Kenya on the Verge of Take-off
As I write this, it is Thursday, 25th October 2018. As the sun rises in the east, something tells me that to-day is a day like no other for Kenyans. In a way, it is similar to that day over 55 years ago when we attained our political independence from Great Britain.
As you can probably guess, independence day on 12th December 1963 was also on a Thursday. A coincidence? I am not a believer in coincidences but, on this particular one, I have a suspicion that someone somewhere must have known what he or she was doing.
Taunet Nellel
Why do I say this? Kenya Airways, our national airline, is busy making final arrangements for its maiden flight from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to New York, USA. So what is the big deal? You will ask.
Let us look into history. On this same date in 1945, the United Nations was finally inaugurated after six years of war among the major countries in the world. We were, as colonies, sucked into that war. The UN start happened in New York city. The rest, like they say, is history.
A little closer home, on this same date in the year 1961, a baby is about to be born. His name name, you guessed it: Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, the son of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta who was then still languishing in a jail somewhere in Northern Kenya. Remarkably, it was also around the same date in October 1952 that the famous “Kapenguria Six” - Jomo Kenyatta, Bildad Kaggia, Fred Kubai, Kung’u Karumba, Paul Ngei and Achieng Oneko - were being herded into a colonial jail. A funny aside, all the Kikuyus in the group had surnames starting with the letter “K”, just like Kenya.
The route of the KQ flight is also significant. It will be direct from Nairobi to New York and, most tellingly, it will bypass London, UK, our traditional stop-over. This is significant for Kenya and other African countries. For once, we shall be avoiding stopping over in any of the European countries that were Africa’s colonisers and where we have been brought up to believe that we must transit through.
To me, it is a subtle way of telling the Europeans that we now can go anywhere without having to stop over in one of their countries to ask for permission. I wonder how many Africans realise the symbolic importance of that flight. I hope they - especially our immediate neighbors - will embrace it.
Back to KQ
As Flight KQ 002 takes off from JKIA at 22.55 hours on its maiden flight to New York, it will no doubt have quite a few important passengers. The first, in spirit at least, will be our own President Uhuru Kenyatta who has just celebrated his 57th birthday. Although he was initially scheduled to be on that flight, state matters must have required a change in plans.
How we wish he could have celebrated his birthday with passengers on that flight. But, no matter, sometimes it is the thought that counts. The flight is symbolically an event for him even as he grapples with his Big Four promises - this would have been a significant milestone for him.
The second passenger, in my view, is one Richard Quest, a prominent and occasionally controversial CNN presenter. Anyone watching CNN will remember him for his strange antics as a TV presenter.
My favourite one is where he confronts a young black lady who is rummaging through her handbag for something and tells her:
“Miss, you dropped this”, says Quest holding the penny she has dropped from her handbag.
“It is just a penny”, she retorts as she continues with her search.
“Just a penny!”, asks the incredulous Quest turning now to the viewers. The rest of the commercial, you can watch on CNN.
My hope is that Quest’s presence in that inaugural flight was a carefully crafted PR event to get an occasionally hostile American TV network onto our side. Lately, I have noticed that it has, indeed, been giving us quite a bit of positive news coverage. You have to be an avid CNN watcher to have noticed this subtle change.
But, more importantly for us as a nation, is to ask a rather simple question: “In what ways will the direct flights to New York benefit us as Kenyans, individually and as a nation?”
The answer to this question will have profound implications for those who like to look beyond an event and see the biblical promise of the “land full of milk and honey”. Never mind the hurricanes and tornadoes currently battering the shores of that land.
Back to Kenya
I have no doubt in my mind that, handled carefully, this flight, on this 28th day of October 2018, will have far-reaching consequences for our country. I hope our political leaders and academics will for once change their aggressive and short-sighted tirades against the leadership of the country and concentrate on seeing opportunities for development that will have been opened by this one single event.
As I said earlier, KQ Flight 002 has the potential of transforming Kenya’s mentality in a manner never seen before. For me, it is our third liberation from the shackles of European colonialism, its jaded economic theories and oppressive religions. It is up to us to ask what we can do as a nation to reach our fullest potential be it from the west, the east or the south.
Like the singer of that famous song “Taunt Nellel” (Sally Kosgey) said: It is a new beginning. We must grab it and run with it. And I shall add a rider: “Opportunities, like the proverbial postman, knocks but once”.
The big question is: Shall we grab it this time around or continue with our perpetual grumbling about out our imaginary poverty? Like my favourite philosopher, Dr Wayne Dyer, says: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”.
Good luck Flight KQ 002. May this flight open the eyes of Kenyans so that they can fully appreciate what it signifies to us as a nation. Let those lucky enough to be on that flight share their experiences with us.
Prof. JH Kimura,
Kisumu,
25th October 2018
When I wrote this piece, I was in Kisumu on my way from a conference for lakeside governors that was being held in Bomet. I was full of hope and uncharacteristic optimism about our prospects.
As I write this, it is 4th April 2020, a Saturday that I wish never happened. “Why?”, you ask. Because, on this day, the family of a KQ captain Daudi Kimuyu, are alone burying their son who died four days ago of coronavirus, a disease no one knew about four months ago. He died after flying a KQ jet from New York to Nairobi with the last batch of Kenyans who wanted to leave that land of so much promise.
His death from this pandemic is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions to the entire world where already a million people are infected and many countries are on lockdown for God knows how long.
Which brings me to a sad point. I dared to make a “prophecy” which turned out to be the worst I have ever made. I have been beating myself on the head and yelling to myself: “You fool! When will you ever stop playing God?”
My only consolation is that I am not alone. There are so many other people in the world who may have done the same.
May the soul of Captain Daudi Kimuyu Kibati rest in eternal peace.