This archive report was first published on 29 September 2019.
Published on September 29, 2019, by Lukoye Atwoli, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Moi University School of Medicine.
As I reflect on the recent collapse of a primary school in our country, I am reminded of the painful reality that African lives are often considered cheap and expendable. The incident, which resulted in the deaths of eight children, is a stark reminder of the consequences of our actions and inactions.
While the world would be quick to investigate and determine the cause of such a tragedy elsewhere, in Africa, we often dismiss such incidents as acts of God or the work of external forces. This attitude is not only unacceptable but also perpetuates a culture of impunity and lack of accountability.
As I write this, I am reminded of a hypothetical scenario in which a 13-year-old child wakes up early to attend school, only to be caught in the chaos of a building collapse. The question I pose to my readers is: how would you like the parents of these children to react? Would you like them to join in declaring this an act of God and ignoring the obvious acts of omission and commission that led to the deaths of these children?
My view is that if we accept that the children we give birth to can be so callously murdered by uncaring profiteers and politicians, then there is no need for us to focus on loftier ideas of freedom and democracy in our lifetime. As long as we choose not to hold responsible those who kill our babies in school, we have absolutely no right to speak about what needs to be done at any other level above our own family level.
