Martin Luther 1968 and Kenya April 2012
Forty years ago today evening, Martin Luther King Jr would preach his
last sermon. Watching him on numerous documentaries as he delivered that
sermon tells of a man who was on a reflective but somber mood. It is
as though he had a premonition of what would befall him a few days
later. The following day, he would be assassinated.
On that night as he began his sermon, he asked his listeners to imagine God making him an offer he couldn't refuse: "If I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of general and panoramic view of the whole human history up to now," he said, "and the Almighty said to me, 'Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?' - I would take my mental flight by Egypt or across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the Promised Land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn't stop there."
He listed other times and places he considered during his panoramic flight through history: but Kenya was not among them. Through the course of the speech however, he would rally those in the fight for racial equality to borrow a leaf from Kenya “Wherever people are-whether in Nairobi-Kenya, the cry is the same; people want to be free”.
"But I wouldn't stop there," he said. "I would turn to the Almighty and say, 'If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy". Perhaps Dr. King insisted he enjoyed living at the midpoint of the 20th century because he could see God working in history and changing the order of things for the better, despite the prevalence of injustice around the world.
What if Dr King had Kenya in mind as he delivered that final sermon? What if he had a vision of Kenya in the year 2012 and was merely using the day to forewarn us? Maybe this is true because we are living in dangerous times. The same freedoms that our forefathers fought for vehemently in the second half of the 20th century are slowly being saturated by greed, selfishness, tribalism and an outright disregard of the law.
We continue killing Dr. King even in his grave. As a country, we have allowed short term gratifications to come in the place of long term goals. We want to live today and we forget that the future depends merely on those sacrifices we are ready to make today.
Wherever you go round the country, there is a certain cry. Farmers in Baricho are crying about the price of coffee and the increased cost of production. Those who live by the Coast Province are crying about uncertain times posed by the Mombasa Republic Council. Those of the Western Province are crying about poor infrastructure that continues to relegate them to ‘Tunaomba serikali’ type of a cry. Those in Rift Valley province are crying deep in their hearts not knowing whether the jinx of tribal province that has rocked the province every election cycle will be broken this year. Wherever people are in the country there is a unique cry.
As Dr. King wound up his sermon, he looked like a man awash in the sea of death. "Well, I don't know what will happen now. We got some difficult days ahead" he cried. In Kenya we have interesting times. Those difficult days of our country are best represented by the uncertainty about the election date. We do not know what will happen to the Ocampo 4. We do not know what their incarceration would mean to the country. As the times get unique, we do not know who the best person the lead this country is because all the leading figures are cut from the same fabric, the fabric that has messed this country.
"But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop and I don't mind because God has allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land."
What did Martin Luther King Jr. See when he glimpsed the outline of the Promised Land from his vantage point in 1968? Did he see a peaceful Kenya in 2012? Did he think about Gema?
On that night as he began his sermon, he asked his listeners to imagine God making him an offer he couldn't refuse: "If I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of general and panoramic view of the whole human history up to now," he said, "and the Almighty said to me, 'Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?' - I would take my mental flight by Egypt or across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the Promised Land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn't stop there."
He listed other times and places he considered during his panoramic flight through history: but Kenya was not among them. Through the course of the speech however, he would rally those in the fight for racial equality to borrow a leaf from Kenya “Wherever people are-whether in Nairobi-Kenya, the cry is the same; people want to be free”.
"But I wouldn't stop there," he said. "I would turn to the Almighty and say, 'If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy". Perhaps Dr. King insisted he enjoyed living at the midpoint of the 20th century because he could see God working in history and changing the order of things for the better, despite the prevalence of injustice around the world.
What if Dr King had Kenya in mind as he delivered that final sermon? What if he had a vision of Kenya in the year 2012 and was merely using the day to forewarn us? Maybe this is true because we are living in dangerous times. The same freedoms that our forefathers fought for vehemently in the second half of the 20th century are slowly being saturated by greed, selfishness, tribalism and an outright disregard of the law.
We continue killing Dr. King even in his grave. As a country, we have allowed short term gratifications to come in the place of long term goals. We want to live today and we forget that the future depends merely on those sacrifices we are ready to make today.
Wherever you go round the country, there is a certain cry. Farmers in Baricho are crying about the price of coffee and the increased cost of production. Those who live by the Coast Province are crying about uncertain times posed by the Mombasa Republic Council. Those of the Western Province are crying about poor infrastructure that continues to relegate them to ‘Tunaomba serikali’ type of a cry. Those in Rift Valley province are crying deep in their hearts not knowing whether the jinx of tribal province that has rocked the province every election cycle will be broken this year. Wherever people are in the country there is a unique cry.
As Dr. King wound up his sermon, he looked like a man awash in the sea of death. "Well, I don't know what will happen now. We got some difficult days ahead" he cried. In Kenya we have interesting times. Those difficult days of our country are best represented by the uncertainty about the election date. We do not know what will happen to the Ocampo 4. We do not know what their incarceration would mean to the country. As the times get unique, we do not know who the best person the lead this country is because all the leading figures are cut from the same fabric, the fabric that has messed this country.
"But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop and I don't mind because God has allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land."
What did Martin Luther King Jr. See when he glimpsed the outline of the Promised Land from his vantage point in 1968? Did he see a peaceful Kenya in 2012? Did he think about Gema?
