I don’t hate my country, I hate it’s policies. I don’t hate my nation, I hate its oppressive rules. I am not a saint, but I follow most of my country’s rules. I don’t paint but I can color most of my nation’s ills.
Kenya has a way of demoralising its young ones. Kenya bumps into my generation like a slamming door on a kid’s face, fingers inserted into the gaps formed near its hinges, crushing the knuckles making its kids yell in pain.
Young lad, hang not that camera on your neck as someone in a uniform will not be only on your neck but also kicking your ass. However, no matter the portable device you have, be it 1080p, 2k or 4k HD you can take unlimited selfies or portraits. Provided it’s hand held not hands held.
Small girl don’t showcase your fashion skills on the streets. As you need a million permits to do so. You need more than the council’s licence, your voice will distract the beloved citizens and maybe you have to get undressed in that old man’s office to get all that at no fee and no difficulty.
Dude, that movie shop is not strategically located. You are selling banned adult motion pictures to kids and you are playing a lot of local music and your MCSK licence looks fake. You also have the tendency of luring school girls by giving them free dirty content, even if we have no proof. We know how you guys operate.
Mucisian, don’t dare get your guitar off its bag. Don’t dare strum those strings to the sickly, old, lonely and homeless man. Don’t give Nairobians a reason to smile after a tiring day’s work as you will be deemed a beggar soliciting funds from poor heavily taxed citizens which is illegal.
SEE ALSO: Okumba Okumba - A Call to Serve
Young student, where is the receipt to that laptop? You campus students are thieves? You are malicious and untrustworthy. Instead of going to learn in your institutions, you are the ones busy terrorizing us.
Young man, what’s with that hair? Do you take weed? Are you sure you don’t have several rolls in your pockets? Small girl, where is your ID? Why are you naked in the middle of the night in the streets? Choose, do you want me to take you to my house or do you want me to lock you up with rascals in a cell?
Blogger! Writer of whatever you say you are. You are the one busy sharing hate speech on those social sites. You are tribal and a racist. You say you are unmasking what others are doing but you are a complete liar. You dirtify our sweet country’s name at the expense of traffic! – Show me the sweetness of my country and my blog will be full of it’s sweetest part.
The ‘Sweet Kenya’ we live in. The oppressive rules the youth undergo and the demeaning laws put in place. It is so easy to see millions of corporates holding events and promotions in every street corner but very hard to see a group of young people doing music at an open space, smiling in their harmonious melody just for the fun part of it.
It is so hard to see talented photographers who worked their all through tutorials and/or apprenticeship practise their art as they are deemed terrorists. A tortoise can even get its head out of its shell and say to the poor young man, “Photography near or around my shell is not allowed.”
SEE ALSO: Heartbreak
There are many dirty and obsolete walls around but only companies advertising paint or products are allowed to paint these walls as graffiti is satanic, way out of line and a taboo. Its only recently that car graffiti was allowed. Our youth will end up doing the graffiti on their bodies, like one I saw “Screw the nation”
Carrying your own laptop, your keyboard either heading for a gig or even meeting a prospective buyer from OLX, one will always brush shoulders with the police. Someone wants you to give them a receipt of a laptop given as a present 5 years ago.
We as the youth, don’t prosper because of these oppresive rules. We don’t get the platform to showcase our talent because the thought of touching that piano at Village Market or Garden City Food Court will cause havoc. Like snails we shrink back into our shells and continue to stink as amateurs. And one would want us not to graffiti our bodies with, “Screw the nation!” One would want us not to have those permanent marks on our bodies reminding us of the pain of being incompetent in our own motherland.
Kenya, give the youth a platform to showcase their talent. They are rotting in being rookies and beginners!
Cover Image Source: Washington Post