Re: Miguna's seal of approval-When was Miguna detained?

I think the accountability issues Bwana Manganga raises are relevant and should not be rubbished at face value. It has become common place for some aspiring candidates and their admirers to allege unverifiable 'heroics'; and while I do not necessarily ascribe to Manganga's approach, he has introduced a topic that deserves public attention especially at this campaign period.

My interest in this issue is derived from a previous communication with Miguna (before his visit to New Jersey) on a similar topic. This was when he launched his website, and having gone through it thought some contents were an over-statement of facts related to the struggle against Moiism.

There is no doubt that electioneering is about selling oneself or a preferred candidate. On the same token it must also be about intense public scrutiny especially when one presents a questionable issue that is otherwise public knowledge. Miguna, like most of us who lived in Kisumu (and were either direct or unintentional participants in the 'mawe resistance'), reserves the right to celebrate the participation in challenging the Nyayo dictatorship. The question, as well presented by another writer, is who sets the standard for judging the level of such participation?

In my opinion Miguna's story spurs controversy, not because he did not play a role in the struggle against Moi's dictatorship, but because of what is seemingly a gross overstatement of what he may have done. The story further creates public anxiety because such honor is mostly bestowed upon Miguna by none other than Miguna and a few admirers.

To me Miguna is presented as being in the league of such better known resistance heroes as the late Tito Adungosi, Raila Odinga and now deceased Wanyiri Kihoro. I am careful as not to question this, but for Miguna and his promoters to succeed in convincing Kenyan historians who mostly seem to have missed his heroics, they must come up with verifiable accounts. I assume that is what Bwana Manganga is asking.

It is almost illusional to assume that a matter of communal sacrifice or a coincidence necessarily elevates one to the level of a national liberation hero (my use of the term hero would make such people as Kalonzo, Kibaki and even Ngilu nervous). Here is an illustration: While a teenager living in Kisumu I was a participant in 'the mawe resistance', which was a regional defiance against Moi's tyrannical policies. I, like my peers, had no choice but to react to the effects of the constant riots that would spark up anytime in any corner of the lakeside town. In most cases my participation was a matter of coincidence for I would get caught up in a riot even when simply relaxing in my backyard. Whereas I was one of the luckier ones, a sad eventuality for other willing or unwilling participants were habitual arrests and detainment. The arrested individuals were subjected to clobbering with batons, teargassing and sometimes exposed to dog bites, yet hardly any present these experiences as heroic. Most Kisumu residents simply think they were doing what comes naturally when pushed to the brink.

I am sure countless other Kenyans who survived Moiism have other tales to tell. In Moi's Kenya everyone knew of someone who was a victim of the system. It was almost a collective experience. But then there are those who stood out more than others. There are those who were detained, not because they happened to be in a group of students throwing stones or in the wrong place, but because they actually took it as a matter of personal principle to say no to an unjust system. These are identifiable people who I find it easier to label liberation heroes. Miguna must be given the benefit of doubt; but it is up to him and his admirers to confirm his participation, for such books as "We lived to tell - The Nyayo House Story", do not (yet) acknowledge his contribution in the same league as is inferred.

I know Miguna is 'sold' to a very loyal constituency and this may not go down too well. In any case lynch me not for I reserve the right to be respectfully engaged!

- Simon Agwanda Owuor
Kisumu Democracy Institute