Tribute to Oscar King'ara and Paul Oulu
Comrades Oscar and Oulu,
They may have shot you dead,
but they have not shot down what you believed in and stood for.
They may have destroyed your physical bodies,
but your spirit and what you believed and stood by is now more alive than ever.
They may have tried to remove you physically from Kenyans’ minds,
but the two of you are more alive now in Kenyans’ minds than ever,
more so in the minds of the helpless young widows
and children of victims of extrajudicial killings,
more alive to the whole world that has stood by you and is crying for justice in your case.
They may have tried to silence you,
but now you are shouting louder than ever,
They may think that they have silenced you,
but there will be more than ten thousand patriots that will emerge to soldier on
to wipe away the tears of your dear families and loved ones!
To cry for justice over your assassinations!
To hunt down your killers!
To carry on your work of helping the poor!
To demand for justice over your killings!
Your killers are now being haunted and tormented,
by the cries of the poor that you fought for,
by the guilt that led them to assassinate you,
and by the evil that they have always stood for.
It will haunt them and their masters to their graves.
TO THE FAMILIES OF OSCAR KING'ARA AND PAUL OULU,
MAY OUR GOOD GOD GIVE YOU STRENGTH,
ESPECIALLY AT THIS TRYING PERIOD.
As for the activist, this is a new call,
the battle against impunity intensifies now more than ever.
We are all in it and more determined that ever,
Help us oh God!
* Beatrice Kamau is the executive director of the Social Reform Centre (SOREC) in Kenya.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/.