Justice for Snipper Daniel Mithiani — End Assassination

An exchange between State House blogger Denis Itumbi with Nation journalist Gabriel Oguda has caught our attention.  Itumbi posted, as a blogger, demanding justice for Daniel Mithiani. Oguda responded, as a  journalist, that the post should have been sent as a message to Itumbi’s bosses.

Whatever the rancour compelling the exchange between the two some issues need to be resolved here.

On December 2, 2023 blogger Daniel Mithiani, popularly known as Snipper on Twitter answered a call from a close associate of Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza. For the next two weeks he was declared missing.

His body, still tied up with ropes, and badly mutilated on the face was recovered on Sunday morning. Varying reports indicate that the body was exhumed from a ditch. 

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Accuracy of details notwithstanding the abhorrent act of silencing dissenters cannot go uncondemned.

It is a sign of depravity when those in power stoop so low as to silence those who principally disagree with them. 

It is also self-defeatist for those who begin coercive elimination of dissent, as, soon they may find themselves on a roll exterminating all dissension. The question is how many can one kill before they wake up to the reality that compulsory unification of opinion resides only inside the grave. Out here people will always hold divergent opinions and that does not mean they are wrong, or that they are necessarily right — it’s called freedom of expression.

The Snipper died at a time when he was criticizing the Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza for presiding over impunity and corruption. Not long ago Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei reminded Madam Kawira Mwangaza when she escaped impeachment for a second time by the Senate: “Mend your ways and start doing things differently. There must be something you are doing wrong for the County Assembly to unanimously impeach you two times!”

It is not in our territory to question the legitimacy or otherwise of the myriad accusations brought against Kawira Mwangaza. As the leading blogger in Siaya, however, we must question whether summary execution is a form of resolution to the corruption embedded in our social fabric.

Can we silence dissent by eliminating one, two or all bloggers on Earth? In the order of human behaviour (whether at family, corporate or national level) dissent is an upshoot of mismanagement and/or poor governance.

Elimination of the root cause of dissent is the solution to grumbling. Governor Mwangaza Kawira and her corrupt ilk should be exterminated.

In Indonesia or Japan, the investigative authorities would have, by now, sprung on Kawira Mwangaza. In Kenya she would have at least acted in decency and, by now, have issued a statement to absolve herself of the crime or ask for forgiveness.

Blogging is a recent profession discovered in the early nineties with the advent of social media. It may not be as old as prostitution but at least it’s decent.

It’s the community outlet to vent frustration with the powers that be. Most of the time mainstream media is too weak or deeply embedded in bureaucracy to tackle negative aspects of leadership.

Killing one blogger does not terminate blogging or criticism. 

As is often the case the Governor might not be culpable in the murder of Daniel Mithiani but her cronies and handlers could have acted overzealously and should be brought to book.

We Demand an Apology from Kawira Mwangaza Now!