Why “Our Uthamaki” Ideology has no Place in Kenya Today

The uthamaki madness has a cure in the following Bible reading:

Gospel – MT 20:1-16A

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.

Going out about nine o’clock,
the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.

And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
the landowner found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.

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So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.

Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Kenyans, when Jesus Christ gave this parable to his Disciples 2000 years ago, he knew very well that it will become the solution to the major disease that is ailing our country.

Before I elaborate on the disease part, let me put this parable into the Kenya’s perspective.

The land owner is God. The vineyard is our Country Kenya. The labourers are all Kenyans. The daily wage is the opportunities that Kenya offers e.g. Governance, employment, national resources, education etc. The different times of the day are the different years in the 20th century when everyone began to fight for their own freedom.

So, what is this disease that is ailing Kenya?

We have a section of us Kenyans who lay claim of having fought for the independence for this country from the British colonial master. There are others who fought for freedom from the neo-colonialists i.e. Jomo Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki Governments. There are those who fought for the second liberation in then late 80s and early 90s and we have those who fought for the actualization of our 2010 constitution. Regardless of the time each fought for our independence, the Bible says everyone deserves equal payment.

By the way we are just labourers in the vineyard (read Kenya) which was given to us by God. We are hired in the morning (read the day you were born) labour the whole day (read our lifetime) and get our wage in the evening (read our time of death). 

In another context, no single person, race, community, tribe, religion or social class can lay claim of owning Kenya. Kenya belongs to God. The natural resources and opportunities are owned by God and so God says everybody should get an equal share of that which he has given to us.

In Kenya right now there is this pseudo-notion that all the resources in Kenya are enjoyed by only two communities. Nothing is further from the truth. The resources in this country are enjoyed by the elite businessmen, by the political leaders and by the political power brokers from all communities. The middle and lower class are left suffering in adversity. They are hoodwinked and divided by the upper class along tribal lines. Each tribe thinks that their misery is brought by the other tribe. But how can a tribe bring misery to you? It is not tribe that causes misery, it is people regardless of their tribes. This can be vindicated from how various county governments are bringing misery to their people.

So, back to our main topic of Kenya belonging to all of us! We have to drop these notions like “Uthamaki is ours!”. Uthamaki belongs to those who benefit from it. For example, in the current Uhuru Kenyatta government, Uthamaki belongs to anybody who benefits directly from the spoils of the regime including members of other tribes who have appointments in the various government structures. If you are a Kikuyu or Kalenjin and you do not benefit from the Jubilee Government the for Gods sake stop saying Uthamaki is yours. This is because you are making members of other communities think that whatever you get from your hard work must have been given freely to you by the regime and thereby they end up hating you.

Just imagine, if you stop saying that you are wealthy because uthamaki is yours and start saying you are wealthy because of hard work, then your nemesis will stop thinking that if they capture the presidency then they will instantly become wealthy like you.

My people, the president or any other leader will never directly bring food to your table unless there is war and you are in an IDP camp. If you are in your own home, forget help from the government, get out there and work. Reach out to the government to help you do what you can do best and most cheaply as opposed to waiting for the government to tell you what you can do.

Once you start doing that you will realize the uthamaki contributes nothing to your economic emancipation as an ordinary mwananchi. Uthamaki only benefits the leaders and they are the ones who spread this uthamaki lie to all and sundry.

So in short this is what am I trying to say! The Jubilee Party has support from all corners of this country and from every community. How hard would it be to nominate a person from the Kisii Community like Dr. Fred Matiang’i or Alfred Mutua from Machakos to be William Ruto’s running mate in 2022 or for ODM to nominate Musalia Mudavadi to become Kalonzo Musyoka’s running mate? Let us embrace the everlasting Uthamaki (Kingship) from the eternal Muthamaki (God).

The solution to our problem in Kenya will not be found in the law, it will be found in our hearts. Once we eliminate negative tribalism and the suspicions that surround it, then God’s wish that we share the same wage at the end of the day will be realized. We should love one another. Jesus said that the supreme law that should govern us is

“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” MT 22:34-40

If we follow this law above then we wouldn’t be having the current stalemate we have in Kenya. Lets love each other and we will get equal wages at the end of our lifetime.