Page 35 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 6

AFRIKA IS GOD’S
nialists and their lackeys did?
Whatever it is, it casts a long
shadow on the entire govern-
ment system because it por-
trays a government that thinks
its people ought to be handled
no better than animals. For
it appears the only time the
people are worth anything in
the eyes of politicians is when
they are seeking for votes. This
is not acceptable and should be
corrected.
Tactically
I want to believe that our police
forces in Afrika get adequate
training before they are sent to
the field of policing. But at the
same time I also doubt how true
that is. For instance I read of
a fifteen year old boy who was
shot dead by a policeman in
Mombasa. The story was that
the boy was coming towards
the policeman with a machete
in his hand in an area that was
already prone to violence. That
certainly sounds like some
form of self-defense from the
policeman, but I am thinking,
what happened to hand-to-hand
combat skills that police or
security personnel are sup-
posed to have in dealing with
minor issues that do not require
guns? Is it that the policeman is
too weak or ill-trained to disarm
a fifteen year old boy wielding
a machete, that the only option
is to shoot to kill? Is it that the
police are not trained to keep
the preservation and protection
of life as first priority and there- who really does the system of
fore they do not look for ways to
protect even those seeking to
harm them?
Spiritually
Inasmuch as every policeman,
just like every other employee,
must do their job and carry out
their duties with all commitment,
www.msingiafrikamagazine.com
we must however not forget that
men do reap what they sow. It
is a universal law that doesn't
go away even when you are
doing your mandated duties;
meaning that we owe it to
ourselves to know that we are
dealing with humans and with
God who is the judge of all flesh
and keep that in mind as we
make choices on or off the job.
We cannot keep tears flowing
in the eyes of poor widows who
just lost their kids to police bru- are not supposed to be while
tality and then think there are
no spiritual consequences. God
still feels the pain and sees the
tears of widows and the father-
less, and He does not take such
acts of injustice lightly.
Emotionally
There are questions we must
answer. Is there a way within
the police system that the emo-
tional state of the police officers
is watched over with the care
and love they deserve for the
strenuous duties they perform?
If there is already, is it working
and is it effective? What is the
state of their families and loved
ones? Is there an active depart-
ment of the police that takes
care of them? For we can't
leave the safety of our people
in the hands of those who don't
even feel safe themselves.
Who does the system real-
ly serve?
They say every master has a
master. But my question is this,
government serve, especially in
Afrika? The presidency says it
serves the people, but just like
sunlight, we see that it serves
its own agenda or some for-
eign agenda. For clearly, most
policies that are made have the
foreign overlords and corporate
heal . restore . rebirth . Afrika
multinationals in mind more
than they have the people at
heart. The police force says
it serves the people, but we
always see where the people
are seated in the mud with cane
and boot marks on their backs
and faces. The judiciary says
they serve the people, but it is
obvious who they serve judging
by the many cases of injustice
and delays in justice that keep
innocent citizens in places they
waiting for a never coming
justice. And the story continues.
What of The Master, God, Who
everyone seems to be busy
ignoring and thinking that their
lives lived on earth will tell no
tales in eternity?
We cannot cover our eyes to
the plight of the Afrikan people.
We cannot tell ourselves that
what worked for the colonialist
in their days of oppression in
Afrika should still work in this
day of supposed independence.
That’s not progress but a recy-
cling of the same thing we told
ourselves we got independence
from. The rule and laws of the
land were made for the people
and not the people for the rule
and laws of the land. So we
can’t hide behind laws and rules
to treat our people like humans
of a lesser God. We must pro-
tect our people from individual
interests that undermine our
collective humanity and respon-
sibility. We owe ourselves that
much.
So Mr. President, thank you for
your apology, but we need a
new Afrika based on true love
and brotherhood, with policies
that reflect this.
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