I am the spirit of Willie Kimani, the blood of Nura Malicha flows in my veins, and the thoughts of poor uncomprehending boys in Mukuru daunt my soul..,”

 

May I say a few words, Your Honor? I am the spirit of Willie Kimani, the blood of Nura Malicha flows in my veins, and the thoughts of poor uncomprehending boys in Mukuru daunt my soul. It is what goes through an addict’s brain – static pain. Such is the case for me. The constant desire to breathe. I am aching for breath, because I think that’s how Willie’s family is feeling. Should I breathe, I know Mama Nura will heave the deep sigh with me. And so will the Mukuru Eight mothers, who lost their sons at three; who now are tired, and need a bit of fresh air, indeed.

 

 

Evil is lurking. And it always seems to stalk a poor man. If it does catch you protecting the truth, there shall be no room for mercy. Behold a never-ending thirst for violence. Beating to death, to the point where your future has been reduced to a frozen memory in a picture. Nobody is spared. Sunrise to sunset, one day to the next, parents, sons, daughters, students, workers, businessmen and so forth, have all fallen prey to a failing judicial system. One that is no different from a cult, to which you must adhere blindly, or feel its wrath.

 

 

We now are, without a doubt, in a state of emergency – not only because of Willie and his two counterparts, but because of a looming justice crisis, a social crisis as well as a spiritual one. Yes, spirit. I wish to bring here today the voice and the cry of the nation. A nation that is sick, suffocated; one that needs us all. We must return to the original instructions that we have all been given by the spirit. For in the lodges of this nation, we are not to overstep the spirit. You are, I am – because we are! Ubuntu!

 

 

Gathering something of how we have come about to this point brings us to awareness of the possibility to do things differently. The spirit always acknowledges the beginning. The past, on the other hand, is an argument and arguments present the opportunity for change; the necessary tools to dissent, when we must. We cannot destroy our systems without destroying ourselves. We also cannot continue waiting for other people to change things for us. It begins with us, now. Refusing to go back to business as usual, where the system works only for very few people on top, will be the first step towards changing our stance.

 

 

I wish to say here that we have been misled into believing in only one judicial model. The need for another vision is therefore much in evidence. A vision that reconciles the right to our lives, justice and equality, in which we prosper, interconnected with one another as humans and a community. The quest for justice is not only a preserve of those to whom it has been denied. It does not only belong to the poor people.  Each gesture and every action we take against inequality is valid.

 

 

Your Honor, where is your part, you may ask?

 

 

You are in a tight place – between a hawk and a buzzard – to reflect on your authority as more than just employment. The oppressor is on you, as the oppressed comes to you. Yet this house, this planet, needs all of us. Without being active citizens ourselves, we will never be able to have a responsible government. This is the spiritual quest we must take.

 

 

I am the spirit of Willie Kimani, the blood of Nura Malicha flows in my veins, and the thoughts of poor uncomprehending boys in Mukuru daunt my soul.

 

I have as much muscle as any man. I can carry and eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as intelligent as any man that is now. I have heard much about us all being equal before the law. As for that, all I can say is, if a poor man has a quarter jerrican and a rich man a half – why can’t the poor man have his quarter jerrican full?

 

 

Your Honor, you need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much; for we can never take more than our jerrican will hold. We would like to be here in the same way that you are, as there is no other house for all of us. If it’s NO justice for Willie, for Nura and the Mukuru Eight, it’s NOs justice for you, too!

 

 

Kanyi Wyban