Yesterday, Nairobi came to a little standstill. All courtesy of some little people,their not-so-little comrades. And a final crew of a bunch of people with very little regard for kids or for the welfare of the poor.
What started off as a genuine protest against arrant thievery of public land quickly escalated into a full-blown combat with some very defenseless kids on one side an a trouble-loving Police force on the other-Armed to the teeth.
Much of the Kenya Police never shy away from an opportunity to demonstrate their thickheadedness. And Yesterday was no different. Clad in full combat gear and positioned around Lang’ata Primary School as early as 10am in the morning, this was a lot that,clearly, was spoiling for a row.
And when the chance for a scuffle finally presented itself,the police gleefully lunged at it,leaving a trail of destruction behind.
It all started when word spread across social Media that some parcel of land,which was supposed to be a play ground for the innocent kids at Lang’ata Primary School,had been unlawfully grabbed by some very enterprising-and also very powerful-politician in the current Jubilee Government. I will desist from naming the politician for obvious reasons. I kind of hate surprise trips to Muthaiga Police Station.
Armed with that information,vexed members of the Civil Society and the general social media populace felt the need to,as they say in activism terms,”stick it to the man”. And so,very effectively and efficiently, a public protest was called for. A day was set,an agenda was agreed upon,a circular was circulated and a motive was born.
And of course,the protest had to have a leader. And who better to lead the onslaught than renown Kenyan militant,Boniface Mwangi.
Day came and,armed with some information and desire for truth and justice,Boniface and his crew descended on the Lang’ata Primary School play ground….to teach the grabbers a thing or two on how to occupy lands.
And occupy they did. Buoyed by a hashtag,#OccupyPlayGround.
But the occupation didn’t last for long. Neither did what was supposed to be a peaceful day. Things went south pretty quick and the Police,who had been dutifully perching across the playground waiting for orders,quickly joined into the foofaraw. And did quite a mess of a job.
Heartless and brainless and senseless as they’ve always proved to be,the Police did the unthinkable; they literally doused innocent school kids in toxic tear gas fumes…plunging them into a coughy,throaty and teary world within a minute…making them scamper and scurry and yell and scream…calling out for their mothers and falling over into ditches…screaming and shouting.
The police didn’t stop. No,they lobbed more tear gas into the frenzied crowd. And more. And more.
It was a scene straight out of a 1960 Mississippi Black Riot Sunday Movie. And the sight of crying kids….their faces blurred by the powerful effects of the blinding fumes betraying the effect of the situation and the callousness of our Police.
No one was safe. Neither the kids from whom land had been soooo heartlessly grabbed. Nor the adult activists themselves. Or teachers too…All of whom,just like the kids,had scurried to safe places…their noses running and their eyes as watery as a Brazilian canyon.
I was horrified to watch these frail beings being ferried across the grounds,wailing and yelling, their feeble eyes too watery to see and their minds too befuddled to comprehend the madness that had just happened. I was appalled to watch kids who could have been 5…Or 6…get introduced,so callously,to the life of the brutality and outright stupidity that they had to live with once they were grown.
It was a horrifying sight. And quite unnerving.
Who are these police officers?? Who gave birth to these bunch of soulless mortals?? Which schools did they attend?? What were kind of training did they receive at Kiganjo?? Did they have children of their own??
Those are the burning questions that were splitting through my mind as I watched these satanic reprobates douse little kids in tear gas. And flog them and clobber them with batons.
But what surprised and angered me more was….Who,in their right mind,allowed these defenseless feeble beings to go into a battlefield??
Who allowed these kids to enter into a warzone?? Who led them there?? Who told these kids that it was right for them to go,full throttle,into such a volatile situation in a bid to “fight for their rights”??
That was totally uncalled for. And unnecessary. And foolish. And dumb. And downright stupid.
Kids,I will repeat, had NO business being at the center of the running battles. Kids didn’t have to make a cameo in the combat. They’re kids,Dumbass!
These kids SHOULD HAVE been allowed to sit safely in their classes and let the adults,who are career activists,anyway,carry out the trade of the day. And bear the brunt of the police brutality ALONE.
Heroes are supposed to Fight for the Weak. Not drag the weak into the fights.
But when I called Boniface Mwangi,He outrightly told Me that those kids were exercising their constitutional rights. And that they were out for tea break,anyway. And that,nobody dragged them to the war-zone,they found themselves there by the virtue of them being students at the school.
I beg to differ.
Do these kids normally behave in such a manner any other day?? NO. Do they kids normally storm out and cause a ruckus like they did Yesterday on any other tea break?? NO. Have these kids been doused in tear gas ever before?? NO. Have these kids incorporated the habit of tearing down perimeter walls and attempting to gouge metal gates from the hinges into their curriculum?? NO.
So,obviously, these kids MUST have been INCITED. And,very cleverly,urged to leave the comfort of their classrooms and pour into the playground to not only picket and carry placards and holler and cause a provocation, but also,Ferguson-style,surge forward, placard in hand,and,in the last attempt to finally provoke and intimidate Mr.Police Officer,attempt to bring down a concrete perimeter wall and gouge out a metal gate from its roots. These kids were inaugurated to hooliganism. Yesterday.
I maintain that that was WRONG. And people who know just how trigger-happy and brutal our police can be should be SMART enough to know that allowing kids in such a dangerous situation is a NO-NO.
But it happened,anyway.
In as much as I condemn the police officers who lobbed tear gas at a group of primary school kids,I must also condemn the guy who thought it wise to incorporate kids into the act. Thus gravely endangering their lives and exposing them to dangers and situations that they may never recover from. Physically or emotionally.
But the biggest CRIMINAL here is the guy that stole the land in the first place. Yes,that super-wealthy elected leader. That’s the main criminal.
But it’s sad that that guy will never be arrested for grabbing the land. Sadder that he will never be hauled to court. And even saddest that he will never lose his job for being such a covetous swine.
And it’s unfortunate that the guy that will face the negative consequences of all of this madness is NOT the big guy…But the small guy;The Boniface Mwangi. And the poor police officer.
Man eat man society! Pooh!
Mr. Politician……
