In December 1963, the tree of independent Kenya was planted
For water, human blood was sprinkled and it sprouted
Blood was coldly drawn from fallen soldiers of the Mau Mau
For these fearless souls imagined a vine and its cherries for their children
And ultimately, the ball was set rolling with the Majimbo constitution.
However, while the branches were blossoming
The worst came by – the first constitutional amendment
The government of the day cut off the branches of the young tree
And the tree was left with only the trunk; no branches
Majimbo flew out of the window and came in a centralised government
Fifty years down the line, no changes from the white man’s era were realised
The same challenges when the tree was planted were unaddressed:
Disease, ignorance and poverty
All because of pruning the buds of “ugatuzi”
The trunk could not satisfy the common mwananchi
All the same, the mistake was realized and the 2010 Constitution adopted
No longer would the branches be cut or mutilated
The twigs would be allowed to spring and would be protected
There would be no unnecessary, politically motivated grafting of the branches
The branches would then bear fruit for all wananchi to eat
The constitution makers envisioned 47 branches of the tree
That within no time, all the branches would mature
And one day, each of those twigs would have countless fruits
Fruits that would be closer to the “kawaida” mwananchi
Fruits that would be sweeter to Wanjiku, Ibrahim, Wafula and Otieno
Photo credits:
(1) Marc Dalmulder via photopin (license)
(2) Trey Ratcliff via photopin (license)