The recent protests against the plans of the government of Kenya were a sight to behold. It seems that finally the youth of Kenya are becoming politically active in a way that is far greater than at the time of my youth. This is great to see.
We all know that the government of Kenya is corrupt and probably criminal and that knowingly or unknowingly it makes life in Kenya a constant struggle, but the spark for these protests and demonstrations was the Finance Bill 2024 that is being forced down the throats of Kenyans and which will bring further pain when it comes to effect. It was interesting and inspiring to see young people from everywhere burst onto the streets to demand better from their government. We never did that during my day, sigh.
Anyway, the thing that I want to talk about in this post is to point out that the dragon that we are fighting has at least three heads and may have more. When you fight a dragon that has more than one head, you must take care to vanquish all heads so that you can be assured of final success.
I want to point this out because it appears to me that a large part of the demonstrators want to fight the system using the system. For example, they are talking about going the legal route of recalling members of parliament so as to (legitimately) send a message to the leaders that they must act and be seen to act in the interests of Kenya and Kenyans. This is probably a good move. Kenyan MPs have never been held to account for any of the things that they have done to us over the years and decades.
However, Kenyan MPs are just part of a large system which has absolutely n intention of relenting in whatever it is that they are doing to us and for themselves. Kenyan MPs, representative of visible Kenyan political leaders and other authorities, are but one head of this dragon. This head must be devastated and defeated but only targetting it is a mistake.
One other head is the “system” wich some call the “deep state”. The plain truth is that the entire system in Kenya consipres against the average Kenyan. This is why there is no real opposition to the government from other leaders. This is why Kenyan politicians frequently “change sides” and this does not affect in any way the realities on the ground in Kenya. There is a system that exists and that benefits from the status quo. This is the second head.
The third head is the prevailing global system. I don’t know if you want to call it the global American empire or neocolonialism or something else, but there is a dark power that ensures that countries like Kenya never rise beyond a certain point. Ask yourself: why do people still die of hunger (HUNGER!) in Kenya every year despite billions in “aid” from global bodies and so-called developed nations? It doesn’t make sense. And this is just one example of how this third head manifests itself. You could very well argue that this third head might be the power that is at least partly behind the other two heads.
Perhaps this dragon has other heads? I do not know.
But as we fight (and we must fight), we need to be aware that all of the dragon’s known heads are aligned and actively work together. Any moves made against on of them will be countered by the others. I don’t know how to fight this dragon and win, but this must be taken into account.