For now, a minute’s silence in memory of the fallen victims of the Second Liberation on the 32nd anniversary of the bloody protests against Kenya's draconian laws would be a fitting tribute by Raila Odinga and Martha Karua.
Countrywide campaigns by the Azimio luminaries will be incomplete without special mention of the efforts by those who bear the scars of brute force and bullet-silenced heroes and heroines of July 7, 1990, at the historic Kamukunji grounds, Nairobi.
This year’s Saba Saba Day, as it is known by activists, is symbolic in that it comes 33 days ahead of the 13th general election in which a prominent reformer and co-organiser of the abortive rally is likely to win the hotly contested presidential race on August 9.
Three days to the unlicensed public rally, the notorious Special Branch sleuths launched a ruthless crackdown on perceived government critics and organisers of the event. Raila and former Cabinet ministers Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia were arrested and detained without trial.
The daredevil campaigns then were for the repeal of the law that converted Kenya into a one-party state and outlawed competitive politics against Independence party Kanu led by President Daniel arap Moi.
Yesteryear multiparty crusaders, some too frail and others ailing and abandoned without medical care, are waiting anxiously for the outcome of the polls in which one of their own, Raila, is a front runner against a ruling party renegade, Deputy President William Ruto.
Under Raila as the fifth president, the freedom fighters see light at the end of the tunnel.
The in-tray of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s successor contains some sensitive documents that even the outgoing leader avoided. Mashujaa Day, the first national event to be presided over by the new leader, will be an appropriate platform where he can address the endless woes of survivors and families of the departed liberators.
Kenyans have celebrated heroes and heroines of the emancipation struggle against oppressors on October 20 since 1964. They set aside this date for reflection on brutal events by the colonial power.
The event marks the date Jomo Kenyatta and five colleagues in the Mau Mau movement were arrested, tried and detained by the colonialists in 1952 at Kapenguria prison. The Constitution makers decried the personalisation of the event and changed it from Kenyatta Day to Mashujaa Day.
A departure from the norm, the outgoing president, for the first time, apologised for the sins of his predecessors and pledged a Sh9 billion compensation fund for the victims of historical injustices. The compensation is yet to be paid and there has been no mention of that since the announcement in one of the State of the Nation addresses.
The elephant in the room is the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission report. It is a hot potato. Not even the most vocal of politicians are prepared to refer to the document left to gather dust on the shelves of the Legislature and National Archives for reference by history scholars.
Freelance journalist and former political prisoner. [email protected]
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