LAST WORD
ON ORGANISED
CHAOS
O
chieng was mystified as to
why his uncle had sent him an
urgent message to go to shags
and was not at home when he arrived.
His aunt seemed in the dark as to the
nature of the business that was to be
discussed and advised that he waits for
the uncle to return from town.
Ochieng had arrived over the lunch
hour and having partaken of the
obligatory meal, had decided to drive
into town and catch up with some old
school mates and perhaps arrange to
meet later at the local which had been
playing only Papa Wemba’s music as a
tribute to the fallen maestro.
Ochieng would very much like to find
out why Congolese music has such
a strong appeal in his backyard and
yet their traditional music bears no
resemblance. It never ceases to amaze
him how local bands have mastered
the Congolese rhythm and songs
without bothering to know what the
songs say.
‘‘ It is appalling to
note that no African
country can claim
to have a stable
democratic system
yet all are clamouring
for democracy. Is
this alien ideology
unworkable in Africa
and we are actually
stupid to insist that it
must work.’’
94 MAL 12/16 ISSUE
The beauty of rural towns was that
word spreads around at a speed akin to
the internet and by the time Ochieng
was reaching the local CBD his arrival
and mission had preceded him and
he was advised to go to the town hall
where his uncle was.
The town hall was jam packed at that
odd hour and there was animated
conversation or would one call it
shouting as everyone wanted to
be heard without the benefit of a
microphone and of course total
absence of order or decorum.
Ochieng saw his uncle on the podium
trying unsuccessfully to bring some
order to the excited crowd and soon
he learnt that his uncle had been
appointed by the county government
to chair the panel of judges for the
local miss tourism pageant.
The chaos being witnessed was his
attempt to democratically select a
panel of judges who would eventually
pick the county beauty who was then
expected to eventually compete at the
national level and if successful at the
international level.
Any name offered for consideration
was promptly booed by a rival group
and the ensuing name calling and
melee made it impossible to conclude
the matter at hand. Tempers were
fraying and soon the police who
were on guard duty had no option
but to stop the meeting as a riot was
imminent.
Ochieng, with the help of an
administrative policeman forced his
way to the podium and whisked the
obviously shaken uncle to the safety
of his car amid shouts that he was
unfit to even chair the panel as he
wore glasses hence his eyesight was in
question.
The uncle could not understand how a
matter which in the scheme of things
was quite trivial had turned so ugly
and people were even ready to trade
blows to have their way. Ochieng
could not but wonder if democracy
was inherently incapable of reaching a
decision.
What he had witnessed was a scene
that was repeatedly played out in the
national arena with exactly the same
outcomes. Whether the matter was
weighty or trivial the democratic way
of resolving the issue seems impossible
at best.
It is appalling to note that no
African country can claim to have a
stable democratic system yet all are
clamouring for democracy. Is this alien
ideology unworkable in Africa and
we are actually stupid to insist that it
must work.
The constitution, which is a derivative
of the democratic system, spells out
all duties of the government and the
famed separation of powers between
arms of government to check excesses
by any arm of the government.
In practice the story seems totally
different and one wonders if the
democratic script given to Africans
has small prints of terms and
conditions that are only shared by the
ruling elite and our jobs as a plebiscite
is to queue every five years to endorse
the status quo.
We have an unfortunate situation
where it appears the clamour for
universal democracy is a western