Reading news published in various newspapers or online and watching news on various television channels only breaks the heart of a well-meaning Kenyan.
If the news is not about floods killing Kenyans in different parts of the country, then it is about some corrupt government officials who have stolen taxpayers money.
Heartbreaks nowadays do not come from a loved one who has decided to betray your feelings. Heartbreaks come more from “bad” news. In fact, in my opinion, many Kenyans suffer heartbreaks and are thrown into a state of hopelessness when they read news which talks about corruption, death, and tribal hatred.
Take today, for example. The Sunday Nation has published a story titled,”NYS Reels under fresh Sh10.5 billion theft scandal.” A few years ago, the same NYS was hit by several theft scandals which saw taxpayers losing hundreds of Millions. Kenyans are tired.
Sometimes they go and protest in the streets and at times they just get bored and watch helplessly as the country is looted and left high and dry. The same paper also runs a story that shows sexual offenses and violent crimes are on the rise. If you continue reading the paper, you will come across another report that will shock you and throw you into a comma. The report is titled,” Isiolo loses Sh1Billion in payroll fraud.”
Earlier in the week, The Standard ran a story in the front pages titled,” MPs increase their pension by 700 percent.” If you turn to social media, scriptwriters might be different but the stories are the same.
Tribal hatred, dirty politics, stories of corruption, rape and even fake pastors. How much do “bad” news we consume in just a week? No wonder we get discouraged to even fight for our rights. We get heartbroken with “bad” news to an extent we lose interest in such acts as voting.
Voter apathy is on the rise. When we read about jobless youths, Hleb listing jobless defaulters with CRB and extra-judicial killings, our hearts break a Million times. When we read about Solai tragedy and reckless drivers killing innocent passengers, our hearts break a Million times.