Post by Ed on Apr 12, 2006 7:49:03 GMT 3
Condolences on departed leaders
By Edward Muiru
April 11, 2006
I have taken a while to issue a condolence message to
the family, friends, all associates and entire Kenyan
people for the fourteen leaders including MPs and two
assistant ministers who died in a plane clash in
northern Kenya over the weekend for some reasons. I
needed time to reflect.
First, a tragedy of such magnitude, where six members
of parliament die in a single plane clash is
unprecedented in independent Kenya. More so the
legislators hailed mainly from the same general
region, and the deaths have therefore not robbed the
two neighboring districts of great sons, but left a
deep dent in leadership that will take time to fill.
The saying that no-one is replaceable holds true. The
knowledge, skills and experience of these leaders will
never be replaced. But their areas will elect new
leaders who will carry the mantle, and hopefully
will be as knowledgeable and experienced.
The next reason I needed time to reflect is that a
plane clash where so many people perish is not, and
should not, be a normal occurrence, even considering
the plane was from the armed forces. Therefore,
thorough investigations need to be carried out to find
the real cause(s) of the crash. Increment weather has
preliminarily been attributed to the crash, but
comprehensive investigations need to be carried out
and findings made public.
After the findings are released, all potential human
errors or acts of commission and neglect need to be
addressed so that such an accident does not ever occur
again whether by a military or commercial plane in the
country.
Individuals and groups that use the various modes of
transport should also derive lessons that they have to
prepare for every possible contingency. The weather
can be bad or change negatively, humans can make poor
judgment, and equipment can fail among other
possibilities.
It is therefore the onus for all who travel to
consider and prepare for every contingency, however
seemingly remote. This would include not lumping
members of the same group or family in a way an
accident can eliminate all of them, and also carefully
considering if the means chosen are the safest,
however convenient they might seem.
This is a mourning period and I won't dwell too much
on what could have been done differently. We don’t
know if the outcome could have been different even
with all possible preparation, but we can learn from
what happened.
It is also disingenuous for some people on these
online forums to take their war with the departed to
their graves. Who cares if there were political
differences? How does it matter that some of the
people were perceived by some to have betrayed a
dream?
The most important point is that they are gone. And we
are here. We won’t come out looking better by firing
darts at them. They need to rest in peace. We need to
keep on with our work.
Some of this criticism is being branded honest, but it
is too constricted at the very least, and hypocritical
at most. We cannot afford to look at life – and death
- through a narrow political prism only.
It is common courtesy to condole the bereaved, and
that is what we should be doing now and the reason I
am writing. There is nothing to celebrate here about
what they failed to do.
Throwing darts even before they are laid to rest is
not in good taste. Throwing one “last dart” is even
worse. The larger question should be: what can we do
to carry on their batons. This is even if it means not
focusing on areas their approaches may have been less
favorable to us. There are so many ways to honor their
memory, including using alternatives to advance public
good and promote development which I believe were
their driving motivations.
Moreover, they met the sad fate while on a peace
mission, which is very positive considering the often
fractious timing-consuming and energy-sapping
activities that sometimes occupy the country’s
leaders and people. Pursuit for sustainable peace and
development is a memory we can and should be able to
honor.
May the deceased families find fortitude at this
trying time. May the leaders' souls rest in peace.
By Edward Muiru
April 11, 2006
I have taken a while to issue a condolence message to
the family, friends, all associates and entire Kenyan
people for the fourteen leaders including MPs and two
assistant ministers who died in a plane clash in
northern Kenya over the weekend for some reasons. I
needed time to reflect.
First, a tragedy of such magnitude, where six members
of parliament die in a single plane clash is
unprecedented in independent Kenya. More so the
legislators hailed mainly from the same general
region, and the deaths have therefore not robbed the
two neighboring districts of great sons, but left a
deep dent in leadership that will take time to fill.
The saying that no-one is replaceable holds true. The
knowledge, skills and experience of these leaders will
never be replaced. But their areas will elect new
leaders who will carry the mantle, and hopefully
will be as knowledgeable and experienced.
The next reason I needed time to reflect is that a
plane clash where so many people perish is not, and
should not, be a normal occurrence, even considering
the plane was from the armed forces. Therefore,
thorough investigations need to be carried out to find
the real cause(s) of the crash. Increment weather has
preliminarily been attributed to the crash, but
comprehensive investigations need to be carried out
and findings made public.
After the findings are released, all potential human
errors or acts of commission and neglect need to be
addressed so that such an accident does not ever occur
again whether by a military or commercial plane in the
country.
Individuals and groups that use the various modes of
transport should also derive lessons that they have to
prepare for every possible contingency. The weather
can be bad or change negatively, humans can make poor
judgment, and equipment can fail among other
possibilities.
It is therefore the onus for all who travel to
consider and prepare for every contingency, however
seemingly remote. This would include not lumping
members of the same group or family in a way an
accident can eliminate all of them, and also carefully
considering if the means chosen are the safest,
however convenient they might seem.
This is a mourning period and I won't dwell too much
on what could have been done differently. We don’t
know if the outcome could have been different even
with all possible preparation, but we can learn from
what happened.
It is also disingenuous for some people on these
online forums to take their war with the departed to
their graves. Who cares if there were political
differences? How does it matter that some of the
people were perceived by some to have betrayed a
dream?
The most important point is that they are gone. And we
are here. We won’t come out looking better by firing
darts at them. They need to rest in peace. We need to
keep on with our work.
Some of this criticism is being branded honest, but it
is too constricted at the very least, and hypocritical
at most. We cannot afford to look at life – and death
- through a narrow political prism only.
It is common courtesy to condole the bereaved, and
that is what we should be doing now and the reason I
am writing. There is nothing to celebrate here about
what they failed to do.
Throwing darts even before they are laid to rest is
not in good taste. Throwing one “last dart” is even
worse. The larger question should be: what can we do
to carry on their batons. This is even if it means not
focusing on areas their approaches may have been less
favorable to us. There are so many ways to honor their
memory, including using alternatives to advance public
good and promote development which I believe were
their driving motivations.
Moreover, they met the sad fate while on a peace
mission, which is very positive considering the often
fractious timing-consuming and energy-sapping
activities that sometimes occupy the country’s
leaders and people. Pursuit for sustainable peace and
development is a memory we can and should be able to
honor.
May the deceased families find fortitude at this
trying time. May the leaders' souls rest in peace.