The Land Question

The emotive land question is the biggest test on the sincerity and commitment of our political class to reforms and justice in this country.

By seeking to expunge the Land Commission from the new constitution is a clear illustration of the vested interest “Fat Cats’ agenda coming into play at the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) sittings at Naivasha.

The Land Commission is not an ambush on the constitutional process but the culmination of a due process where the land commission was fully endorsed through parliament. The next step was to entrench the Land Commission into the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya to give it credence and power to address the land question in this country fully and fairly.

It is no secret that land is the most abused national resource in this country, whereas other Kenyans acquire land through sweat and blood, a few members of the political class form both sides of the divide own huge tracts of land that they were given for free! This is wrong and need s to be addressed.

The land question is an emotive one that has perennially caused the ethnic and inert-tribal conflict in this country. It is the thrust underlying the post election violence. They are unjust land injustices that continue to simmer from generation to generation. We cannot continue to wait since we have been waiting for over 100 years. From the time the British and the Boers grabbed vast tracts of land to the post independence era where politicians dished out huge portions of land to themselves to recent times where politicians grabbed public trust land and forestland.

The timing was well calculated; where resolution on a pure Presidential System was leaked to the media and in the din of the debate and excitement that followed this information the PSC expunged the Land Commission which had already been written into the constitution draft. The hawk eyed modern Kenyans were alert and quickly raised dust over the matter. We hope they will listen.

It is the land question that determines the colours of the flag of our country! We, the black people shed our blood in fighting for the rich agricultural that is in our country. However, when all these injustices have been addressed, we shall live in peace love and unity that is symbolized by the white in our flag. And some seemingly ‘smart’ politicians supposedly can just steamroll the constitutional process and diminish the land question, they better pause and think again. It is a common sense thing here.

If the political class of the Fat Cat category does not heed the voice of the people by having the Land Commission entrenched into the constitution, then we will make sure that we elect a President under the new constitution on a land question platform. That will be worse than having a constitutional due process through a land commission because it may be punitive. The electorate has an option and the political class better watch out.

Same goes for the constitution document. We could endorse it for the sake of change and then elect a leadership that will be ready to get to parliament and amend the relevant clauses that we will not have agreed with. Amend the constitution platform.

The game is not over yet, it has just begun and our politicians should think with their heads and not tummies. Every Kenyan is hungry and they should never assume for one minute that any Kenyan is accustomed to hunger. They all have their knives sharpened to get a piece of the cake. Ask those who are distributing resources in Haiti, a hungry man is bad news. And nobody blames them, they are hungry, simple.

The psyche of the Kenyan today is very different from what we had two years ago. They are now fully aware that our politicians are users. And they are preparing to teach them a big lesson come next election; especially the users. (Some people use a derogatory term – Ordinary Kenyans as if there are any Special Kenyans – ie. bourgeoisie??)

One recent event made me realize this: During the recent public transport strike, the business people in Nyanza and Western refused to join the strike because they argued that it was not going to put bread on their table. The usual burning of tyres and makeshift roadblocks were absent.

In their view, they are still trying to recoup their losses as a result of the post election violence from which they are yet to see any tangible gain. They argue that they were struggling for someone else’s bread and prestige and have gained nothing themselves and that the very leaders are now inaccessible. In one incident in Kisumu last year, a mob held a Member of Parliament hostage and took all the cash from him (over Ksh.300,000) and then let him go. It came out in the press as armed robbery but that is far from the truth. The youth are hungry and somebody comes around in a big car under the cover of darkness. When they wanted votes they came in the day and now that they are in Parliament they come under cover of darkness – no way, argued the youth.

I fear that the political class is loosing touch with the electorate by being insulated through sycophancy, ego-play, power and wealth. But this is short lived. The electorate has peeled eyes. The land question must be addressed now, it cannot wait any longer, 47 years is long enough.

Sande

Vihiga Village