Kenya should not go back to being ‘normal’

As African countries grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic in the best way they can, Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s president, was quoted saying that the only people his government will provide relief to are those whose incomes have been affected by the pandemic directly.

As for those who were poor before the pandemic, they should continue surviving how they were doing, as his government will deal with poverty issues later. As for now, the focus is on getting over this coronavirus pandemic.

His views, though harsh, seem to be the mode of operation for the Kenyan government. It has put everything on a standstill as it seeks to deal with this disease.

And for the first time in the history of the country, Kenyans are experiencing a government that can work. The president is suddenly on our screens telling us what to do.

The Cabinet secretaries, whose names we only ever see when corruption comes up, are all of a sudden actually working, while Instagram celebrities such as Ali Hassan Joho, the Mombasa governor, have risen to the occasion.

Whereas before the manufacturing industry in Kenya was never one to brag about, this coronavirus times have seen the industry strap in its boots and provide Kenyans with the much needed masks, sanitisers and ventilators.

Our university students, long known for throwing stones and allegedly being half-baked graduates, are at the forefront of inventing ventilators for the public use.

Institutions like Kemri that the public rarely hears about are on the forefront of ensuring the test kits for the coronavirus are rolled out efficiently.

Even the water cartels that have long traumatised urban dwellers for once are cooperating as much as they can.

This kind of efficiency is new to our country. Who would have thought that they would live to see a day when the government and citizens work hand in hand?

So what we are now afraid of most is that after this pandemic, life will go back to normal. To the normal government of the day that would rather politic day and night than talk about issues that affect the common mwananchi, and to Cabinet secretaries whose names only appear in our newspapers when we are being informed about when the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission is picking them up for questioning.

Our biggest fear as Kenyans is actually going back to our normal lives after this virus. Back to our joblessness, back to our squalor, back to our water scarcity, back to police brutality, back to the congested ferry services in Likoni, back to rural areas that the government barely pays attention to, back to a public transport system that is managed by cartels, and back to a capital city whose governor is a clown.

After experiencing a government that can actually rise to the occasion, our wish is that they maintain the same energy after this pandemic.

That the government continues focusing seriously and categorically on citizens’ well-being. That for once, money is provided for the things that matter.

We wish to see the Jubilee government maintain the same energy it has shown us during this pandemic, throughout its remaining term.

Ms Mwende comments on social issues.