Cheer Harambee Stars with an eye on the fly in our soup

Greetings from our green village. Emanyulia is joyous and buoyant. We have been enjoined with the rest of Kenya in cheering Harambee Stars in the ongoing CHAN competition. We scream and jump before our TV sets as if the boys are hearing us.

Our football whiz kids have not disappointed, contrary to tradition. We are waiting for today’s derby with bated breath. We want more. Yet, you will learn that, at a personal level, I watch football not to support anyone, but to enjoy and learn. This is regardless of who wins. Of course, when Kenyan boys are on the pitch I wish them victory.

However, I remain cautiously optimistic. I don’t want unnecessary anxiety and trauma. I support all teams. That is why my focus is on the wizardry on the pitch; the clever moves and stupid ones, too. The fouls and penalties. The fairness and perceived bias. I take home lifelong lessons to be applied to other domains.  

The Kenyans have played one-man down twice because of foul play. I learn that foul play doesn’t help. The fans, too, can be messy. I scrutinise the referees for even decisions and bias; the captains for holding their teams together; the managers for the tough decisions; the fans for zeal; and the commentators for even commentary.

I am swooned in the youthful energy; the thrilling verve and gravitas. It is true, after all, that when the moon is high the cripple grows hungry for a good dance. So, here we are again, waiting for the Stars and the Chipolopolo of Zambia.   

Yet, there is a fly in our soup. One man here in Emanyulia is not amused. Orende is his name. This village philosopher dropped out of university years back. But he has styled himself as the thinker in our midst. He has been questioning the millions of shillings President Ruto is giving the Kenyan boys. “So, what?” He has been asked. 

But the man wants to know where the money has come from. He calls it “the loot.” He says, “Where has the loot come from?” When we tell him to shut up. He accuses us of something he calls “collective stupidity.” We are caught up in “stupid group think and mass hysteria,” he says. While it is good to motivate the boys, Orende believes, we should still know “where the loot is coming from.”  

“Is the loot from the national Treasury, or is this just part of Ruto’s own good fortune,” he asks, “If it is from the Treasury, don’t we deserve to be told? Was it provided for in the national budget? Don’t we need to know?”  

Once again, someone shouts at him, “Shut up!” But Orende is undeterred. “We cannot stop thinking and asking questions,” he says. If this money is from public coffers, how much more has been taken out arbitrarily? Where does it end up?” 

Orende is concerned that President Ruto “so easily materialises with edicts of, ‘I have now decided that you will get 2.5 million, instead of one million," and Kenyans ask no questions. Instead, they clap for him! How now? Where is this money from? If it is his own, how has he got it? How much tax is he paying?”  

Besides, he accuses President Ruto of “seeking cheap political benefit from mass hysteria.” He says the thrill of sports generates mass hysteria. “You lose your individuality in the madness of cheering,” he says, “You become a part of an anonymous cheering crowd. And Ruto is the man making you scream like that.” 

Regardless of Orende’s protests, the one big man who has in recent times been known by names borrowed from Congolese musicians is now a village celebrity. People say his millions are working wonders in Nairobi and spreading happiness across villages throughout the nation.  

However, Orende has elected to stand outside. “Something is awfully wrong if we don’t raise questions about this money,” he insists to the very end, “We must never surrender to passive acceptance our capacity to think and ask,” he says in big English that we all thought he had left at the university. “It  is good to support sports and to motivate players with huge money. Yet, we must be outraged if the source is not disclosed,” our man concludes. 

Much later, I reflect about this strange man called Orende. Yes, he has a point. We must remain hopeful that President Ruto will speak to it, even as we wish our boys well. There must be order and responsibility around money.

-Dr Muluka is a strategic communications adviser