Stanley Livondo, sigh. Mr Moneybags. His only claim to fame is that he once caused a downpour of crisp banknotes from a chopper somewhere in Western. In a savage tackle on February 22, Kimathi Street dismissed him as a “nondescript politician and businessman”.
Livondo sprang straight out of political oblivion into the national limelight on Saturday, February 19. Attending a thanksgiving prayer service for recovering Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria at Thika Stadium, Mr Moneybags claimed exclusive knowledge of a plot to assassinate President Uhuru Kenyatta, twice.
“This is a serious claim that should not have been so casually uttered in public. Anything that touches on the security of the Head of State is not an issue for mere politicking,” the Nation editorial protested.
Lakini Livondo alicheza ka’ yeye. The irony of Kimathi Street’s protest is that it is the media that routinely props up dubious characters like Mr Moneybags. Journalists trumpet and bestow respectability on sensational politicking that adds absolutely no value to national discourses. Any bumpkin on the Kenyan political scene knows how the media works. Notoriety earns you the headlines. Say or do something outrageous and you will instantly become the man (rarely woman) in the news.
Mheshimiwa Kuria was alarmed and distanced himself from Livondo’s porojo. He asked police to question Mr Moneybags. Yet not long ago, Kuria, styling himself as a Gikuyu warrior, grabbed the headlines for his tales of machetes and foreskins, remember? The inflammatory clips are still on YouTube.
What do Kenyans want right now? The revolutionary president of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara told the 39th UN General Assembly in New York in 1984 that imperialism had dismantled Africa’s food security and the continent was unable to feed itself. “Our stomachs will make themselves heard,” he warned.
As the media chased after Livondo and Uhuru succession intrigues, Kenyan stomachs spoke last week. The hashtag #lowerfoodprices trended on Twitter and other social media platforms. Kenyans shared shopping lists of how prices of basic commodities have shot up in recent years.
Mainstream media had to play catch-up; they had to pull their heads buried in the sands of cheap politics and listen to what the people were saying.
The Standard: “Kenyans use social media to demand lower food prices”.
Nation: “What will the poor eat now?” and “Kenya Kwanza and Azimio clash on high cost of living and debt”.
The Star had a front-page graphic on the cost of food items under the heading, “Kenyans groan under high cost of living”.
People Daily: “Kenyans pile pressure over high cost of living”. Citizen TV: “Politics of the economy”.
It has been pointed out that in some advanced democracies elections never bring the country to a standstill. It is a solemn occasion on which citizens pick their leaders without much drama as they go on with their lives.
But here, the media will never let you sleep, with their frenzied election tales of “war”, “battle”, “aggressive onslaught”, “cut so and so to size”, “drive so and so out of Central”, “drop a bombshell”, “political juggernaut”, “troops”, “war chest”, “election machine”. And even assassination plots.
Perennial hunger – a crying shame 60 years after Independence – is never seen as a political issue but a result of drought, for which the gods are to blame. The state has sometimes conducted televised national prayers asking God to end drought. Journalists and other Kenyans who accept and spread this tired narrative see no contradiction when they buy oranges and other produce imported from countries located in deserts.
In a February 23 story in The Standard, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi described Kenya as “a cartel economy”. That is the reason for rising food prices. “Cartels are licensed to exclusively import all the fertiliser, food and farm inputs. The Kenyan farmer is neglected intentionally so that the profiteers can make their kill, while Kenyans languish in poverty and hopelessness”.
Muturi heads one of the three arms of government. He must know what he is talking about. Yet he isn’t the first to make this claim. Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga described Kenya as “a bandit economy”.
“Why is maize from Uganda cheaper? Why are potatoes from Tanzania cheaper? Why do we get eggs from Uganda? Fertiliser price is a scam by cartels and government officers; it is Sh1,200 in Uganda and Sh5,700 in Kenya,” Muturi said.
When will the media ignore the Livondos and expose the cartels and bandits holding the country to ransom? Our stomachs will make themselves heard.
See you next week!
