I did not attend the Swaggerific concert at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, mostly because I was not aware that it was taking place, and also because if I had heard about it, I would still not have been interested. Jamaican dancehall reggae leaves me cold as do Kenyan hip hop and dance hall artistes, if artistes be they. However it is NTV's County Edition report on the 'bend over' mania that leads me to question whether we have permitted the beauty of music and dance to be so corrupted that men and women would allow themselves to be led astray by a Jamaican phenomenon that has faced the wrath of the Jamaican government in recent years. Daggering, the dancehall lyrical and dancing style, has been banned in public by the Jamaican government for its lewdness and propensity for abuse, being accused of leading the moral decline of a youth whose promise is being wasted at the altar of sexism and immorality.
This is not the first time that music and dance are being challenged. Every generation rebels against its senior and it was so during the 'twist' age of the sixties and the rock 'n' roll age of the fifties. This is, however, the first time that a majority of youth are joining in the condemnation of a style that they admit has 'gone too far'.
It is still unclear whether the rise in cases of child sexual abuse is a s a result of the increased openness of the Kenyan society or the fact the we are becoming more and more sexually decadent. Ever since the media started chronicling the manner of ways in which children are sexually exploited, not a week goes by without another horrific tale of men (and women) taking sexual liberties with children under their charge. The daggering phenomenon folds easily into this narrative, exposing the fact that families are no longer safe havens for children and that sexual offences, despite the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act, are on the rise. Indeed, even at our tourist hot spots, it seems that Kenya has also become a destination of sexual tourists, just as Phuket in Thailand has. So-called 'go-go bars' encourage this wild licentiousness under the noses of forces of law and order allowing the less inhibited members of our society to indulge in behaviour that has often been associated with the morally decadent West.
In all this Kenya is losing its cultural and spiritual way. In recent months, a bench at the historic Muliro Gardens in Kakamega has become the subject of intense discussion among the youth, spiritual and political leaders. Images of men and women engaging in sexual congress in broad daylight have been broadcast on the internet, their passionate embraces flashed around the globe for all to see. In another incident, men and women have been photographed indulging themselves in a cemetery, of all places. Have we become the biblical Sodom and Gomorrah?
It is high time that the spiritual and moral authority of parents, the church, teachers and the government was reasserted to bring back the youth from the brink of destruction. We cannot sit idly by as boys and girls are introduced to the mysteries of sexuality without guidance or advice. Parents must take their roles and act as the moral and spiritual guides and guardians of their children, ensuring that they are exposed only to what is beneficial and preventing the wolves among the sheep from leading the youth of this nation astray.
Virtues are to be inculcated in the formative years of childhood in the hopes that children will grow up to appreciate that not all pleasure must be pursued and that there is a fine line between enjoying oneself and indulging oneself with abandon. Schools, and teachers, must ensure that instruction is not just limited to taking and passing examinations, but also ensuring that moral values are reinforced.
Teachers unable to properly guide their charges must be dismissed and the Kenya National Union of Teachers must ostracise the members who abuse the enormous trust bestowed upon them by parents and society. The church must get back to its core business, spiritual and moral guidance. If this comes at the expense of its new found passion for political discourse, that is neither here nor there. It must not take its eyes from the ball as it is the one institution that al Kenyans agree is without parallel in moral and spiritual leadership. If it fails in its duty, the consequences on the nation will be felt for generations to come.
Finally, politicians and political leaders must also play their part. They cannot limit their role to simply taking and retaining political power. Whether they like it or not, they are looked upon as role models too and it is their duty and responsibility that youth are protected from the evils of the world and guided to taking up their rightful roles in society. Anything less and they must be purged with the same zeal we reserve for purging vermin from our kitchens and households. The future of the nation hangs in the balance.
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