My Letter to President Uhuru

A Package for the President

I was served with a rare opportunity to visit H.E, the President of the Republic of Kenya, Chief of the Armed Forces, among other titles. I knew the meeting would be brief so I systematically prepared a letter to him that I would give him to read. I thought it would be a good idea for me to also let you know about the contents of the letter. I have published it here for you.

Dear President,

I am privileged and honored to have an audience with you and since it is not every day that I get to talk to a president I guess it is wise for me to make good use of such an opportunity. I am a choleric so I take my introduction very seriously and since this is the president a little exaggeration would do no harm. I am Alex Sadera, son to John Sadera a noble pastor with the Full Gospel Churches of Kenya. I live in Kiamumbi, where the best coffee near Nairobi is produced, right in our kitchen or so I think. I am a student in PAC University and I am one of the brightest students ever known to have joined this institution.I am an ordinary youth worker in our church working with teenagers from Mathare North and I take much delight in this. I hope this makes me familiar enough to you.

If I were to share with you all the opinions that run in my mind about this beautiful nation of our time and paper would fail me in scarcity, however I choose to share with you in only one matter and I hope I express myself amicably. About an year ago I happened to visit some friends at their home for a sleepover. Their father a civil servant with the ministry of Finance was a very accommodating man and he was such a great host. Since I enjoy the company of sanguine’s this one was adorable. As we took to discussing politics the usual of Kenyans when they meet, the subject matter of corruption came up. The mzee shared with us how seriously the government has put in structures to run audits annually and it was amazing to hear the amount of investment made by the government yet sad to imagine how unprofitable it has been to the state of corruption. Then in my folly I asked why is it then that we still have corruption at astronomical levels as one citizen would say? The mzee gently looked at me and responded that corruption is a moral problem. I was like Eureka!!!  That is why even the best auditing cannot save us from corruption because it is not a result of poor record keeping but rather wrongful record keeping. It is not a result of police failing to arrest offenders but a matter of police taking bribes after arresting them.

This is not to mean that there are no issues of structure facing how our government is being run, there are myriads of them, but it would be tedious to address them with the current state of corruption. Corruption lies at the heart of a culture Kenyans have permitted for ages now. Therefore my suggestion to you would be that we do not need anymore presidential addresses on corruption and its effects neither does Kenya need another report of how much the government is doing to curb corruption. An external audit on government expenditures or a commission of inquiry will only reveal what is known out there worse yet who we as Kenyans really are. The bottom line being that corruption is not separately a government problem, it is a problem within the Kenyan culture. It is an ideology we have lived with and accepted it.As one scholar once quoted, an ideology can only be countered not by force but by teaching a counter ideology.

Since corruption is a misplaced ideology we can fight as a country by presenting a counter ideology. This is my proposal for a solution Mr. President. Our fight against corruption can only be first on a moral platform and second by presenting a counter ideology that saves us from such a draining loss.

A moral fight brings to light the need for a moral authority. We have lots of bodies that claim to be the embodiment for moral authority and i have respect for them but this is the point I get to present my bias in this matter. I believe and there is enough proof teaching us that the church is the greatest moral authority we have in this country and in this world. Well that could be my opinion unless I prove it. I will remind you Mr. President that it is the church that initiated the education system in this country during colonialism and today probably 80% of schools in this country. The same estimation goes into hospitals. Churches have been far more responsible to the building of this country than any institution possible. Our brother and sisters have been baptized in church,wedded in church and even buried in church. Parliament alone has borrowed greatly from church members including one of our own clergy men Rev. Mutava Musyimi. Our very own Deputy President is a former evangelist, a product of the church.

I do not write this in disguise to any other religious institution, my background forbids me though. I write about the church because I went to a church sponsored school and my morals since then have been grounded. I write about it because at a tender age my parents took me to Sunday school and as I read my Bible today I can’t help but tell the great impact Sunday school had an impact on me. I am further convicted about the church because today as a Teens Minister I can see great impact the church is having over young kids who are hopeless in life and with little resources at hand their turn around in life is amazing. I write about this precious body of Christ since I know its inception is not in man’s ideologies but God ordained. Mr. President if there is an institution that has the moral authority and the capacity to lead the fight against corruption is the church. I know the likes of Kanyari and Deya have done much harm to taint the church;s reputation but I guarantee you that they are just an insignificant representation compared to the good the church has brought to this country.

If I would talk about an ideology that can counter the immoral ideologies we have accommodated in our country especially those to do with corruption, I can only think about the Bible. Since even the most educated men have been found to live in uncivilized manners, some of the most educated doctors have been said to be the worst drunkards, even the sharpest police officers give the opportunity are some of the greatest criminals. No form of education or training has proven to shape the character and moral virtues of a man. The Bible has and still lives to shape the lives of men by transforming their thinking to be right with God. There is no other authority as final as the Bible in the lives of men that is true and life changing. The Bible has been responsible for shaping all of civilization since time immemorial. English for instance the most used lingua franca has been a globally accepted language due to the influence of the Bible. Technology, democracy, philosophy, literature among all other arts and sciences seen in the civilization age have been as a result of the Bible. The Bible will continue to do this and much more if we allow it in our lives.

My appeal therefore is that we may not downplay the church’s influence nor keep the Bible aside in this country. In fact the best that you could do as president in this country is to work with the church not just in word of mouth as during campaigns and while attending church services but in the actual involvement of the church to fight corruption. Failure to this we will have more scandals not just on television but in chief’s camps, police stations, government offices, traffic road blocks, government hospitals, polling stations and the list is endless.  Keeping the Bible aside will not only mean corruption but an increase in sex orgies, gay-ism and lesbianism on the increase, more youth’s radicalized into terrorism to kill their own flesh and blood, more buildings collapsing, mysterious deaths, more university student riots, rape cases, drug addicts, crime in uncontrollable levels,spread of ST I’s and HIV, uneducated girls due to early pregnancies, an unproductive economy due to deaths of young men in crime, sir I cannot even fathom how dire the consequences will be to our mother Kenya.

It is true that the church needs the support and relation with the government to remain alive. However we cannot be ignorant as a country to say we do not need the church. We need the church, the Bible and Jesus far much more than we need anything else or anyone else.

Your’s,
Alex Sadera,
Kenyan Citizen.

After giving the president the president this letter, my morning alarm rang, kicked the hell out of my blanket. I woke up out of my dreams and came to write this blog for you. Going by the dreams I’ve been having am probably having a good life because just the other day I dreamed owning my own car. Hapa ndio gaffe ya Kiamumbi imenifikisha.