“Iguthua Ndongoria, itikinyagira nyeki”

Whoever said that history repeats itself must have envisaged a time when Kenyans will boldly repeat the same words that were altered in a relatively small church in Kikuyu called “Rungiri Church” 40 years ago.

The remarks made at the church in Kikuyu Constituency came at a time when a cabinet minister and one-time powerful Attorney General- Charles Mugane Njonjo was under siege after being labeled a “traitor,” leading to his eventual disgrace from an honorable life to nothingness. 

The sermon had caused a heated debate, and Parliament had to suspend its normal business to discuss little-known and soft-spoken church elder, the late Samuel Githegi, who had presumably likened President Daniel Moi to the “limping sheep” during a rare prayer meeting at the Rungiri Parish of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA).

The remarks that changed many people’s lives thereafter were made on June 12, 1983, during a prayer meeting attended by over 3,000 people, including Mr. Njonjo, the Kikuyu MP.

“Iguthua ndongoria, itikinyagira nyeki,” Mr Githegi had altered those words in Kikuyu, a saying if directly translated, would mean that “when the leading sheep limps, the others won’t get a chance to reach the grazing fields.”

Today, more than 40 years later, Githegi and Njonjo are no more, but Kenyans from all walks of life are short of repeating the same words, this time not in a small church but everywhere they may be to the effect that “the leading sheep is lame.

They are not saying it so that they can take over leadership as Charles Mugane had anticipated- but to advise President Ruto to wake up and fight corruption, reduce taxes, respect the judiciary rulings and reduce the cost of living, or else Kenyans will have no alternative but to peacefully and constitutionally force him out of office.

The President is surrounded by wolves in sheep’s clothing who are rooting every sector of the economy, making the cost of living unbearable. They praise him while knowing very well that many things are not done in the right way.

The youth, especially, have no jobs, and all they do is to keep themselves busy in bars while playing pool in readiness for terrorizing Kenyans later in the night.

A year down the line, no tangible development has been done, and it only proves that the political rejects Ruto entrusted to help him run the Government have failed him, or he could be the one who is incapable of making the right decisions. Specializing in discrediting individuals of past governments and blaming them for the collapsing economy, which is now on its deathbed, is a defeatist approach. It is far from the truth as the President has no tangible policy that can turn the economy around.

The Ruto administration seems not to offer any solutions to the people’s needs, for they have no long-term plan but only to offer short-term (undocumented) hopes and handouts- to the vulnerable one-day-fed zealots.

William’s administration is spending millions of Shillings on travels locally and abroad combined with endless meetings that cannot solve Kenyans’ hardships.

Many have lost hope and know for sure that the leading sheep and others following blindly are lame, thus preventing many from reaching the grass.

Will the President act and sack the many in his government who have failed him to save an eminent revolution that is slowly brewing?

Did Kenyans make a mistake by choosing William Ruto to punish Uhuru as was the case, and are now regretting it?

Time will tell, but if the President maintains the current crop of leaders, disobey court orders as he recently said, he will fail miserably, and the economy of Kenya will get from worse to worst while all try to cope with the global recession.

The same will need significant reforms in Kenya, and the envisaged fake bottoms-up economic model must be entirely forgotten to put in place programs that will attract foreign investors. Affordable housing will not be the only solution to create employment, as the Presidents is suggesting, but the government must come up with other measures that will revive the once-productive industries which would employ many Kenyans.

If that is done, and Kenyans start reaping the fruits of their labor, maybe the phrase suggested will later be reversed, and all will echo, “The sheep is now not limping.” The same however, may then be for a limited time, as 2027 could turn out to be a completely different ball game when many Kenyans will vow never to repeat the same mistakes.

Dr Jean N. Kamau

Senior Diaspora Times Correspondent Kenya.