Ksh 250 for Dedan Kimathi? Nairobi, we need to talk. Imagine a man looking at the statue of one of Kenya’s greatest freedom fighters, the man who led Mau Mau rebels against the British, and thinking, “hii kitu inaweza nibuyia lunch.” That’s how far we have fallen. For just 250 bob, a piece of our history was almost traded for scrap, like an old sufuria or broken gate.
When news broke that a man had been caught vandalising the Dedan Kimathi statue in the CBD, Nairobi didn’t even flinch. Some laughed, others shrugged. But the real joke is on us. Because if Kimathi, the symbol of rebellion, courage, and sacrifice, can be reduced to scrap metal value, then what exactly do we value as a country anymore?
Maybe it’s not just one man’s madness. Perhaps it is a symptom of a nation that no longer teaches its history, guards its monuments, and no longer remembers the price of freedom paid in blood. Our heroes are frozen in bronze, but forgotten in our minds. We take selfies beside their statues, then vandalise the same figures when times get hard.
Yes, the suspect said he was hungry and unstable. But the truth is, Kenya itself seems somewhat unstable. We idolize influencers more than icons, praise quick money over hard-earned freedom, and complain about corruption while selling a freedom fighter’s memory for the price of a smoky and soda.
So here is the uncomfortable truth: the Dedan Kimathi statue wasn’t the only thing vandalized that night; it was our conscience. If our history can be stolen and sold for 250 shillings, maybe we’re the real thieves, robbing future generations of pride in what it means to be Kenyan.
