Kenyans need cooperation, collaboration to defeat Covid-19

“Our nation has always overcome and emerged from seemingly insurmountable challenges stronger and better,” said President Uhuru Kenyatta as more measures to stop the spread of coronavirus were announced. “Defeating this pandemic demands cooperation, collaboration and common action.”

Amidst the fear, anxiety and panic, we must remember that we will come through this. Our nation emerged stronger after far greater struggles.

Those involved with the uprisings in the middle of the last century and the Independence generation suffered unspeakable hardships to free us of the yoke of colonisation.    

When Kenya emerged as a nation, many people still hoped it would fail. Our early leaders had to tread carefully between competing foreign interests, most notably the superpowers who fought over every state.

Kenyans had a society, economy and infrastructure to build.

The scars of that time remain with us until this very day, through the spectre of tribalism and land issues that are yet to be fully dealt with, although there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel with recent initiatives like the Building Bridges Initiative.

Over the decades, we have known devastating natural disasters, bloody terrorist attacks and violent internal strife that have threatened to break our nation.

These are tests that might have ripped other countries apart, but Kenya remains whole and stronger.

We were victorious because we have a deep faith and respect for our fellow citizens.

Whether Christian, Muslim or any other religion, Kenyans have a strong belief and commitment to our faiths which demand respect of the individual and our neighbours. We are commanded throughout our traditions to treat others as we would want to be treated.

“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no commandment greater than these,” reads the Gospel of Matthew (12:31).

In the Islamic tradition, there is a Hadith called the Golden Rule, which says: “None of you has faith until he loves for his brother or his neighbour what he loves for himself.” (Sahih Bukhari, Book 2, Hadith 12)

These are central tenets which bind us and which we will need to stress to ourselves, our families and our communities in the weeks and possibly months ahead.

These are the ties which have been tested before.

Now, for the first time, we have an enemy that cannot be seen but one we can fight and defeat.

Our medical professionals and health workers, critical and essential service providers and government officials will be on the frontline trying to limit the spread of the virus.

They will certainly need our support to do their work and their regulations and recommendations must be adhered to.

However, as citizens, we can also do our part, and that is through what President Kenyatta calls ‘cooperation, collaboration and common action.’

We need to help each other by making sure everyone in our community have what they need to stay at home and avoid crowds.

We might be spending more time at home, but the message has to be sent to all that while there are lonely times ahead, no one needs to be alone.

We might need to spend more time online so our community bonds do not need to end just because we are not physically assembling together, we will find new technological answers to the challenge of this new reality.

Our nation is not called the ‘Silicon Savannah’ for nothing, so I am sure our hi-tech experts will use their impressive know-how to help us through this difficult period.

“Our nation shall prevail, the aspirations of our destiny shall stand,” is how President Kenyatta ended his speech. “Together we shall be victorious, pamoja tutashinda. We can and we shall defeat the coronavirus pandemic.”

Our president was channeling the independence generation’s hopes and aspirations for our country. We have faced and defeated far greater adversity, so we will not allow a virus to drive us apart.

We will once again emerge stronger. That is the promise of our nation.