Kenya Village voices: Mount Kenya is Bleeding and the Water is Bitter.
Dr. Teddy Kamau
UPDATE: Mid last year on 3rd July 2019, Professor Teddy Njoroge Kamau predicted what is going on with politics in Kenya and what was going to happen to P William Ruto. It has happened and still unfolding as predicted.Here below is the story!
Every revolution starts with patriotism. A patriotism that is represented by a symbol. Symbols are so important in a revolution that the Bible uses symbols to describe the revolutionary end of times. From the four horses of the apocalypse, which represents nothing but death and destruction, to the imagery of “He who sits on the throne” with animals that have 7 heads and the artistic drama of the “eyes that shine like the sun.” The symbols of crystal lakes, a beast with faces like men, and seals that no man can open. The imagery sometimes is so complicated that many people fear to read the book of revelation. The scarily imagery is used to communicate concepts and to point the reader towards a message in a way that one cannot comprehend nor forget.
Historically, Kenya has seen its own symbols and artistic imagery. The one we should remember is the traditional Kikuyu song, “Ndere mwarimu, wa Kunyua ne anyue no uria utekwenda niakare.” The song promoted alcoholism arguing that it does not need lecture: “Let he who drink, drink and he who does not like drinking can”, basically go jump in the lake. Today the song has become a curse as millions of Kikuyu youth have become drastic alcoholics. Some of the revolutions have been silent and verbal while others have been both verbal and action packed. After the assassination of J.M Kariuki (Nakuru MP), people were not allowed to express their opinions in a format that depicted the real event. They were afraid to speak of the event within its actual status. Therefore they turned to music as songs about J. M. Kariuki were written. Music has been the artist’s way of saying what the common man is thinking outside of normal linguistic acclamations.
Kikuyu musicians compose songs to describe the state of affairs in artistic imagery, which speaks of the feelings of the villager. After the attempted coup in 1982 by some rebels of the Kenya air force, President Moi was advised by his counterpart president Nyerere of Tanzania. Nyerere told Moi that the Kikuyu were behind the coup and that if he were not careful, the Kikuyu community would overthrow his government. According to people familiar with the conversation, Nyerere told Moi, Kikuyu have money: That is their power. Therefore Moi begun the onslaught of rich Kikuyus to remove the golden rule: He who has most gold, rules.
After Mzee Jomo Kenyatta died, Moi surrounded himself with members of the Kikuyu elite including, but not limited to Charles Njonjo, Mwai Kibaki and others, all Kikuyus. After Nyerere’s advice, there was a revolution, which led to the court case where Charles Njonjo was accused of treason. It is during this time that lawyer Paul Mwite became prominent given that he represented Charles Njonjo. The musicians interpreted the events. A Presbyterian choir known as ‘Gathaithi choir’ sang the song that came to represent the state of affairs during that time. The song ‘Mai Ni Maruru’ (Water is bitter) described the tensions in the land. The song spoke symbolically, because although it was written to describe the cry of the Israelites in the desert, on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land, it was used by Gathaithi as a political prophesy. The bible says, “Then they came to a place called Marah, but the water there was so bitter that they could not drink. . . . The people complained to Moses and asked, “What are we going to drink?” Genesis 15:22ff.
The situation in Kenya now is not absent in the eyes of the villager. And the musicians are out again using symbols to describe the inner feelings silenced by poverty, confusion,corona virus, oppression, regression, police brutality and personal economic misery of the villager.
During the election period, Kenyan musicians were there to ‘prophesy’ about the relationship between Uhuru and William Ruto. They sung songs that the villagers sung all the way to the election booths. Now again they are singing. But the songs they are singing are not the same songs they sung during election. Rather, they are singing the songs that the Mau Mau sung in the forest: Songs of liberation from political grabbing and oppression.
The villager is again singing these songs. But like the past, those who are in authority are not listening. They have put the masks beyond their mouth and noses and are covering even the eyes and their ears. But the villager cannot afford such masks, therefore they are singing together with the new song in the village. The singer describes a bus driver who is going down ‘Kinungi’ at 100 miles an hour. And when the passengers ask where they are going, the driver says, “I don’t know, but trust me, we will get there.” The passengers don’t believe the driver so they start screaming.
There are two types of prophetic symbolism. One speaks within the established kingdom of man about life on earth. The other is spiritual: spoken by the NABI about Christ and His Kingdom. Both are active and true. Remember Moses and the Snakes?
Listen to the ‘prophet’ sing. Maybe you have not covered your ears and eyes with the COVID19 mask.
Teddy Njoroge Kamau (Ph.D)
HTBluff Associates
Diaspora Messenger Senior Columnist
Kenya Village voices: Mount Kenya is Bleeding and the Water is Bitter
