This archive report was first published on 28 August 2021.
On March 13, 2020, the first case of coronavirus was detected in Kenya, marking the beginning of a long and challenging journey for the country. Since then, Kenyans have been on a rollercoaster of emotions, with misinformation spread by political analysts being a major contributor to the chaos.
Years of warped policies and corruption have finally caught up with Kenya, and the government has found a perfect excuse in the pandemic to blame the outcomes of its lopsided fiscal policies. The State has rolled out half-hearted measures to contain the virus and cushion the suffering victims of its skewed decisions, further fueling skepticism among the public.
As Thomas Huxley once said, 'science is simply common sense.' However, political analysis in Kenya has become a guessing game, backed by arrant nonsense and lacking any meaningful grounding. It's easy to blame some Kenyans for believing the disinformation, but the country's politicians have forever been economical with the truth, and would rather die than admit to any wrongdoing.
When the Ministry of Health started announcing COVID-19 cases, self-styled political analysts were skeptical, claiming the figures were either inflated or lowered and did not mirror the reality on the ground. Their zealous followers swallowed this narrative and started spreading it further, without providing any concrete evidence to support their claims.
Government's argument is that its figures and measures are informed by data from Kenyan scientists, and restrictions would only be done away with when doctors advise. However, this explanation has never been enough for Kenya's masters and mistresses of convolution, who have had to give a political angle to the curfew, movement restrictions, and other measures, even if it means poisoning the minds of their relatives and other Kenyans.
For a dissatisfied citizenry whose government, through acts of corruption, keeps proving to them that it is a guilty party until proven innocent, conspiracies about coronavirus-related matters peddled by political analysts are gospel truth. However, when it is deliberately twisted to fit certain narratives, then how can the twisters be any different from the conniving pathological liars who are State operatives and politicians?
What is the end game when they spread half-truths about the COVID-19 vaccine? It is not a secret that the government's handling of the COVID-19 vaccination program has been below par, but why spread lies about its efficacy and side effects without scientific data, yet castigate the government when Kenyans hesitate to go for the jab?
So Kenyans, go for the vaccine wherever it is available. No matter how bad it is, it is still better than what you have endured in this country, including political analysts.
