Langata Member of Parliament Felix Odiwuor aka Jalango has come under sharp criticism following a post on his Twitter handle that allegedly mocked the country of Zambia which he is currently touring.
Jalango came under a barrage of attacks when he commented that Kenyans should feel privileged if they knew how bad living conditions are in other African countries.
On his part, traveller Christopher Haslett decided to take Jalang’o to school, writing, “Let me tell you bro – Zambia has: Clean, safe cities and towns. Clean and efficient public transport with fewer bodas (none in some districts). Cheaper food and beverages. Higher wages and less extreme poverty and slums. Decent public services delivery. I’ve been there!”
Popular educationist and activist Dr. Wandia Njoya also expressed her dismay at Jalang’o’s flagrant disrespect to a host nation, wondering how he could be so comfortable shaming a fellow African country.
She said: “No please. Don’t do this to fellow Africans. So what, wewe ni mzungu mweusi au nini? Umeenda Kibra, ama Mathare?”
ADVERTISEMENT“This madharau for other Africans is madharau for yourself. That’s why GoK is doing eugenics on us on behalf of white philanthropists!”
“Are these clowns not taught diplomacy?” someone else wondered. “Tweeting this while still in the host country as a government official is wild! This was not for a public civil servant to post to Twitter but probably for the group chat. Hire me for social media literacy!”
As the responses continued to flood in, Dr. Wandia Njoya once again put it best when she shared a passage from a previous opinion piece done by the late author and activist Binyavanga Wainaina.
In it, Wainaina succinctly opined: “When two or three Kenyans of the professional classes get together, we often talk about how professional we are. We are very professional, we nod. Our professionals built modern Botswana, we nod.”
“Did you know we send more students to America than any other African country? Our professionals groan when posted to Uganda, or Tanzania, or South Africa even — these people don’t work; they take long lunches; they don’t save. They eat spicy foods that are bad for the stomach. The colours they wear in Ghana are too dizzying: they do not mark seriousness, all those tailors and waxed fabrics.
“To be a Kenyan is to be cursed by a system that pretends to function. There is enough of a school system, a health system, a private sector, good banks and tall buildings for everybody to see them. What nobody tells you is that this splendour is available only to the 5% who make it through the filters.”
Meanwhile, it is not yet clear what Jalango is doing in Zambia when Kenyan Legislators are poised to vote on the Finance Bill 2024.
Due to his being a member of the Orange Democratic Movement ODM Party whose sympathies are with the United Democratic Alliance UDA Party, Jalango has opted to abscond on numerous voting sessions within the National Assembly.
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