MIGUNA MIGUNA THE MAN

A. I was born a few years after Kenya attained her flag political independence from Britain. I say “flag political independence” because in reality, we are neither truly politically nor economically independent to this date. I am also not comfortable giving you the exact date of my birth (even though a specific date appears on my birth certificate) because my mother, who gave birth to me at home, was completely illiterate and could not have kept an exact date of the birth. What I have can only be assumed to be based on my siblings' approximations. (I am the last born in a very large family of eleven children, with most of them perishing as infants). The year has ranged from 1964 to 1965. I strategically chose my “current” date of birth (which I will not give you for privacy reasons) when in Form One at Onjiko Secondary School in Nyanza Province in order to “qualify” for a Kipande, which I needed in order to be able to seek gainful employment during school holidays. My father died a few months before I was born. As such, I never actually saw my father. 

I was primarily cared for and raised by my mother, although both my brother and numerous sisters assisted my mother as well. For instance, I lived with my brother as an infant before I even attended nursery and elementary schools. My brother, who is much older than me, used to be a policeman. I lived with him at various stations in Western Province such as Bungoma, Malaba and Malakisi. In fact, the first language I learnt was Kiswahili. This was because my brother had married a Teso woman and since she could not speak Luo and we could not speak Teso, the family conversed in Kiswahili. Regrettably, I only learnt my mother tongue when I returned home in Nyando before starting nursery school. This was mandatory since without the ability to speak Luo, I could not even communicate with my own mother (who was not a Kiswahili speaker) and the other village children. The worst part of it was that the village children made fun of me, chastised me and basically made me look like an idiot because I could not communicate in my mother tongue. Consequently, I struggled day and night until I could roll my Rs as good as any other kid in the village, and along the way my mind also literally shut out Kiswahili, which I have been unable to relearn perfectly up to today. It is both a pity and an interesting irony.

My family was closely knit. Although we were extremely economically poor, my mother never made us go without regular meals. We may not have had all the comforts of the world such as a permanent house with running water, electricity and family vehicles, but we had love - abundant motherly love and affection. Whereas other families that had both parents occasionally experienced turmoil in the form of marital conflicts, my family did not. My mother was neither inherited nor did she remarry. (I am not here suggesting that she rebelled against the well known Luo custom and tradition of wife inheritance. I might have been too young to know what happened following my father's death. However, for as much as I can recall, my mother never had another husband.) Looking back, I can attest that my mother must have been very strong and courageous to have cared for such a large family by herself without feeling the need to remarry. I am forever very proud of my mother. 

My mother worked extremely hard in order to feed the seven surviving children. She had lost four to the high child mortality rate in rural Kenya at the time. The surviving first born, Jane Atieno [now deceased], was married off very young to my father's business partner's son in Karachuonyo. My surviving and only brother, Erick Ondiek Miguna, still lives in Nyando with his family. I have two surviving sisters, the rest having succumbed to one illness after another over the years. All died during my stay in Canada. It has been a cascading painful loss of loved ones.

My mother died in May 1987 when I was writing my final first year exams.

Q. Could you explain your philosophy of life?

A. I knew very early in life that the condition of my life and that of my family would not be better without hard work. I also saw the back breaking work my mother did without any significant results. My mother literally worked her small gardens with her hands under untold conditions. Yet, no matter how hard she worked, the harvests were inadequate to last for long. She had absolutely no means of earning an income. My entire father's “wealth” had been taken away by his younger brother, who had moved to Lambwe Valley where he lived like a lord while we rarely managed to eke out a living.

I knew very early in life that our society was unfair, unequal and completely uncompassionate. I saw how we suffered while others within the same society seemed comfortable. I also knew that as a child, I was not responsible for my condition.

As a child, I constantly dreamed, schemed and strategized on ways and means of ensuring that the horrible conditions (abject poverty and absence of infrastructure) that we lived in could be transformed into something better.

Naturally, at grade three, I developed a motto, which was - "Education for Life; Justice, Truth and Equality for Ever!"

These are the principles that have governed my entire life in everything I do and have done. They form part and parcel of my philosophy of life.

I believe very strongly that education is not just crucial to the transformation of one individual life; it is necessary (though certainly not a sufficient condition) for the positive transformation of our collective lives. Ultimately, it is justice, truth and equality that I consider cardinal ideals in life. If only the world was to adopt these as its central guiding principles through which every public and international act were to be based and judged, we would not have spiraling inequality, poverty, injustice and dishonesty. If the world was completely just and equal and every action - big or small - had to be honest, then nearly all human suffering would become a thing of the past. The only reason why we have a few dozen billionaires in our midst with millions upon millions living like scavengers in slums, dumps and villages; with millions of children dying of malnutrition; with no infrastructure to speak of; with unemployment at more than 60%, etc, is simply because our society and country thrive on dishonesty, selfishness and greed. We must strive to change this.

By the time I joined Form One, I was already sure of what I wanted to become and how I would get there. Fortunately, I was always doing well in school regardless of the poverty and the numerous economic challenges of my life. Unlike nowadays when children do not see value in education or hard work - where hard-work and brilliance do not generate rewards; where hip-hop artists earn more than engineers - back then, there was meaning and pride in academic excellence! And having recognized my ability and resourcefulness at mastering subjects in school, I resolved to utilize this as a vehicle of positive transformation. But it was never easy.

At the end of the day, I understood quite early that the biggest problem is the way our societies are constructed, at their very core. My analysis over the years has confirmed this belief. Capitalism, at its core, is rotten.

In Western Europe and North America, attempts were made to humanize capitalism through the “welfare system,” whereby an artificial “safety net” was inserted into the system in order to catch those likely to fall to the very bottom. The problem with this parch-work is that it only serves as a cosmetic solution. The fundamental problem of inequality in terms of control, ownership and sharing of resources, capital and profits of labour remains intact. It is my strong belief that we must struggle to transform and change the way our societies are constructed before we can hope to see peace and prosperity for all. As long as the majority of our people are discarded and left to scavenge like hounds, there will be neither peace nor prosperity.

Q. How and why did you go into student politics?

A. Given the foregoing, my involvement in active student politics was not just inevitable, it was the only way I could remain sane.

I was involved in active politics right from secondary school. Although fellow students and teachers might not have realized it at the time, or if they did, they could have excusably dismissed me as a restless adolescent, I always challenged authoritarianism, unfair and unjust decisions, whether they emanated from the head teachers, the teachers or prefects. 

Although I was a prefect, I strongly detested and openly opposed dictatorial tendencies among prefects. In fact, in many cases I only managed to remain a prefect at both Onjiko and Njiiri's due to the fact that I had some few but strong allies among the teachers - teachers that believed in my judgment and abilities.

At Apondo primary School, I learnt from one of my teachers, Mark Dulo (who later rose to become an Under Secretary) that focus, discipline, insight, objectivity, courage and resourcefulness are the true foundations of success. I developed a strong, supportive and fulfilling relationship with him that continues to this date.

At Onjiko Secondary School, a History and Geography teacher named Enos Oyaya (currently a national Director, Quality Assurance, Ministry of Education, Kenya) believed in me so much that he treated me just like a fellow teacher. I used to visit him at his house in Onjiko during school holidays and we would discuss issues just like two equals. This relationship not only allowed me to become one of the best students in both subjects at Onjiko at the time, it also inculcated in me a sense of confidence and self worth that has made all the challenges I faced in life be surmountable. 

I owe a lot of my present achievements to both Messrs. Dulo and Oyaya.

At Njiiri's, I gained the confidence of two Literature teachers, who were themselves exiles from Uganda. These are Ndyatuura and Mpalirwa. I am not sure what role, if any, either might have played in “protecting” me from getting fired as a prefect, but I know that they were in my corner. And since I miraculously survived a purge that the school head, Mr. Ndun'gu had threatened, I am sure that if my two favourite teachers played no part in my defense, then some powerful “mysterious” hands must have.

Or maybe it was the Deputy School Head, Mr. Githinji. Many years following my exile to Canada, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mr. Githinji (now retired) was always in my corner. He even released my “A” Level certificate to me (when I was in exile in Canada) even though I had not fully retired a tuition debt at Njiiri's. He had by then become the Head Teacher there. 

I wish to note that throughout my secondary school education (at both Onjiko and Njirii's School); I always unsuccessfully struggled to pay tuition. At no time was I able to fully pay the required tuition. Consequently, I was a permanent feature at the Principal's office - always getting caned and sent home for money, which, unfortunately, I could not find because my mother had no source of income. In a way, I can say that I only managed to go through school because of sympathy from teachers who turned a blind eye to many “instructions from above” to remove me from class. Reflecting on these matters make my heart pound. 

One has to say that the books we read for our Literature course such as Bartolt Bretch's The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Barbani Bhattacharya'sSo Many Hungers, Sembene Ousmane's God's Bits of Wood, John Ruganda's The Floods, Ngugi wa Thiongo's A Grain of Wheat, John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, and George Lamming's In the Castle of My Skin were instrumental in sharpening our young minds and challenging them to question many things that would otherwise not been interrogated had we not been dramatically confronted with the troubling issues in these books. Though mainly works of fiction and drama, almost all the social issues in these books were based on solid historical experiences, and the same experiences were surrounding us in Kenya in the same dramatic fashion as they were presented, albeit fictionally, in the texts.

Needless to say, I am extremely grateful for the support and inspiration these teachers gave me.

Another interesting irony in my life is that I have, throughout my student life - starting at primary school all the way to university - assumed leadership positions. At Onjiko Secondary School, I was the Deputy Dining Room Captain as well as the President of Debating, Historical and Foreign Affairs Clubs. At Njiiri's High School, I was the Deputy School Captain as well as the President of Debating and Historical Clubs. And as I have already indicated, I was the student representative of the Faculty of Arts, the Students' Organization of Nairobi University's (S.O.N.U.'s) Finance Secretary; the Managing Editor of Campus Mirror (formerly Sauti Ya Kamukunji); Vice-Chair of Kisumu University Students' Association. 

Prior to joining the University of Nairobi, I attended the mandatory 3-month National Youth Service (NYS) marathon. Something must be said about this program. Although it was poorly and dictatorially run, the students turned it into a training camp of courage and solidarity building. It was the NYS that enabled some of us to build long lasting networks and relationships that became very useful during the political leg of our national politics. It also hardened us - physically. Rather than crumble under the weight of shovels, boots and manual labour, most students hardened. We worked, suffered, matched, toiled and struggled together. And when the Government sent propagandists like Simeon Nyachae (who was then the Chief Secretary and presumptive Prime Minister) to try and indoctrinate us, some of us responded with lethal verbal political missiles that left little doubt as to what side of the political divide we were on. In fact, it was at the NYS that I first confronted the Government, through Nyachae, on the issue of the need for multi-party democracy in Kenya and demanded that Jaramogi Oginga Odinga should have been permitted to run for public office. This was at a time no one dared question Moi, Nyachae, G.G. Kariuki, Njonjo and other Big Men of yore.

I have physical marks to prove how repressive, undemocratic and uncouth Nyachae is. 

Obviously, I had followed closely all the democratic struggles being wedged by brave Kenyans against the oppressive KANU regime. I had literally celebrated Kenyatta's death in 1978, as a mere standard seven pupil!

Looking back, I can say with confidence that it was these experiences that prepared me for later struggles, challenges and experiences.

By the time I entered active student politics at the University of Nairobi, I had already formed a clear understanding of the issues affecting most Kenyans; who the enemy was and how the struggle against this enemy had to be waged. The question was not “if” but when and how. I knew that there was not much that one could do as a first year student, except to learn as much as one could. Learning here is not restricted to the disciplines or courses we registered in; it included the make up of the institution, the people within the institution, the geographical layout, et cetera. I used first year as the foundation-laying period when I needed to demonstrate my abilities as a student to the institution; my abilities as an analyst and strategist to fellow students; and my ability as an organizer to all and sundry. I needed to identify those students in second and third year that held the same philosophical beliefs like I did. As well, I started building strategic alliances with those students that wanted positive revolutionary changes in the country. This was done in preparation for subsequent political mobilization and campaigns in the following year.

Fortunately, the student body at this time was divided between the few who supported the Government (mainly due to opportunistic and selfish interests) and the overwhelming majority who wanted positive changes (both at the university administration and in the country's leadership.) The few conforming opportunists were primarily motivated by how much money they could get from their political god fathers while the 'radicals” wanted to see democracy introduced, entrenched and protected in the country. I chose to be on the side of positive change. The choice was easy as you can see. My option was natural both due to my peasant underclass background as well as because it was the only rational and intelligent position to take.

Q. How did you get along with fellow students and teachers?

A. At the University of Nairobi, I would want to believe that I was a fairly popular student. Had I not been, I would not have been elected a representative of the Faculty of Arts when still in second year. And after being elected, I was again elected by the Student Representative Council (SRC) as a Finance Secretary. Being a Political Science and Philosophy student, this was a vote of confidence in my abilities. For SONU to have bestowed upon me the privilege of managing its books, yet I was neither a Commerce (Accounting) nor an Economics student, was important to me. Further, for SONU to have also given me the sole responsibility of managing the student newspaper; making all decisions over editorial issues; hiring writers for the paper and also managing the paper's finances, was a great honour. The same privilege was given to me by students from Kisumu District, when they elected me Vice Chair of their organization when I was still in first year. 

I got along very well with all my professors. I was particularly close to Professors Owuor Anyumba (the late, of Literature Department), Odera Oruka (the late, of Philosophy) and Joseph Nyasani of Philosophy. 

I was, however, not popular with the university administration. Although I never ever had any actual conflict with them, they allowed the Government to expel us over false and concocted allegations. When I was arrested and detained, there was absolute peace at the university. The demonstrations that followed were in response to our illegal abductions, arrests and detentions. When the demonstrations were organized and conducted, we were still being held incommunicado. Consequently, the allegation that we organized or led the "riots" is not just false, it is shameful. We also had nothing to do with the insane claim that we were conspiring with "foreigners to bring public disaffection and to overthrow the Government of Kenya." These were nonsensical balderdash from a regime that had absolutely no significant support from the people.

Q. What became of Kenyan university students who were victims of repression between 1985 and1988?

A.This is a broad and huge question for any one person to provide an accurate, complete and honest answer. Perhaps the question should, of necessity, start from 1982. As well, it would be almost impossible for me to speak authoritatively of ALL students that became victims of the repression. The few I will speak knowledgeably about were either known to me personally, were student leaders or became “public figures” by virtue of their cases being prominently profiled in local or world media, mainly due to their fate or actions they took later. In that sense, I wish to apologize beforehand to those whose names or identities may, for one reason or the other, escape my fading memory.

Martyrs of the struggles for liberation

There are hundreds of Kenyan university students who became victims to the Moi/Kanu repressive regime. Some never survived long enough to be able tell the world their tales. I have in mind all those courageous and heroic students who were murdered or died from all kinds of horrendous abuse, torture or causes directly linked to their repression. Others also fled the country only to die in complete dejection, isolation and alienation. A few also committed suicide. We have in mind Adungosi, Tito Titus Oloo, Karimi Nduthu, Mwakidua Mwanchofi and others. These were former Kenyan university students who were arbitrarily arrested, detained, persecuted (note that I use the word PERSECUTED), jailed and/or exiled before they succumbed to the harsh conditions of their existence. Although the names I have listed here were of students that fell victim between 1982 and 1985, there must be others that perished afterwards but whose identities I do not immediately recall. 

I was at the University of Nairobi from September 1986 to November 1987. Luckily, I do not know of any of my colleagues and comrades that were arrested, detained, jailed, persecuted and exiled who was brutally murdered or committed suicide. However, one former student who had been expelled with me, Mwanambisi, died in a tragic road accident, after having returned to Kenya following many years in exile in Uganda and Swaziland. When he died, he was busy practicing law. That is not to say that none died under these conditions. Nor do I mean to suggest that none has died either "naturally" or as a direct or indirect result of their suffering arising from their persecution. All I am stating is that I am not aware of any dying under the conditions described. It would not surprise me, however, if there are victims I am not aware of. 

I call them martyrs of the struggles for Kenya's true liberation. May the present and future generations always remember them. May we for ever celebrate their courage, vision and sacrifice. May their sacrifices never be in vain. May their souls rest in eternal peace.

Displaced and exiled heroes

The second category is comprised of those heroes of our struggles that were arbitrarily and brutally persecuted (arrested, detained, tortured, jailed and rendered destitute) before being scattered in all corners of the globe as displaced, stateless and dehumanized persons. Some became “displaced” within Kenya itself; always wandering from place to place in search of safety, security, sustenance, peace and space within which to reconstruct and rebuild their ruined lives and to try and continue living, but who always found none of these things. A few of these people are still living in Kenya and trying to eke out a modest living. My comrade Munameza Muleji, who was SONU's Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Student Council of 1987, is one of them. I understand that he is a “teacher” somewhere in Kenya. I do not know where he teaches or under what conditions. All I know is that the dictatorship never permitted him to complete his university education. Another is my comrade and SONU Secretary General in 1987, Kaberere Njenga. I have been informed that he recently rejoined the University of Nairobi's Faculty of Medicine in order to complete his medical studies after nearly twenty years of living in political, academic and professional limbo (not to mention the inhumane conditions) within Kenya. 

The SONU chairman in 1987, Wafula Buke, served a five-year jail term, mostly at Kamiti (I presume) for a purported crime he did not commit. As some readers may recall, Buke was charged, tried and convicted for “trying to spread socialism at the University of Nairobi.” As far as I am aware, there was no such “crime” in our statute books. But apparently, the Attorney General, Director of Public Prosecutions and trial magistrate all managed to convince themselves that such a “crime” not only existed, but that Buke was “guilty” of the same. Other than newspaper reports regarding “Buke's confession,” the conviction and sentence, I never actually read the details of the trial. I put “confession” in quotation marks because no one truly confessed to the authorities during this trying period in our country's history. What were called “confessions” were actually either “forced confessions” or more likely someone being forced to sign something he or she had not written, stated, read, understood or voluntarily agreed to. 

Based on my own experiences, there was no fair trial before an objective, competent and impartial court at all - not even a Kangaroo court. 

Anyway, the Narc government recently considered Buke one of the commissioners of the Poverty Eradication Commission, which Kibaki formed through executive fiat one or so years ago. Buke had also fled upon being released from prison, but his exile experiences were not very good. Apparently, rumours have it that he faced “difficult” times in Uganda, and maybe even Tanzania, before “voluntarily” returning to Kenya, where he “survived” through odd jobs and businesses. Ultimately, he is better known over the years as a penultimate political activist who has been arrested, detained and beaten by the Kenyan Police repeatedly. 

A number of us fled from Kenya shortly after being released (for those who had been arrested and detained) and expelled from the University of Nairobi. I was one of the six student leaders (among them SONU Chairman, Wafula Buke, Secretary General, Kaberere Njenga, Foreign Secretary, Munameza Muleji, Vice-Chairman, Munoru Nderi, and Education Secretary, Jacob Oyuo Ngala Amuomo) who had been arbitrarily arrested, tortured and detained incommunicado for four weeks at the infamous Nyayo House before being unceremoniously released and expelled from the University without any reasonable justification or due process. I was the Finance Secretary and Managing Editor of the student newspaper, Campus Mirror (previously known as Sauti Ya Kamukunji. I was also the Vice Chairman of Kisumu University Students Association (KIDUSA). Except for Buke who was criminalized, all the remaining four of us were taken to court at night on the fourth week, compelled to sign bonds of good conduct and ordered to return to our villages and not be seen again in the City of Nairobi or at any institutions of higher learning, including national libraries. I actually do not know how Ngala faired since he lived in the city with his parents. 

In December 1987, five former students of the University of Nairobi who had been expelled together with 40 others (including most SONU leaders who were considered radical) for “orchestrating student riots; for attempting to foment public disaffection in the government of Kenya; for spreading socialism among students; for conspiring with American and South African racists as well as the Libyan and Ugandan governments to overthrow the government of Kenya,” fled Kenya to Tanzania. We were, Vice-Chairman, Munoru Nderi, a third year law student, Anampiu, Catering Secretary, Peter Mutonyi Gakiri, J.T.O. Ogola and I. While still in Tanzania, where we stayed for two months before being airlifted to the Kingdom of Swaziland, we were joined by another student leader, Omill Oloo. All six of us ended up in Canada, with Gakiri and me in Toronto, Anampiu and Nderi in Vancouver and Omill Oloo and Ogola in Edmonton. Both Gakiri and I became lawyers in Ontario while Omill Oloo became an economist in Alberta. Anampiu is a union steward in Toronto. I am not completely certain of what Ogola and Nderi do, but I know that the former resides in Western Canada while the latter lives in Toronto. Maurice Adongo Ogony, a former Secretary General of SONU is also a resident of Toronto. Adongo had been persecuted repeatedly between 1982 and 1987. Another former student who was also jailed in 1985 is Peter Omondi Obanda. He resides in Ottawa, Canada. 

Oyuo Amuomo Ngala eventually fled to the United Kingdom (U.K.), where he managed to complete his Bachelor of Laws degree. I am, however, unaware of his current occupation.

Q. Why did you become a lawyer?

A. Since I was a young boy, I always wanted to become many things. There was a time I seriously thought that I should become a physician. Unfortunately, I was never very good in Mathematics in secondary school, hence I ended up doing Literature, History and Christian Religious Education for my Advanced Levels. If it was possible to do Chemistry and Biology without Mathematics at Ordinary Levels - and if Math was not a requirement for medicine - I would probably have become a physician. 

Other times, I wanted to become a university professor, a philosopher, a writer and scholar. 

Yet right from primary school, I had also wanted to study law. 

Throughout my entire life, I have been very political, vocal and opinionated. I believe that we need to be actively involved in some form of political action in order to be part of change. 

These tensions have always been there in my life. So far, I have managed to study and obtain degrees in Political Science, Philosophy and Law. I have also managed to write four books and a horde of articles in both journals and newspapers. I am not sure what my next occupation will be. However, it is most likely going to be either public life or continued advocacy. As for writing, I will continue to produce articles and books for as long as I am alive. 

When I was about to complete my B.A degree at the University of Toronto (U of T), with admissions and scholarships at both Cambridge University and the University of Leeds in the UK, a former professor of mine at the U of T invited me to his home one weekend and we had a chat. Through that conversation, I decided to register for the competitive North American Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and apply for admission to Law School. 

Having completed my B.A. in record time (I joined U of T in September 1988 and graduated in June 1990), with very good G.P.A. and testimonials from my professors, I was admitted to Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. Osgoode Hall Law School is the oldest, largest and one of the most prestigious law schools in the British Commonwealth. 

I believe that the practice of law offers me a great opportunity to be able to assist, advocate for and fight for people who would otherwise not be able to effectively challenge authority when their rights are infringed; effectively call public authority to account when it violates rights or abuses power; and effectively allows the less privileged to ensure that their legal and constitutional rights are enforced. I have helped thousands of people, mainly those of African origin, to get fairness and the full benefit of the law and policies. Although it has not always been easy, I believe that few good things come without a struggle.

Q. What is your view of what Kenya needs?

A. Kenyans are demanding and they are entitled to get a constitution that radically reduces the executive powers of the Presidency and shares it with a Prime Minister who is either directly elected by the people through universal suffrage or by Parliament. Kenyans also need a system of government that has institutional checks and balances; we need an effective Parliament which controls its calendar and budget; a competent, impartial and independent judiciary with tenure and that is solely appointed by an independent Judicial Council with absolutely no outside interference. We need a professional, well trained, ethical and competent civil service who are solely appointed by an independent Civil Service Commission with no outside interference. No civil servant should be appointed by a politician, however powerful. Kenyans need and deserve to have a Federal system of government comprising the local (District), Provincial and National Levels. The national government should only have jurisdiction on defense, national security, health and foreign affairs. A significant portion of income tax collected locally should go directly towards infrastructure development such as road construction, schools and health care. We need to prepare and enforce laws that severely punish corrupt individuals or entities through long custodial sentences, asset recovery and monetary compensation. There should be zero tolerance to corruption - big or small. Finally, we must address the issue of homelessness, poverty and tribalism. With the kind of wealth Kenya has but which our oppressors have looted, we should not have the slums in our cities; the class divisions in our society should not be as sharp as they are; and we must eradicate tribalism. 

We need visionary leaders who have both clear visions for the future and demonstrated, focused and clear record of working for and with the toiling members of our society to liberate us from oppression, tribalism, corruption and bad governance.

Q. Could you tell us what your family comprises of; their names and why you named your children the way you did?

A. Wife’s name: Atieno.
Children: Atieno, Biko Thuon, Sure, Anyango Juma and Achieng' Roda.
My children are Africans. There is no reason why African children should have foreign names. European, Asian and Chinese children have European, Asian and Chinese names and nobody asks why. Why then must I explain why I, an African man, have given my children African names?

Q. What do you consider your best decision? How about any regrets?

A. That is a difficult question. I have made many good decisions over the years in my life. But I have also, like most human beings, made my fair share of blunders. By far my best decision is deciding to join the struggle for liberation on the side of the ordinary Kenyan masses. That has resulted into my arrest, detention, torture and exile. But it is a decision that I am most proud of and that I strongly believe history shall judge me kindly. 

I regret the fact that we, Africans, allowed ourselves to be thoroughly brainwashed, indoctrinated and alienated from ourselves to the extent that in this twenty first century, we still treat each other as if we don't value our lives at all. I regret that we continue to behave as if Caucasians are gods and we are animals. Just observe the way our so-called leaders and ordinary Kenyans conduct themselves shamelessly in front of Caucasians (what the ordinary Kenyan calls mzungu) and compare it with the way we treat each other - and for sure, if we have any common sense left, we must be ashamed! I regret that I have not found adequate time to write and agitate more for our total liberation. I recently traveled through JKIA and I regret the fact that Afrikan travelers are still treated as slaves, even in their own country by their own people. Caucasians, Asians and Chinese are allowed to go through the airport hassle-free, Afrikans are subjected to “screens,” their passports “scanned” as a policy and their luggage and person searched for invisible bombs! This, truly, is both an outrage and a disappointment. I am even more disappointed that our scribes do not raise these issues every day. The issue of Afrikans barred from exclusive “Whites Only” beach hotels, resorts and clubs; Afrikans subjected to racist and discriminatory treatments at public functions, including access to our public offices such as State House. Why, in God's name, are Kenyan citizens barred from entering State House? 

Ngugi wrote a book about Decolonizing the Mind. Chinuezu, the Nigerian iconoclast, wrote another one about Decolonizing Afrikan Literature. It is time we added a third one - Decolonizing the Afrikan Culture. This is very urgent. 

Please don't get me going. I will fill your entire newspaper with my regrets of our country's shameful legacy and practices. Do you still need more?

I otherwise thank you for giving me the opportunity to discuss with you my thoughts. 

The good news is that change is on the way… 

Peace! 

MIGUNA MIGUNA