6
[an-
Wednesday. March 2. 1988.
THE
I flP
R1f1i ififfi
THIS year has hardly advanced, yet it is
recording some of the worst road accidents in Kenya in recent years.
The year started with the death of 11
people at a road accident near Ahero in
Kisumu. It did not take long before the Ahero
record was beaten by a Thika road accident
which claimed 20 lives. Many other individuals have lost their lives in separate road
accidents in various parts of the country.
Yesterday's press reports of yet another
horrifying tale of road carnage left Molo and
Nakuru residents breathless. It was a tragic
road smash involving three vehicles. Some
31 Kenyans died setting a new record as we
enter the third month this year.
What is even more horrifying is that at this
rate, by the end of the year, we shall be
11
140
STANDARD
Esiablished 1902
counting hundreds upon hundreds of senseless deaths caused on our roads.
The picture presented by the Molo accident
is that of sheer careless driving. One driver
apparently decided to overtake before he was
sure that the road was clear. In that miscalculation a head-on smash ended the journey
for two vehicles and their passengers.
The driver of the third vehicle, apparently
too close, suddenly discovers he cannot
apply emergency brakes successfully and
therefore joins the act of killing.
Despite several calls for harsh measures
which would ensure that public service vehicles are safe on our roads, we do not seem to
get too far beyond occasional police swoops.
Overloading of passengers and carelessly
driven matatus never seem to cease. It has
been claimed that part of the root cause of the
deaths on our roads is the greasing of hands
between the police and drivers.
These claims should not be dismissed. A
crackdown on the corrupt should be launched
for they are all involved in the act of killings on
our roads.
All need bread
ONE philosopher once said that behind every great
fortune there is a crime. This argument may not
always hold for those who work hard, sacrifice
much, plan well and eventually rise from rags to
riches.
On the other hand, cases of ill-gotten wealth aie
numerous all over the world but such is the nature
of modem sOciety that the wealthy, despite their
backgrounds, tend to command respect.
Crimes committed in the past are absolved by
their wealth. They stand out as models of success
and moral excellence while poverty represents
failure. In this scheme of things, all but very
exceptional cases tend to aspire for wealth. They
include the church leaders and their flock.
A pastor with the Presbyterian Church of East
Africa, Dr Timothy Njoya, was reported to have
cautioned leaders in churches and secular institutions against amassing wealth and creating personality cults around them.
The church leaders may argue that in the minds
of modern man, they too do not want to represent
failure, but success. One pastor in this church had
once been reported to have resisted demands to
return a Volvo car owned by the church, To many, a
Volvo is a status symbol.
The history of Christianity, however, has no trace
of status symbols and amassing of wealth as such.
Jesus Christ was a son of a carpenter. He led a
humble life and died without owning property.
His disciples emulated Him led by St. Peter the
fisherman. Today in the shoes of the fisherman is
the powerbase of the wealthy Vatican Bank while
the Church of England with its network of church
commissioners owns huge properties.
But then modem society is a money society and
so indMduais and institutions must look for money,
make money for, as the saying goes, money
speaks.
Since money speaks, several religious sects
have also sprung upon straight racketeering. Such
sects have Jisappeared as soon as their leaders
have made me money.
In the United States, rehion and television
power have come together for big fortunes and a
number of church leaders have made good fortunes from religious broadcasting.
It is not wrong to make money in honest dealings
so long as such success does not build walls
around the successful; more so for church ieader3
against their flocks. Just as much as churches need
money to support their activities so do the church
leaders need to support their families, and ex
tended family circles.