The Last Days

The past two weeks have cemented the slogan “Navumilia kuwa mkenya” for living in Kenya today is truly living almost close to hell.

We have been treated to drama after drama from expected and the unexpected circles and what’s now on most Kenyan minds is the extent at which humans have gone south, morally.

When one leaves Nairobi city, the city where battles between city ‘askaris’ and hawkers never end, where jay walking is an art, where strobing lights literally blind you as you drive and where traffic policemen are the worst traffic offenders by always ignoring traffic lights and causing immense traffic snarl ups, you get home only to be treated to a new type of madness.

From the political scenes we have seen men being hurdled out of meetings by non-other than those who bear the ‘honourable’ tag and one is only left to wonder how the rest of us who do not bear that name are supposed to behave.

The most hitting was the Kanyari saga which showed us the extent to which people have profaned the name of God by using it as a money minting machine, preying on innocent, ignorant adherents who even allow the man of God to touch their private parts, something even kindergarten going school children know is against all moral ethics and as long the Kanyari’s of this world end up driving their Range Rovers and buying seven million shillings worth lorries, they don’t give a damn about what you think.

On matters marital we saw how couples are living ‘ignorant’ of their spouses’ activities mostly by choice. For as long as there is providence, there are no questions asked.

The slaughter of more than twenty security personnel capped it all as reports showed that they had been asking for assistance for over thirty hours and non-came. They were slaughtered like their lives meant nothing to the state or anyone for that matter and this notwithstanding the fact that Kenyans had not yet healed from mourning the massacre at Baragoi. The salt on the wound is the sheer force being used to recover guns that were taken from the slain cops. Helicopters and ground personnel that are being used in an operation reminiscent of the Kismayu assault and the simplest of question becomes, where were these helicopters when these men were calling out for help and when will we ever get it right?

Apparently the Word of God is just that, it’s never wrong for it captured well the times that we are living in and gave us forewarning for anyone who cares to listen.

2Timothy  3:1-7

You can be certain that in the last days there will be some very hard times.
People will love only themselves and money. They will be proud, stuck-up, rude, and disobedient to their parents. They will also be ungrateful, godless,
heartless, and hateful. Their words will be cruel, and they will have no self-control or pity. These people will hate everything that is good.
They will be sneaky, reckless, and puffed up with pride. Instead of loving God, they will love pleasure.
Even though they will make a show of being religious, their religion won't be real. Don't have anything to do with such people.
Some men fool whole families, just to get power over those women who are slaves of sin and are controlled by all sorts of desires.
These women always want to learn something new, but they never can discover the truth.


People take the Word of God as stories that were published so as to instil fear in the hearts of men and to give hope to those bound to the slavery of worldly systems but those who are wise know that the Word of God is more than alive and it is relevant for every generation and every person. It holds the key to good living and also gives survival tips to those who’d want to escape the corruption in this world. Those who avoid it, avoid it at their own peril.

Soon the governments (read systems) of the world will hit a wall and most will collapse for none are wiser. The wisdom of men is proving folly with every passing day but those who worship in truth and in spirit, the only true God, Yahweh and his son Jesus, will be proven right as they live in God’s code of love and they only will remain to rule with Christ from then on as all others ‘eat dust’.

A new thing is coming as silent as the dawning of a new day from a dark of night but when it comes everyone will know it has arrived.

Justice in Kenya

Justice is an attribute of God and it is an expression of love that takes as equal the rights of all.

In the book of Nehemiah, when reconstruction of Jerusalem started, the third gate that they built was known as the Ancient Gate. The Ancient Gate is symbolic of systems of governance which are based on God's wisdom. God's wisdom is different from the worldly wisdom and Israel's choices all along were either blessings by God's way or curses by their way.

In this time of grace, nations have the same choice but many have chosen atheistic systems of governance which do not recognise God at all or simply 'tolerate Him'. In principle choosing to believe in God and to walk in His ways is to choose fairness. Fairness is something that is attained through establishment of good constitutions and laws which are overseen by transparent judicial systems and  all are shaped for the common good of citizens and visiting or residing foreigners.

Democracy entails that people offer themselves to be leaders and they are then elected owing to their acceptability by society.  Cliques of same minded individuals who are able to convince the populace of their undeterred zeal towards their nation's and every citizen's development form parties which then became vehicles for their campaign.  For those who are elected to power (drive) this society, survival depends on the continued faith by the citizens.

If the majority of voting society are not firm believers of God and his way of love then there is the possibility of electing a leadership who then become tyrant and justice is abated. Without the objectivity of bringing equality and justice to those being governed, it becomes self-destructive and though it may last for years its legacy will be twisted and it will surely be uprooted, only to be remembered as a bitter pill and studied as sin.

God's word gives account of the mind of man versus the mind of God. Christian believers know that once you make a stand to embrace the mind of God, you adhere to His way of doing things. Departure admits difficulty and failure and correction is often painful. Believers have an understanding of how one's establishment is tied to the relationship with God. Walking with God matters on their holistic growth and development.

The same walk that a person has with God through reverence is the same that a nation has when it recognizes Him. When Kenya was established it recognized and embraced God. It became a 'person' having a relationship with Him.   After fifty years, the new constitution also recognized Him and it became a seal and a rededication to our relationship.

Recognition of God by a state may seem to the worldly mind laughable but it is fundamentally its security and prosperity. Our constitution is bent towards justice and our laws should recognize differences and offer arbitration or appropriate punishment. The bible records that laws are made for wrong doers. If there were no wrong doers there will not be any need for laws. The bible also records that it is from law that we have knowledge of what is good and what is evil.

For any person either in positions of power or operating businesses in this country tends to operate in injustice, they have chose to fight with God and their end is sure.

To steal public money, to be greedy, paying oneself exhorbitantly at the expense of the nation, to cheat others off their property, to ruin others by selling them drugs and substances that spell doom, to fail to offer expedient solutions to hunger, conflict, better pay for those crying at the high cost of living, to think selfishly as being more important than others is to attract God's wrath.

God's ultimate law to human kind is to operate in love and that is the message throughout His Word. Without love there cannot be any good governance systems, nor any justice or any good development programs. It's love that defines good systems and its love that follows them through.

When we operate in love we enforce justice and give the rise to the entry of the Lord as a blesser.

Psa 24:7  Open the ancient gates, so that the glorious king may come in.
Psa 24:8  Who is this glorious king? He is our LORD, a strong and mighty warrior.
Psa 24:9  Open the ancient gates, so that the glorious king may come in.
Psa 24:10  Who is this glorious king? He is our LORD, the All-Powerful!

God bless Kenya!

Food Security

The recent news from Baringo, Turkana and other parts of the country that people are dying of hunger should be a wakeup call to my fellow citizens and the leadership of this nation that after spending fifty years politicking, the issue of food security that had been on the table of first president of this nation is still here with us haunting his son’s generations.

Current trends in development though important offer no consolation as we see projections of building mega cities but no plans on how the residents will be fed.

I love the word of God for it captures all concerns that man can have and gives appropriate and befitting answers to anyone who cares to peruse and study it.

In my last post I noted Nehemiah’s resolve to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and in the pursuant order, after the rebuilding of the first section of the wall, i.e. the Sheep Gate by the High Priest Eliashib with his fellow priests which reinstated the need to set a foundation based on God, the second part of the wall to be rebuilt was the Fish Gate.

The Sheep Gate's signifies the importance of living food which is the Word of God, thus the priests. The rebuilding of the Fish Gate on the other hand signifies food security and evangelizing in spiritual circles.

A society that is not able to feed itself is a society that is deemed to have failed and if we are to be able to feed all our people, we have to be all inclusive in the work of creating good agricultural practises and systems otherwise we’ll be exposing them to what has now become a nagging and constant cycle of droughts.

For best management of this country, we should view Kenya as an entity and all attributes that contribute to its well being as we would a person. A fifty, Kenya should be able to produce its own food without reliance on rainfall patterns. Getting food aid from other countries should be viewed as going to eat at the neighbours and it should disturb us and propel us into solving the food issue once and for all.

I am particularly excited when I see some counties in our nation e.g. Homa Bay county which is deemed to be in the ‘opposition’ area from the government's view point declaring that they are creating an Agri-City and have sourced for investment partners for this project. The central government should support such endeavours and encourage other counties to do the same as part of its master plan to eradicate hunger.

The need for unity and inclusivity in tackling food issues affecting this nation is captured well when the Fish Gate was being rebuilt. It took the assistance from men who had been deemed to be in opposition to Nehemiah’s move but who later proved to be among the first to assist.

The men, Hassennah which means enemy and Meremoth which means bitterness were at the forefront in the rebuilding of this particular part of the wall and this teaches us is that political parties and political divisions are a fog that limits our vision. When we choose to see beyond political affiliations people work together and have great accomplishments.

We should, as citizens of this nation embrace each other regardless of tribe, political affiliation, monetary value, education or any other limiter so as to create a nation bound together in unity and which resolves its problems by inclusivity.

We the citizens also need to take the development of this nation as a personal endeavour and broaden our perspective on all issues affecting this nation and increase our participation on such aspects as food security. The encouragement is that the youth are embracing agriculture as a business venture and we have seen many reaping the benefits.

When reading the section on rebuilding the Fish Gate it should be  interesting to note that although the Tekoites agreed to work with Nehemiah, their leaders did not.

Kenya: Going Forward

A clean heart breeds good intent and this furthers the drive into action in becoming the change we’d like to see. 

My country Kenya is at a point where such a situation is playing out. The leadership of this wonderful nation under God is I would like to believe is bent on creating a Kenya that is fit for each and every one of its citizens and conducive also for foreign investors despite what some may say; unless they are bent to self-destruct. 

At the helm, are our leaders who want to create systems and programs that channel this country into the second world in the prescribed period of time that they have been constitutionally assigned but what they must be aware of is that every good intention has to be accompanied by hard resolve for opposition is imminent and is the yin that creates the milieu for greatness. 

As it was for the biblical Nehemiah so it will be for this leadership. Our leaders may have good and well-drawn plans on how to build this country, they may even have started embarking on the rebuilding of the broken walls but they also need hard resolve as was Nehemiah who chose to build and defend his efforts despite the negativity of the Sanballat’s and Tobiah’s of his generation who are still abound in our time and would do anything to show that the work being done is inconsequential and portray it as being detrimental to the nation. That’s the work of the political opposition. 

This new ‘young’ leadership has got to the helm under a new constitution thus they may still be learning the ropes on how to manoeuvre but we must not forget that elevation to leadership comes with great expectation and responsibility.  

I would like to believe that no external force compelled our leaders to feel that they were the one’s capable of propelling this nation into prosperity when they offered themselves for office other than the yearning for a better Kenya and if there was, then there should be the understanding that now being at the helm, whatever compulsion that was doesn’t matter, what really matters is delivery; to meet the expectations of those who believed in what they marketed. 

The call to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (which means the vision of peace), meant that Jerusalem was insecure. When we passed the new constitution our walls lay down broken and whatever segments that stood had to be brought down low for we needed a fresh start. The role of this new leadership is to build a new Kenya. The stones may be the same but no stone will be positioned in its former place and the calls for change of guard in the different faculties of governance comes from this notion. A stone that was at the top may find itself bearing all the weight at the bottom and as such reshuffling is inescapable, retirement is unavoidable and sackings are requisite.

Remember, when Sanballat and Tobiah challenged the call of Nehemiah, he resolved and assured them of his forecasted success but because they scorned and despised him they were to have no place and no memorial in the rebuilding of Jerusalem.  (Nehemiah 2:19-20)

The opposition in this country should tread with this knowledge, otherwise the country will move on and they will be left lamenting that they were not given space to offer their services. Those who want to offer their services are known by their willingness to submit to the new authority, not with harsh ultimatums but with humility and If they believe that there are things that are not going well, let them be diplomatic and address those issues as people who care for the lives of all Kenyans. 

It’s time we modelled our country as a country which resolves its issues diplomatically and not as country of hecklers. 

The issues facing the new Kenya are different from the former Kenya under the old constitution. We are now facing issues like terrorism, a highly educated youth population with no equal or matching work opportunities and from a spiritual view point, lack of ethics leading to a people who have no respect for others and who’ll do anything for money. Our weapons in addressing these issues have to be different and so are the players’ mind-sets. 

Under Nehemiah, the High priest Eliashib (which means God of conversion) and the priests under him were the first to start rebuilding and they rebuild the Sheep Gate and sanctified it.

Similarly, the foundation of every nation has to be God and if we as Kenya do not start with the spiritual foundations then whatever else we build will be on shifting sand. The challenge is therefore to every spiritual leader to embark on teachings that will lay the ground for us to receive fresh blessings. 

The current tribal annotations that are rampant in social media platforms and on the lips of our politicians are vices inherited from the old Kenya and should be fought hard starting from the pulpit. The tribal youth is a pointer to the magnitude of work that is set out for all leaders starting with the spiritual followed by the political into galvanizing all Kenyans into oneness. 

We are all people and no one people are better than others. We all have weaknesses and differences which should make us stronger, complimenting one another and not fighting each other.

Not everyone is and will be happy with the unity of the Kenyan people and that is why we have so many divisive voices which try to create cracks wherever there are signs of unity.   

Other nations, particularly ones that have benefited from our naivetés in the old Kenya  do not ascribe to this gospel of peace,  so let us be careful as a nation as with whom we associate ourselves with and who we name as allies for some governments have benefitted from our disunity and this is true for the greater Africa. We need to believe in ourselves as a people that are able to solve our own problems. 

We should be able to manage our own resources and to live within our means and to work hard to attain our dreams for no one has true good will for us except ourselves.  We cannot continue to run to our ‘friends’ so as to sort our internal problems, it’s time we showed the world that we have become of age and that we are able to build our own walls.