We can oppose the government but always support our nation

Kenya has been lobbying the world for a temporary seat in the Security Council at the United Nations, and we have been passionately rooting and fervently praying for our country. Five of the 10 non-permanent seats were open and four were filled on Wednesday night by Mexico, India, Ireland and Norway.
Kenya has sought the seat reserved for Africa and had been endorsed by the African Union but Djibouti decided to run anyway and garnered enough votes to deny Kenya a first round victory. The second round of voting was last night.
A seat on the Security Council is a big deal for countries. It gives them voice and prestige and they, at least theoretically, get a say in big international decisions. They hang out with the alpha baboons such as Russia, China and the US and for a time they get a taste of what it feels like to be a superpower.
The decision whether to support or oppose issues such as this depends on where you stand on the distinction between government and country. For some of us journalists, it was hammered into us that you can oppose a government, you should oppose a government, but never your country.
The African Republic of Kenya, the welfare of its people and their survival and future, is sacrosanct and unavailable for discussion.
It also depends on whether you are flexible, pragmatic and prepared to compromise. There are ideologues to whom matters of principle, belief and their subjective concept of truth are supreme and there is no room for negotiation, flexibility of compromise.
To others, the end justifies the means; there is no eye in the storm, it is relentless conflict to the end.
Kenya’s bid for the seat was opposed by some: A prominent critic claimed that President Kenyatta planned to use membership to the Security Council to “mutilate the Constitution, cling to power and commit crimes against humanity”.
I think this is a fight I want to stay away from, having had my nose viciously bloodied in recent days.
The point: There are some things that you just do, or don’t do. Supporting your country, I think, is one of those things that should not be negotiable.
Some time back, there was an argument about the viability of Kenyan as a nation. There was an argument that this was an abusive marriage and that it was time for divorce. I thought this was a truly unsettling perspective; maybe I don’t get it, but this little piece of earth is all we have. If it’s broken, we should fix it, not throw it away.
What I find infuriating is tying patriotism to politics.
Frequently, when politicians are locked out of the trough of power, they resort to the ultimate card: calling for the dissolution of the country and the creation of a homeland for themselves. It reportedly happened in 1998 when a group of central Kenya MPs called for secession and creation of a separate state. In 2003, a section of Rift Valley MPs called for the secession of their province from the rest of the country after Kanu lost to Mr Kibaki’s Narc.
I believe when ODM lost out, or was cheated of certain victory, depending on your version of history, there were calls for the creation of a separate state.
I’ve observed, after an electoral victory, an outpouring of instrumentalist patriotism that I didn’t know existed: women tailor dresses in the colours of the national flag and arm bands are in evidence all over the place. This patriotism, though welcome, is as fake as the separatism of the electoral losers.
The trick, I think, is to love and preserve your country, electoral outcomes and transient, political calculus notwithstanding. And what better way to show that love than supporting the country when it is up against a rival in an important election.
I’m sorry, but I must change the subject now before I run out of space.
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There has been outrage on social media by women, especially young women, who accuse men of being trash for not speaking out on sexual violence against women, especially rape. The women argue that they have protested in the streets and fought the good fight on behalf of black men who are being slaughtered in the streets of America by police.
The young women are also arguing that the focus in terms of ending rape should not be on women — being told how to dress and what to do to stay safe — but on the boys and men in general. Because it’s the men who need to know that attacking a woman is the worst, most despicable, depraved thing you could ever do, and if a criminal ever deserved the noose, it should be for this.
Our country is fast developing a rape epidemic; children are attacked at home, thousands impregnated by an army of paedophiles. Many countries such as India and Nigeria, where the marriage of minors in some parts is accepted, have a serious rape problem.
Must women take to the streets for us to have a conversation and take strong action against this menace? Well, so be it, I’ll join the march.
It’s time to stand up against rapists, paedophiles and misogynists in our society.




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