This archive report was first published on 9 August 2019.
Remembering Saba Saba ¶
On July 7, 1990, Kenyans shook off the fear that had ruled their hearts since Independence and demanded a return to multiparty democracy.
However, the ideals of Saba Saba have faded into the dim recesses of our collective consciousness, with the ruling elites viewing history through an ethnic prism.
They argue that Kenya's history is a series of contests between different ethnic groups for exclusive rights to national resources, derailing debate from considerations of policy, ideology, corruption, and governance.
As a result, our radios, TVs, and newspapers are inundated with tribal calculations of which way this or that ethnic group will vote, instead of talk about sacrifice, heroism, and democracy.
It was gratifying to see the gathering in Limuru of battle-hardened reformists of the 1990s and 'Young Turks' in civil society to remember Saba Saba and assess the state of the nation.
Unlike tribal talk by the political elite, debates at the conference were scholarly and inspirational, with speakers decried the state of the nation, the existential threat posed by corruption, and the poverty of ideas caused by the small ethnic visions articulated by the political class.
Published on August 9, 2019, the conference resolved to reawaken the spirit of Saba Saba in order to ensure full implementation of the 2010 Constitution.
As the period leading to the Independence of Kenya was characterised by much debate among players in the freedom movement, it is crucial that a strong reformist movement uses its democratic orientation and intellectual advantage to shape debate on these and other issues.
With the Punguza Mizigo Constitutional Amendments Bill making its rounds, this is an opportune time for alternative voices in the constitutional amendment debate.
As Justice Mumbi Ngugi's opinion that governors should step aside when charged in a court of law has sparked heated debate, it is essential that a strong reformist movement uses its democratic orientation and intellectual advantage to shape debate on these and other issues.
