On November 14th,
Kenyans in the diaspora woke up to the sweet sound of good news. One of us,
Mwende Mwinzi, had won a battle fought hard and tenaciously against sleek and
slippery cats of the political jungle that is Kenya. These were Members of
Parliament, some of them suspected to be dual citizens, who had determined that
Ms. Mwinzi must relinquish her American citizenship in order to serve as
Kenya’s envoy to South Korea.
What a slap in the face that
requirement was! But the courts found that this demand by the vetting committee
was not in line with the constitution. Mwende can be any one of us, except she has
worn her Kenyan patriotism on her forehead daringly, consistently and without
apology. Her resume and accomplishments for and in Kenya are a matter of public
record.
Like most diaspora Kenyans, she
has her own family in the US, and it is inhumane to ask any Kenyan to cut off
ties with family in order to serve. Her victory is ours too. It is an
acknowledgement that Kenyans everywhere deserve a chance to use their God-given
abilities to serve and thrive. It is a chance that we can pass on to
generations of Kenyans to come.
What does this victory mean for
diaspora Kenyans going forward? It gives us hope that the constant agitation we
raise against attempts at excluding fellow Kenyans from civic and leadership
participation is never in vain. It gives us hope that the yet unrealized battle
to implement diaspora voting rights for all Kenyans abroad is a victory
awaiting around the corner.
It reminds us that agitation
starts in the mind of just one unsettled soul that will not take an injustice
sitting down. Often, this sense of agitation is shared by many when the issue
is about the exclusion of a people. But when one stands up and refuses to be
shouted down as Mwende did, as Kenyans abroad did when we won the battle for
dual citizenship, others who understand this struggle join in.
If anyone wonders why Kenyans living
so far away keep fighting for civic inclusion and for opportunities to serve as
Kenyans and for Kenya, it is because exclusion is painful, especially when it
comes with contempt and deliberate machinations to keep you out. All
marginalized Kenyans will tell you exclusion is really painful, unfair and
unjust, and it’s upon us to ensure that the least of us becomes a part of us.
Only then can we begin to understand the idea of African nationhood.
For those who say that this
issue was about constitutional definitions of terms such as “state officer”, a
reminder that while the court ruling may have been about constitutional
semantics, the battle was about erasing discrimination. Beyond definitions of
who an envoy is as per the Constitution, this was about the human variable that
causes us to ask: Is this fair, is it humane, is it proper to snatch the
scalpel from the surgeon just because the law might say that surgeon should not
have been born in country X?
This victory is the continued
removal of discriminatory provision against worthy Kenyans no matter where they
live, where they were born or what other citizenship they hold. This victory is
also about evolving as a nation and boldly clutching on to the lessons of
growth where we make laws and policies that serve our best interests and our
humanity.
And because short history of diaspora
Kenyans proves we have never shied away from a battle larger than self, we are
looking to up the ante on the implementation of voting rights. It is not enough
that the constitution allows us to vote. The current situation is like getting
the rights to sleep in the warmth of your mother’s house but being denied the
key to enter that house. We hold sacrosanct the right and responsibility to
vote and understand fully the power of one vote. That day will come soon when
all Kenyans, no matter where they live, will matter, and will belong.
