Book Review - The Broken Covenat- Moses Marango

Moses Marango. The Broken Covenant: Xlibris corporation, 286 pp.
Moses Marango was born in Bungoma , Kenya and educated in Kimwanga R.C. then Friends’ School Kamusinga before joining JKUAT for his Bsc. In Applied Mathematics and Physics. He later pursued his Msc. in Project Management & Governance at The Keller Graduate School of Management in Houston, Texas. He also studied Electronics Engineering Technology at NIT- Houston. Moses has been involved in defense of the voiceless and he also championed the oppressed. Moses lives and works between Nairobi Kenya and Houston Texas USA.

The Broken Covenant was written to expose the vises that permeated the government of the Republic of Kenya during the reigns of the first president of the Republic since independent through the third president. The purpose of the book is to create awareness to the readers and to the citizen of the Republic of Kenya issues facing the country such as; tribalism, corruption and the killings that followed after the disputed presidential election the year 2007.

According to the author dictatorship and corruption has permeated the government so much to a point of losing trust with the justice system of the land. In this book the author questions the validity of the government, and the church which aught to be the watch dog of the government. Safety is a manger concern to the author, whose cites tribal biasness on the side of the police force.

The point of thrust from the author’s view point is how to address the issues of economy, improve security, healthcare, infrastructure, create jobs, curb starvation and also he questions the free education provided for by the government.

This book is worthy reading if one wants to understand who was responsible for the 2007 post election chaos that left over 1700 Kenyans dead and thousands more homeless. This book does not only inform and educate the reader but also challenges the reader and calls for action on the part of the same. The author purposely calls the abiding citizens of the Republic of Kenya to get involved in the management of the Nations affairs, calling the citizens to fear God in passing the same heritage to their posterity.

The author discusses political decay prior to 2007 presidential election, the injustices that became the norm in the government since the founding of the Republic. He alludes to the point that the legacy of the first president may have played a big role in shaping the corrupt government Kenya has today. The author point out that the president has not keep the promise he made in the vow of office, thus the title “Broken Covenant”

In defense of his mean thesis, the author opens up the scene in a camp for internally displaced persons following the chaos of the disputed election. In the scene the author brings in a troubled teenager whose parents have died in the chaos only to be left in the care of her illing grandmother. This teenage (Nina) is traumatized having seen many people being killed, raped and worse she does not know the whereabouts of her parents. Wanjiru her grandmother seems to be well versed with the events that have crippled the country since independence. Day in day out she narrates to her granddaughter Nina how the government has been unfaithful to her subjects to a point of colonizing them and using force at time, p 107.

The author exposes in this book how the citizens of the Republic of Kenya have died in the hands of the police, who in the first place are to protect them. He accuses politician of scheming the attacks of citizens without facing repercussions. The author points the spread of impunity that has permeated the whole country, from the president, police, members of parliament and local government citing that who should be trusted.

This book is an eye opener to what has happened in the country and to the evils that have crippled the republic of Kenya for years. The author calls peace loving Kenyans to join hands and remain united to build the country. He volunteers to be the leader of leading other in finding peace rather than leaving the leadership to the ruling class of the privileged few who have ruined the country’s resource.