now or the incidents like we are seeing will only increase and it won’t be long before this time bomb exploded and those entrusted with the privilege to serve the great people of Kenya but have failed would have no place to hide.
