Please Don’t Stone the Messenger, please

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There’s a wise African saying: you don’t stone the messenger. I also have it on authority that when a man is poor in Alego-Usonga Constituency people don’t want to know the source of his poverty. But try to be a little wealthy and have a philanthropic heart; people will ask all manner of weird questions?

The question uppermost in the camp of incumbent Alego-Usonga MP Samuel Onunga Atandi is where the newcomer in the Parliamentary race is drawing his resources from. This gentleman, Kevin Ochieng Odhiambo is proving to be a very serious contender, so early in the race.

He is constructing houses for the widowed, bringing home the derelict and focusing on issues around education, health and infrastructure.

These are issues always glossed over by local politicians as they focus on the mundane issues of who is more loyal to the party and stuff like that.

Here is a sober contender with all the stars aligned in his favour — he’s young, monied, schooled and comes from the Constituency swing-vote Ward of West Alego. I’m not saying anything more, apart from sounding the warning to Mheshimiwa Atandi — if I was you I would start getting worried; very much worried.

Now to the real purpose of this piece.

There’s a wise saying that you never stone the messenger, sawa? Before anyone starts questioning my motive, be informed – am just the messenger.

When 19-year-old Ian Njoroge beat up a police officer (age difference notwithstanding) he set up a dangerous precedent that could escalate into mayhem in the country.

The myth that this sons and daughters of ours assume some supernatural powers while in Kiganjo went burst! They are just ordinary human beings and we respect the authority they wield in that uniform, otherwise our court system would be outweighed by cases of police officers being beaten up daily.

While law-abiding citizens are daily subjected to humiliation by rogue officers, let it go on record that there’s no magic cauldron in Kiganjo and since these officers live amongst us, they too have the onus to observe law and order.

So, do we support what Ian Njoroge did? Absolutely not!

The Kenya Police Force was transformed into a National Police Service so that the force element is replaced by service. Give us service na muache kutupeleka mbio!

Let me sign off before they come for me. As I said, wise people have a saying – you don’t stone the messenger. I hope we are all wise on this one.

DalanewsKe

Editorial Wednesday 5 May 2024