Moral decay begins with you

Last Friday I found myself at pains to explain to my six-year-old daughter the difference between right and wrong. I got home long after the 7pm news had aired and found she had keenly followed the news, including the alleged shooting of DJ Evolve by Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.

I had watched the video doing the rounds on social media. I had to explain to my little girl why leaders must be held to account and why one must conduct themselves with dignity everywhere.

I have owned an entertainment company called Blackstar that works with and nurtures DJs. I have been part of the entertainment industry for years and therefore any attack on a DJ is something I condemn vehemently.

Such an attack as we saw last Friday touches on the heart of the industry as has been witnessed from the outrage that followed. It is even more painful that the incident involves a youthful leader and a very young DJ.

We can only hope that DJ Evolve gets out of hospital and also gets justice. The relevant authorities must do all that is required by law to ensure that the matter is resolved and justice is served.

We could rightly be thinking that Babu Owino is the worst human in Kenya today. But this incident leads us to a number of questions that we must address as a nation.

Where did we go wrong as a country? Who is to blame for our decaying morals and lack of a value system? At what point will we declare enough is enough?

Is it when we elect incompetent and corrupt leaders knowing very well they will plunder public resources? Is it when we allow politicians to overlap, look the other way and condone their bad behaviour?

Or is it when parents buy exams for their children? Or when officials allow poison into our foods and look the other way?

Imagine the irony of elected leaders calling voters wajinga nyinyi, and why shouldn’t they? We are the ones that elected them.

Don’t we complain, make noise for a couple of days and still elect the same corrupt morally bankrupt leaders we condemn?

Before we start to point fingers at our leaders, we need to take a closer look at the mirror and evaluate ourselves keenly because we are the ones to blame.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to excuse what Babu Owino, did but it is clear that his behaviour is not isolated. It is even clearer that we are enabling impunity by sitting back when the law is broken.

For instance, look at the club where this unfortunate incident happened. The club was in violation of the law by selling shisha. And yet revellers have enabled this by continuing to buy the shisha.

And this club is not alone, we have many others that are selling the banned product and Kenyans are still buying. If we are to be honest, we are as guilty as the club by giving it room to break the law.

At the same time, we witnessed some of Babu Owino’s supporters take to social media to try change the narrative to show him as the victim. When such things happen, you realise that it is not only the leaders who are to blame but also their supporters.

We must at all times condemn violence, impunity and the blatant abuse of the law and well-being of this nation. We must stand up against those—leaders or citizens—who are only working to break the moral fabric of the country.

We must start asking ourselves whether we are securing this country for future generations or are setting it on a path of impunity and reckless behaviour. This will be reflected by our conduct as members of the public and in the choice of leaders we elect.