'She' almost died

Kenyans and the world wait with bated breath for the next general election more so, the aftermath. Will it be peaceful or will we witness a recurrence of history? If it were up to some, elections would be done away with. This is all due to the memories of the 2007/2008 post-election violence that engulfed the country in the wake of the disputed 2007 Presidential election.



The post-election violence which many hope to totally erase from their memories was Kenya's worst humanitarian crisis since independence. It further left more than 1,200 people dead; 350,000 displaced into temporary camps, and an equal number seeking refuge with friends or relatives (http://www.irinnews.org).

I vividly recall a story I was told of a post-election victim. Nana as she was popularly known was a diligent house keeper in her employer's words. She was a jovial individual who spread joy everywhere she went and was thus associated with happiness. When the violence struck, Nana against her employer's orders went to her home in Kibera to check on her family's well being.

When the violence escalated, she decided to take her youngest son to live with her in the staff quarters provided by her employer. Leon was his mother's spitting image. He even had her gapped smile.

When news that the violence getting worse in Kibera reached Nana, she made a resolution to take some provisions for her elder son and husband back home in Kibera. Nana woke up early and set out for the only place she called home. Before setting out, she kissed her son goodbye without knowing that it would be the last kiss from her to him.

A week later, Nana hadn't returned. Her employer waited for her to no avail. When she could no longer live with the anxiety and decided to search for Nana. Her worst fears were confirmed when she heard that on the day Nana had set out to go check on her husband and elder son, she was caught up in the violence and fights and met her untimely death.

Shock and grief engulfed Nana's employer as she wondered how she would break the news to Leon. When calm was restored, Nana's employer decided to adopt Leon and took him with her to the USA. Her main aim was to teach him to resist being a member of a tribe as tribalism was the major contributor to the post-election crisis and near death of our beloved nation.

All along she wondered when individuals resorted to killing each other without care. Nana's memory and that of many more, unknown to her would forever remain etched in her mind. She prayed for the redemption of Kenyans. The violence had already happened and was irreversible. She hoped that such a situation would never recur and that the spirit of brothehood and love would be inculcated in individuals in spite of their ethnicity as this would be key in eliminating a recurrence of the 2007/2008 situation in future. I totally support her sentiments.