The Pathway to Integrity

For the better part of this week, starting on Wednesday to Friday, a group of student leaders were engaged on a three-day seminar by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC). The theme of the seminar was "Visionary Leaders for a Corruption Free Society".

In Kenya, the topic of corruption has become fashionable and Prof PLO Lumumba, the Director Of KACC, attested to this. He pointed out that there are those who by the day are with the commission fighting against the vice, and yet at night, are the perpetrators of the same.

With the above in mind, allow me to delve into another equally fashionable subject of integrity without, of course, dragging you into the now-muddied waters of the pop culture it has created.

Often times, we hear and read remarks to the effect that people are born "evil". The other equally disturbing remark we read and hear is that one's environment determines his behaviour to such a great extent that environment alone, can be said to be the sole determiner of one's character.

While admitting that the environment plays a role in the determination of a person's character, I find it difficult to locate the mere fact of birth in the determination of the same. The environment bombards us with lots of information and realities that evidently shape our mental dispositions which in turn shape our behaviour.

It is wishful thinking to give prominence to environment over choice in the determination of a person's behaviour. Let us mention some names: Dr MLK Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Mandela... etc. The commonality between these great people lies in their choosing the good over the bad, the environment they lived in notwithstanding.

The pathway to integrity is one of choice. We cannot, we must not, we should not, try to excuse our "evil" choices and blame our environment for making us do those things which we did not intend to. While determinism seems to be a popular thing to rely on when we go wrong, deep within ourselves we know that the wrong we did was out of choice.

With your indulgence, allow me to share with you three things which the Rev Dr Mageto asked us to remember if we would forget the rest. Know the good, desire the good and do the good. To become a person of integrity demands that one walks on the narrow path best described by the three things mentioned. The choice is yours!

Yet, another fire in Moi University ,Main Campus. Is tragedy courting us?

This evening, a student's room in my hostel caught fire. The incident, which is the first of its magnitude in my close to four years stay here, has left most students shocked and scared. While the students are sorry for their comrades whose room caught fire, the thought that it could have been any of them has blunted their emotions.

The fire incident comes in the background of another outbreak a few weeks ago in which a supermarket serving the students and villagers. Of course, in stead of students and villagers helping out, they started looting the property. But that is a story for another post.

Until this year's incidents, there were a few others in the last academic year. Most of the fires have been allegedly caused by electrical faults. But then again, that should form the the thesis of another post.

Worthy of note however is our ability to react to these accidents and prevent the occurrence of more disasters. There university has put up fire assembly points within the campus and the horse pipes are working (they are used for cleaning, daily). This, however, is not the issue.

In today's incident, it emerged that students are not prepared for such disasters. The confusion that characterized the evening, the false alarm in the other wing of the hostel, the conflicting information and such things all show that students are totally not prepared for such incidents.

Therefore, there is need to continuously carry out drill sessions and talks for the students to know what to do should this happen again, here or wherever they will be. It would be a plus to the world if unto it are given people who can skillfully deal with disasters in addition to their other skills. We can no longer rest easy and assume that somehow we will survive any disaster. Such complacency with ignorance can lead fatal endings to already tragic stories.