A country is as rotten as the leaders we elect

It is important that people get to see how rotten Kenya is beyond the optics of big agenda. I appreciate it so much when the context within which the rot exists is exposed and linked to broader issues which we often miss to connect. This is precisely what the investigative story on supermarkets that use harmful chemicals to extend the shelf life of meat did.

By maintaining the appearance and killing the odour of rotting meat, supermarkets knowingly sell harmful meat to unknowing consumers. This was a harsh reality to many people and a great reminder of the limitlessness of bad leadership.

Sadly, Kenya has reported the existence of harmful substances in various consumer goods, from sugar laced with harmful metal particles, milk that the Kenya Dairy Board raised alarm over the heavy presence of drug residues. Then maize was at some point found to contain dangerous levels of aflatoxin and bottled water that wasn't safe for consumption. Most recently, Kenyan women lamented on sanitary pads that cause rashes, itching and infection being sold. The list is so long that we are living by the grace of God.

One of the most controversial goods that Kenyans keep extending their shelf life by preserving the appearance while knowing its rot — just like the meat — is our leaders. We are consistent in our use of tribe as an active chemical ingredient to cleanse leaders whose sources of wealth is public theft, their integrity is in the red, their character is tainted and their priorities are personal. We then knowingly accept these rotten individuals as our leaders. What's the difference between this and changing the wrapping foil and draining the seeping liquids from rotten meat?

Well, these are examples of how profound the hate we have not just for ourselves but for each other is manifested. It starts from accepting people who are not worth leading us. It's in the way institutions mandated to protect Kenyans from harmful goods are lax about their work. It's in the vile attitude that women who complained about substandard sanitary pads were attacked. It's in the way we keep assuming that people who are exposed to vulnerabilities of consuming poisonous commodities are at fault because they haven't worked hard enough to buy quality commodities. It is in the way we actively practise hatred but expect to reap love.

There's a gap between the leadership we have and the role we all have to play to get the leadership we deserve. We must start reimagining what it takes to get leaders that truly care about us, those who respect us, those accountable for our taxes and protect our children like their own. The ones concerned about the quality of the air we breathe, where we walk when we're going about our day, what we eat, where we live, and our various sources of income. These may sound utopian but remember, no one treats you like rubbish unless that's what they've seen you will be okay with.