Arise Kenya Arise....

Arise Kenya Arise....

Friday, January 11, 2013

Karl Marx (Owiro C.) is a Product of Our Social Systems


For the past one week I have engaged in a public relation exercise on the person of Karl Marx aka Christopher Owiro. Some people on social media did not have kind words for the man who was a hero to many, others chose to keep their views to themselves. To me, Marx was a human being, a person with friends, family, dreams, desires and above all a deep lying hope that this society will change for the better. That is the person I choose to honour; but why is this man spoken with disdain and admiration in one breath?



Karl Marx is a product of our broken and warped social system. When we shun Karl Marx in life or in death and embrace the systems that keep creating other ‘Karl Marxs’ is like hating the calf and loving the cow.

He beat all odds to make it to The University of Nairobi. He went to a day secondary school where he would walk for about 20 kilometres to and from school. When he received his admission letter, the Joint Admission Board (JAB) must have called him for a course he did not want to do. You can argue that yes, that happens to everyone, but why should it be so either?

In the year 2000, the Executive Committee of SONU was sent on a compulsory academic leave, or let me say suspension. After one thousand days, it hit me that many had tried to change courses on admission but failed to do so. The bulk of this lot was the KCSE class of 1996 when JAB decided to admit students with C+. It is romoured that the then JAB chairman, Prof. Eshiwani’s (George) child had scored a C+ and he had to join campus. This could have increased competition thus making it hard to change courses.

When Marx was in first year, word went out that there was a special class of people coming in to take courses of their choice and the core qualification is they can pay for it. Many people could have chosen to keep quiet and complete their studies and join the next level of life. But with examples across the world and even across the border in Uganda, this could have been handled in a better way. To the timid, speaking against such is madness, and so I say, the system created Karl Marx.

In a society where people, especially young people are not allowed to speak, let alone disagree with authority, Karl Marx was a marked man from the word go. You may have been shocked by post election violence (PEV) in 2008 but that is what comes of a society where holding divergent views is criminal. The opportunity many people will wait for is an excuse to ‘solve’ the problem in the easiest way possible. Again, the person who speaks is a villain, he who burns and murders is a hero. The system created Karl Marx.

The world over (and some African countries in particular) student activists are absorbed in socio-political systems that suit their ideological leanings. In Kenya, student activists who chose to hold views viewed as anti-establishment should be prepared for a life of squalor. Look at this, Wafula Buke was William Ruto’s student leader, now Ruto can afford to give Buke a salary for a non-existent job. Does it mean Ruto is more sharp or aggressive than Buke? NO, Ruto got into the KANU system and rose up the ranks, the same system that made sure Buke never rose to be a role model. If Buke is not a role model, where did Karl Marx come from? The system created Karl Marx.



The Universities are obsessed with one thousand day suspensions, but have they ever done an audit to see if it builds talent or kills creativity? The security agencies spend huge amounts of money to trail students and student activists and much more to influence elections in student unions. Can this money be used to nurture student leaders and prepare them for constructive social engagements? Karl Marx could have been of great contribution to the well being of this country, again, the system made sure he did not make it past activism then we curse Karl Marx and leave the system that created him.

There is an unwritten rule that a student convicted of any crime forfeits his place at the University of Nairobi. I was happy to find the student who had served time in jail for handling guns in the  Halls of Residence working in a firm in industrial area. I was even more elated when he told me he would soon resume his studies- there is hope. The system is supposed to build, not to destroy.

The black sheep of University life for students and parents is dead, but to the socially conscious, he leaves many questions than answers. One of them is why is it that approximately two-thirds of student activists are from Western Kenya. Why is it that a majority of these activists end up living low quality lives compared to their counterparts from Central and Eastern parts of Kenya? These are questions the University social scientists should be grappling to answer so as to nip the problem in the bud and save many brilliant brains from ruin.

Mentorship is a foreign word to our social leaders. Their main style is to use bright brains for their own selfish ends. There should be a system, formal and private that everybody will seek to nurture someone else to be like them. It is only by lighting the path for the younger generation will we find new ideas and visions to take Kenya to the next level. To quote US first lady Michelle Obama, you don’t lock the door behind you when it comes to opportunities.



Across Africa, student leaders have risen to positions of influence. Kenya must rise and learn to love the soldier even if he fights a war we loath, because at the end of the day, the soldier is a son, a brother, sister and even a father to a responsible Kenyan. Karl Marx death may be a loss to his family, but it is a bigger loss to Kenya as a nation.

When our MPs vote to award themselves hefty send off packages, do not be shocked, another Karl Marx is around the corner, how will you receive him?



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