Mrs Anna Okoth, a Kenyan citizen, picked up her Passport from the Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm on Monday October 8th after a sweet victory which saw the Public Relations Officer in Nairobi at the Department of Immigration Mrs Mary Musasia apologise to her in writing for the long delay. This was a courageous act by Musasia who acknowledged that there had been a problem with the processing of the Passport. The apology amounted to the Department taking responsibility.
From the outcome of the struggle which began in earnest with a Petition addressed to the Kenyan government, it is clear that struggle pays and that the Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm is absolutely powerless when it comes to following up a delayed Passport. If Anna had continued to listen to unenlightened advice from the Kenyan Embassy, she could still be “waiting for the next diplomatic bag”.
The failure of the Kenyan Ambassador to Scandinavia H.E Purity Muhindi to intervene during the whole process should permanently remind Kenyans in Stockholm that we have a toothless Ambassador and that the best option under the circumstances is to wait for a change of government in December so that our non-performing Lady Ambassador can hopefully be sent packing.
The quick result of the Anna struggle is a demonstration that something can always be done about non performing bureaucrats be they in Nairobi or in Stockholm. The anti-Kibaki propaganda linked to the petty Passport issue was sending frissons of fear within key Institutions of government especially the Department of Immigration and something had to be done. A Passport that has been held for six months was issued and sent to Stockholm within a span of four days. This was not a miracle out of some closed door prayer meeting. It was the result of pure strategic pressure.
Pro-Kibaki bozos running gutter-blogs tried to counter that the government of the Othaya-bound Septuagenarian and limping President should not be held responsible for the Passport delay while others in the Kibaki campaign bandwagon advised that Anna should travel to Kenya and visit the Department of Immigration to get her Passport. Heavenly smoke!
When roads fall into total disrepair and become impassable giving MPs excuses to waste public funds on fuel-guzzling four wheel drives, you don’t begin by blaming the Ministry of Roads. Corruption of the Anglo-leasing type cannot be blamed on the Ministry of Finance and in the same token, rampant tribalism in the appointment of public servants cannot be blamed on the Ministry of Culture and Social services. Chronic lack of medicine in hospitals cannot be blamed on the Ministry of Health and so on. The government must take responsibility.
DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS ARE UNALIENABLE
If there is a six-month delay of a Passport that was supposed to be issued in six weeks and both the Kenyan Embassy in Stockholm and the Department of Immigration in Nairobi cannot intervene or give explanations despite repeated contacts, then the next stop is the government.
The line of reasoning of neophytes willing to bet their kidneys for Kibaki’s re-election reeks of unrestrainable political myopia. A key lesson here is that there are Kenyans whose political consciousness have not developed despite an International political exposure and it is a shame that the only reason why they were defending Kibaki from attacks on the Passport issue is because Kenya has a Kikuyu President.
Then, there are others who claimed that the language of the Petition “was too militant” and that it should have been “toned down a little”. If you are going to war, you pick your best weapons which will deliver victory. There was a lot of diplomacy during the initial stages of inquiry but as the Kenyan Ambassador maintained a calculated deafness over the issue and the Immigration Department became even more non committal, it could have been fool-hardy to expect the victim to begin licking the boots of Embassy staff in the name of diplomacy. Fire had to be opened using “State of the art” artillery.
If you ask KSB Commanders, our armoury is full and we need to start an “Iraqi-like war” to test some weapons and create room for new ones. Should there be a “regime change” at one on the “Middle Eastern blogs” habouring anti-KSB cyber terrorists?
An old Kibaki lap-dog even called KSB from his drinking hole at Vasa to say that “The Passport will never be issued” because the applicant had “abused Kibaki”. That was Friday last week and as he rumbled on, little did he know that the Passport was already in one of the drawers at the Kenyan Embassy awaiting collection on Monday.
The geezer, who fled to exile in Sweden in the 80s, used to be very progressive, ideologically radical and revolutionary until Kibaki took power. As the years grinded on, he began to go down the road of political degeneration while his outbursts became even more reactionary. Today, he is one of the most vicious tribalists who believe that Raila should not lead Kenya because he is “not cut”. Are there any lessons to learn from the demeanour of this notorious Kikuyu chauvinist on the Passport issue?
Kenyans at home and abroad must never accept that the government of the day sits on their hard won rights and freedoms without protest. Whether it is President Mwai Emilio Kibaki or President Raila Amollo Odinga, democratic rights are unalienable and regardless of who is in power, the tempo of struggle should not change. The Anna Passport battle was won and although it was a little victory, it should serve as an example to Wakenya and a warning to any future government. Don’t just sit there when the government is trampling on your rights with impunity. Get into struggle!
Okoth Osewe
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