In Kenya there are Big People, and there are Little People. There are very few Big People, and very, very many Little People. The Big People call all the shots and make all the decisions, and the Little People obey.
The slightly bigger Little People spend all their time and effort trying to become Big People, because if you are one of the Little People in Kenya you are nothing. It doesn’t matter how you became one of the Big People, as long as you are Big.
Big People have many privileges. They ride ‘back-left’ in limousines, while Little People ‘kaa square’ in matatus. Big People do not have to obey normal traffic rules and do not notice the gridlock around them, because they use journey time to rest and work in air-conditioned comfort. Little People lose several hours a day marooned on clogged-up roads. But that’s fine, because the Little People’s time doesn’t really matter.
Big People are exempt from queues and general inconvenience. They can go to the front automatically and be served first, as all the Little People will make way for them. Big People do not have to be searched or subjected to security checks, because they are too Big for that. A Little Person attempting to impose any inconvenience on a Big Person will soon be made a Tiny Person.
Big People do not pay taxes. They are either given official exemptions, or they find more creative ways of escaping the net. Little People pay lots of taxes and pay for everything that the Big People do.
Big People do not go to jail. They commit many crimes, but are too Big to be punished. As a result, they commit even more crimes and become even Bigger. Little People are punished immediately for even the smallest misdemeanour, unless they are protected by Big People.
Big People are surrounded by lots of Little People called aides, assistants, drivers, bodyguards and relatives. These Little People protect the Big People from other Little People, and in return are made to feel like Slightly Big People.
Big People learned long ago that there are many more Little People than there are Big People. They realized that the only way to keep Little People from noticing they outnumber the Big People was to keep them in separate pens called Tribes. Once the Little People were herded into these special pens, they could be controlled easily by the Big People who would warn them about the danger that comes from other Little People in other pens.
The good news for the Little People is that things may be about to change for them. For one thing, more than half of the Little People are now Very Young People, because the Older Little People had been too active in procreating Little People. For another, the Little People now carry Little Devices that allow them to connect to all the world’s Little People. This has allowed the Little People to realize that being forcibly kept Little is backward and primitive.
Many more of the Little People are also becoming Medium People, and are asking why the Big People have it all their own way. They are asking pesky questions and refusing to fetch the ball for the Big People. The Little People are now realizing that they don’t have to be so Little after all. Some of the Big People are also realizing that the exclusive Big life is not sustainable.
Someday soon, Kenya will become a country for All People, where every person lives under the same rules and has the same rights; where anyone who has earned it on merit can become bigger; and where what is good for All People is what is done. Then, we will read in our history books about the bad old days when only Big People mattered.
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I initially read this article on Sunday Nation and clicked on your website. To start with, I like the style/layout of your website and the easiness it affords to get to any piece of writing.
Your article today has inspired me to leave a line. Reading through, its funny that a lot of people have never thought about the Tribal groupings as a divide and conquer approach, to para-phrase you “..a special pen” where Wanjiku fights for the BIG People who will only feed her for one meal and then come back after 5 years. This is a very eye opening piece and I pray that you may ask Nation to re-run it couple of weeks before elections ( You know we Kenyans forget quite easily (its in our peculiarity)). Happy New year.
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This article on ”Big People and Little People” is telling the truth about our Kenyan society. I wish our leaders would read it and digest the same….and be more selfless!
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sunny, you couldnt have summed up the truth better than this. What hope is there for a country when the top judge displays such brazen contempt for the life and rights of a ‘little’ person. Worse still some sections of society castigate the ‘little’ people for not recognising,respecting and worshiping ‘big’ people. This calls for men and women of goodwill to stand up and be counted in order to realize this vision of a society that is equal before the law. That is the great challenge of our generation. But it wont come easy. It calls for sacrifice.and hardwork,and the courage to speak truth to power. As its said.evil triumphs when good men do nothing. Will young kenyans rise to the challenge?. Kudos sunny for doing your part.
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Jonas:
The more important thing is for the Little People to read it and understand why they are kept Little.
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Very good piece, 101% true, this is a very true picture of our lovely country Kenya.
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Jonas:
Indeed; accepting Tribe as a holding pen keeps most people Little and a few people Big.
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Thanks a lot Bindra for summing up so well what I have been telling whoever cares to listen. I weep everyday when I see some cunning ‘big people’ manipulate the ‘little people’ with plain unintelligent deceit. I wish all Kenyans can read your piece, and understand it. Sadly, the people who may read it or who have read it already know the truth. How can we reach the masses out there with this gospel, who may never read it, and if they read who may not understand it?
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Great post Sunny. Applies to most (if not all) countries. Regards David Graham
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Nikhil Hira Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 9:06 am
It certainly applies to a lot of countries and not just the developing world!
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Sunny Bindra Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Nikhil:
Sure, including the USA. But most have mitigated the worst effects. We haven’t.
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This is exactly how China kept the Mongols at bay for centuries until the entry of Genghis Khan!
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Chandesh Parekh Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 10:36 am
The ‘divide & rule’ strategy worked well for the colonial powers. Buying the loyalty of tribal leaders was the beginning of the Big/Small divide and helped keep the Small people in their place whilst the tribal leaders were elevated to the lofty Medium status, for as long as it served their masters; this of course the blueprint used in royal, and other heirarchical, societies. Lordships and knighthoods are a part of that system, though possibly used in the ‘correct’ manner now.
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David:
Thanks. Yes, it is indeed global (witness the USA’s newfound “1%” debate). But my country has a very pronounced problem. It must move away from this feudal elitism quickly. It’s really holding us back, when we construct an economy just to benefit such few people.
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Martin:
Do this: please pick just 10 people you know within your sphere of influence, and read it out and explain it to them. Just that.
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Sunny, what an appropriate analogy this! I’ll definitely do my part to make sure as many people as possible see this.
As a fellow Kenyan, I thank you for this.
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Asif:
Karibu sana. We need many more drumbeaters, so pick up the drumsticks…
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you hit it on the head! The little people are slowly waking up, first in the cities, through social sites, and then hopefully in the rural areas. the politicians depend on the ignorance of the masses to lie to them, and make them fight each other, while they enjoy BBQs in their big Karen and Runda homes, with their kids/grandkids happily playing in their expansive compounds-its what happened in 07/08. All the big people had better start noticing whats happening. They had better keenly follow the Baraza/Kerubo case.
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This is refreshig….it captures the all corruption that is in our system. Hii tutashambaza
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Very profound as always. I kept smiling and nodding my head up and down in agreement. Someday soon, Kenya will be a place for ‘All People’.
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Little people have existed for a very long time.Remember the `The Animal Farm`.When was this time and how many more years shall we have the little ones?
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Caxton:
Inequality will always be with us. What is wrong is the extreme degree. Most societies moved on from it; we haven’t. We are still constructing our economy to suit very narrow interests.
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quite accurately put, i agree and add that the little people also find that the pens can be black, white or brown. an ingenious approach from the big people to further divide any cross-penmates that dare endear a similar colour pen-pal. The tide is shifting though and all colour pens seem to be more and more willing to breakdown the great pen walls. Tick tock, tick tock ….. It’s now when and not if
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Sunny Bindra Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
Aluru:
All those pens are artificial, manmade, and serve only the pen masters. Not the sheep.
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Small is the new big especially when the “little” join up against the “big”. Your article coincided with a documentary on Al Jazeera on the same day about Egyptians conquering their “big”…..helped by through social media. Our day of victory is in the offing, its only a matter of time. I will definitely do my part.
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So true Sunny!!! This article needs to be translated so that all the ‘little people’ can understand it in their mother tongue as that is all some of them know. It needs to be read out to the old and young. The little people need to have their voice heard.
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Sunny Bindra Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 4:04 pm
Lucy:
Please make a start and read it out in your mother tongue to at least 10 people. That is all. It would be a great start.
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Hi Sunny,
What you said was so simple yet devastatingly true… i too hope that soon we will see a Kenya for ALL people.
Asante Sana,
Rav
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Very true – but soon to change. In traveling with western Kenya’s head of Justice and Peace, I notice slow but measured awareness by rural Kenyans over the past 2 years that the new constitution grants them the power to exercise their rights. Community meetings sponsored by the Church and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (political inclusion NGO) are monthly and people are starting to unite and discuss how to collectively exercise their rights. Democratic processes take time to trickle down to the poorest, but the process has begun.
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Sunny Bindra Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Konrad App:
Happy to hear that. But true, meaningful change will never come from NGO-sponsored meetings and dialogues. That’s a start, but only when the people awaken themselves and understand the issue for themselves can a new dawn occur.
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Thanks for talking to the little.
That little person is now using a little garget to preach your gospel and to ignite fire in the dry souls of the little people.The fire is spreading very fast.For a long time the little people have been working in the hot kitchens of the big people.They have with time licked the meal they have been cooking for the big people,now they are getting very strong and healthy.The big people do not notice of the impending war-operation nyakua nyakua.
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awesome read! we sure are more connected to each other now, not afraid to speak out on a range of topics from injustices to poor customer care! gotta love and respect the social network. thanks sunny for not shying to consistently speak out even when only few people did..
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Sunny Bindra Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Jane:
Thanks for supporting. Change comes first from the awareness that change is needed, hence all the drumbeating.
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Spot on Sunny…my prayer is that the Little People (especially the youth) do not rediscover their voter apathy and do actually turn out again and vote.
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I like your article. The big people are untouchables while us little people are “stompables”. However, I always say that the main problem lies with the mindset of the average Kenyan (big or small) – selfishness and utter disregard for others. An example is how the little people overlap and ignore the rule of law on our roads. Besides, most big guys today were once little guys that decided to adopt the Kenyan Big Person syndrome because they had finally “reached”. So who is to say that we are not all the same deep down anyway?
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Exactly!!
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It’s a great piece. REVOLUTION is now happening. Little people now matter.
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Behold the time is ripe. From dark alleys the voices can be heard, from pens whence they are yoked, they are breaking free.One, two, three..Ten,…a million they are breaking free,free atlast! .Justice! equality! tweets the little trodden
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Thanx for throwing spanners into works.Times up 4 Big ones cz the small,very small and the so called little ones have indeed started catching a wake up n smellin the coffee.
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