Kenya

Many times we read about history but few times you have the occasion to participate in the making of history or to observe history being made.

Just like January 6th was a historical moment in the USA, 25th June was a historical moment here. In the 61 years of our nascent history, no protest has ever breached the not so honourable house but on that particular day, members of the public tired of hubris coming from that house breached the gates and had MPs running for dear life. As history goes, it’s a first and opens the window for other possibilities the government does not want to imagine.

The president was forced to eat humble pie and send back an act of parliament with the consideration that parliament deletes all clauses. Returning bills to parliament all the time but they are never bills the government is so invested in such as the finance bill. We think the president is trying to delay the inevitable thinking people will give up, but he may be wrong this time.

The president addressed the nation and 30 minutes later, his Veepee was addressing the nation casting blame on their ineptitude on the intelligence services instead of admitting they have been full of hubris. That the government is wasteful. That the people who support the regime are involved in daylight robbery and that this must stop. But we still only got more hubris. And more threats. Time will tell.

Apart from 1982 when servicemen in the airforce attempted to overthrow the government, the armed forces have never been deployed in the streets of Nairobi to maintain law and order. This government full of hubris is also full of fear that it deployed the army.

Let’s see how things go.