From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013
Some of our readers have asked my opinion what I think about Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu engaging in politics contrary to her commitment before being appointed. Readers were referring to the introduction of widow of late Makueni senator Mutula Kilonzo, Nduku, to President Uhuru Kenyatta in Machakos on Sunday by Ngilu to vie for Makueni senate seat.
While unveiling the Jubilee Cabinet, President Uhuru told Kenyans that the condition for appointment of Ngilu and Najib Balala, who had unsuccessfully vied for the Kitui and Mombasa senatorial seats respectively, was on condition of keeping off politics.
My opinion has always been clear that I don’t care whether Ngilu, Balala, Kasungu Kambi engage in politics even though they promised they would not. I don’t care because it is very unfortunate that I will not live to see Kenya you can call yours because this will happen in 50 years to come and many of us would have already died.
That is also why I don’t care whether Uhuru and Ruto mobilized their ethnic communities to ascend to power, whether they rewarded their supporters because they helped them grab the power. Even if Raila won I would still not acknowledge his victory because of using Luo and Kamba communities to win.
It is also why I don’t care whether Francis Kimemia blocked Raila from entering the VIP lounge at Jomo Kenyatta airport or any other airports, or whether Uhuru is retaining PCs, DCs, Dos or county commissioners.
Instead I care very much and it is indeed bothering me so much about 2.3 million Kenyan youths who are facing serious unemployment time bomb due to bad governance in Kenya since 1963 when Kenya claimed to have achieved Independence.
Since independence Kenyan youths have been the most frustrated social groups in the country. That is why I don’t blame more than half of them being responsible for crimes reported nationally as researchers are saying.
My worry is that this is expected to keep growing and reach a peak nationally in about ten years’ time. It means that this “demographic trap” could see “more crime, militant gangs, terrorism, labour unrest and political violence” among other social ills.
Many young Kenyans cannot get jobs because they don’t have usable qualifications or skills, having dropped out of various institutions before completing their studies due to lack of school fees caused by abject poverty and unemployment of their parents as well.
Different economists describe the situation as worrying for a country with such a youthful population and a birth rate of close to three per cent against an economic expansion that is not creating as many jobs as needed.
This may explain the formation of youth vigilante groups that make it easy for violent actions to take place. The age at which the youth engage in crimes is given between 16-25 years. Yet still, we don’t blame them because the high unemployment rates increase the likelihood of violence and conflict.
It is also why you cannot blame young girls who turn into immorality and prostitution. This has been blamed for high rates of school dropouts. Some of these girls have opted to sleep with wealthy men with hope to make easy money.
This explains why teenage pregnancy is on the rise I Kenya. Girls are dropping out of school after they have found they are being expectant. These girls start boycotting classes before they are suspected that they were expectant.
Teenage pregnancy refers to girls becoming pregnant when in either primary school or high school, basically below 18 years of age. This means they have to drop out of school to first take care of themselves and the baby when it is born.
This trend has forced some communities in Kenya to marry off young girls from age 10 to men old enough to be their parents. At this tender age, these girls have not being exposure to any form of sexually education and have no clue of what their husbands expect from them. They become baby making machines.
Lack of a stable family structure push the girls to look for security else where and this is when they get lured in relationships which have devastating effects on their lives. Lack of stable family structure because many of these parents are unemployed, they can’t bring up their children financially, take them to school, so they resolve into alcoholism to forget the burdens they undergo.
That is why due to poverty, girls are forced by their parents to sell their bodies as a source of revenue for the family, just to cater for their basic needs. Most of these girls don’t care even if they contracted HIV/ Aids. In fact they are almost like dead walking people.
It also explains why some young people are abusing drugs rampantly and of course this will also increase the sexual activities. This is a major contributor to increased cases of under age and unwanted pregnancies.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
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Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002