24 April 2011
editorial
Nairobi — Unless one is a beneficiary of the American ambassador’s largesse, it is easy to dismiss the fears about Kenya’s future that he expresses every so often.
It is always easy to confuse the messenger with the message but it is not wise. Certainly, Mr Michael Ranneberger has rubbed the wrong way a lot of movers and shakers in government.
But the message he has been delivering, even when he seems to be grossly interfering with the internal affairs of this country, is irreproachable and should be heeded.
Unless the government tackles impunity, negative ethnicity, poverty and youth joblessness, there is likely to be a repeat of the sort of violence that brought Kenya to the brink of collapse in 2008.
This is a fact that needs to be repeated often. Whatever befalls this country will not be spontaneous; it will be the result of an accumulation of grievances, and not all of them will be political.
As the ambassador says, the slow pace of reforms is partly to blame for such problems. Let’s listen to the man.
AllAfrica – All the Time
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Listen to the American Messenger