The Charles Mugane Njonjo Memorial Hospital, Kisumu

So when Hon Njonjo was ‘young’ he looked down upon the Kisumu residents and chided them at their unhealthy habitation that made them prone to Cholera? So Hon. Njonjo now thinks otherwise? So others feel he really has no change of heart? So nobody knows the truth? Well, think about this: when young and having no hindsight of experience, don’t we all say and do things we later on in life would want to undo? But here is one thing Hon. Njonjo can do that will speak louder than words and silence all his enemies.

To show his goodwill and magnamity towards the people of Kisumu and Kenya as a whole, why, just build a Hospital in Kisumu, named in his honor as the Sir Charles Mugane Njonjo Memorial Hospital. This Hospital should specialize in treating water-born diseases such as cholera, tyhoid, etc that is still to be found in the area. It could serve area residents at subsidized or full rates.

This would be something equal to Hon. Njonjo’s status, wealth and christian charity. And come to think about it, the best way to disorient your enemy is to give him a glass of water!

Talking of which, which is the best way to show off your wealth anyway? Charity! Wealthy kenyans and africans, why keep the cash “under your mattress” or struggle to find an offshore laundry facility? We all know, you can never carry it with you, finally, anyway. And as to leaving it all to your sons and dotas, well, who knows whether they will squander it off quickly, since, anyway, they never felt the “pain” of gathering it in the first place? Seems to me most wealthy Kenyans never seem to get it. Look at what the Bill Gates and the Warren Buffets are doing. They are not getting any poorer by giving away part of their wealth, or are they?(OK, you nay sayers, it does not matter that in their doing so they reduce their tax burden). But then again maybe i am comparing oranges to apples. Some acquired their wealth legitimately, while others , eh, grabbed it? There seems to be a big psychological difference in how you hold onto what your worked hard for and what you “grabbed or “just got” from someone else.

Coming back to kenyans, there are all these wealthy guys (Hon. Nicholas “Kirgit” Biwott, Philip and/or Duncan Ndegwa, Chris Kirubi, Stanley ‘Don King’ Githunguri, Prez. Moi and Sons, Kamlesh Pattni, etc, etc, etc). Some of them even claim affiliation to a form of christianity. Why not invest in Charity? In “losing” you gain. And do not limit your projects to those that benefit “my people”, but stretch your hand, if not heart, even to your “enemies”. It is not only a mark of true greatness, but also what your christian Master would want of you. Look at Bill Gates. His Charity is directed mainly towards non Caucasians (i.e. to use our language, those who are not “his people”). There is a great man. All others are but little men!

And as a final tip, assuming the wealth was gotten in a way that makes the heart fearful and the mind peaceless. You are forced to seek a mattress in switzerland. Or pay someone to get the Krolls Associates off your back. But if you build a Kamlesh Pattni University, or the Kabarmoi university of Moyale or The Lima College of Agriculture at Koru, it seems to me, the kenyan people, who are known to be very forgiving and very forgetful, are likely to make a hero of you. Not to mention quenching the degree thirst and saving the country billions of dollars.