TRAGEDY OF THE KENYAN NARRATIVE.

                     

We have been told on numerous occasions that we need a new Kenyan narrative. I agree. It is not in doubt that we need a new Kenyan story. What is in doubt is the sincerity of the different speakers who have told us this. Their candidness is in doubt because of the timing and their reasons for the call for a new story. The call is mostly made when we are undergoing a national crisis and the nation is perceived as divided between the tribes of the protagonists. The people calling for a narrative are usually supporting either of the two sides. The speakers never tell us what the old story is all about and why we need to discard it or edit it. The speakers also have never told us who is supposed to tell this narrative. The net effect then is that a very legitimate concern is left unaddressed and treated as useless political rhetoric.

 The argument has always been that we have heard the same false story as a nation for far too long. A false tale reminding us that we are one nation of peace, love and unity where we have equal opportunities. A false tale that diagnoses ethnicity as the disease that is killing us when in fact it is the diagnosis itself that is the disease. What is the true Kenyan story then? Who needs to tell it? Do we need a new story? These are simple questions and there is the risk of oversimplification when answering them in an article like this.

We had a Kenyan story before the colonialists arrived. They found us with our story and since they did not understand it, they recreated it and used it to subjugate us and see us through their colonial prejudices. Later when they went away, our forefathers forgot to tell us our story and told us what the colonialists had forced down our throats. We believed our forefathers and with the excitement because of the new found independence we were not vigilant enough to reread it and demand for our authentic story.

The story we have now is being narrated by bigoted politicians not wananchi.They have simply rewritten the fake story our forefathers told us.The plot and characters have changed and new themes included with the earlier ones being amplified and some deleted. The politicians tell the story depending on the prevailing political climate of the day. What we have is not even a story but ramblings which should excite the silly only.What we have is a tale of ‘’ us’’ versus ‘’them’’ when a story should only have us.We have ‘’us’’ and ‘’them’’ yet the story does not tell us who ‘’them’’ and ‘’us’’ are. The tragedy is that we have all swallowed the bait because we are a servile, unquestioning people like the characters in the fake story we are told. More tragic is that we are aware that the story is false and we need a new true story but we are not willing to write the new story.

However, after we get the true new story we must also ask if the audience will be ready to listen.We are need of a compelling story if we want the audience to listen. Compelling means all of us can share in its joy and sadness and can see ourselves in the story.Compelling because it connects with our emotions as a nation.Compelling because we can see our values in the story.Compelling because it is an authentic story that binds as even as it recognise our differences.Compelling because we know the story will be retold to our children without changing the plot and the themes to suit the story teller of the time.