For the most part, I have refrained from discussing Kenyan politics on this blog because the prospect of waking up naked and violated on the cold cement floor of a Nairobi jail cell holds little or no appeal for me.
And so I will continue in that vein by letting the attached picture speak a coupla thousand words for me. It was taken over the shoulder of Parliament Speaker Kenneth Marende yesterday morning, in front of the Nation Centre building. Nation Media Group is sponsoring a group of staffers on a trek up Mt. Longonot in the Great Rift Valley, to raise fund for the country's famine relief.
Humanitarian aid organizations estimate that 10 million Kenyans face starvation because the country's maize reserves are depleted. There are allegations that some high level officials sold off those reserves and pocketed the funds for themselves.
Before yesterday's press conference began, I noticed a little street boy working the crowds. I'm not just dismissing the child as a homeless urchin; it's obvious that he should have been in school, and his clothes were filthy and tattered. He probably hadn't had a decent meal in days. I actually expected him to leave when the cameras started flashing, but he pushed his way to the front of the throng of reporters and passersby.
During yesterday morning's event, Speaker Kenneth Marende asserted the inalienable right of every Kenyan to have enough food to eat.
Also, yesterday morning's Nairobi Star reported that Speaker Kenneth Marende was just given 1.4 million Kenyan shillings to redecorate his home. (In fairness, that's "only" $17,772 USD.)
By the way, that's also the amount (1.4 million Kenyan Shillings)Kenyan members of Parliament receive each month, most of which is untaxed.
Finally, the average Kenyan teacher would have to work 14 years to earn 1.4 million shillings.
Oh, but wait....I was supposed to be letting the picture speak for itself, wasn't I????
"I'm just sayin', dawg......"
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