LANGUAGE LESSON- BY PROFESSOR WANDIA

What is a rhetorical question? It's a question which one asks for dramatic effect to make a point. A person asking a rhetorical question therefore expects the point of the rhetorical question to be obvious, and therefore does not expect an answer.

So, when people ask something like: "are these politicians insane?", they expect everyone to get their point about their anger with politicians and about the stupidity of politicians. They don't expect you to answer "yes" or "no", because the point is the annoying politics.

We are misusing rhetorical questions in Kenya. We are making assumptions about Kenya that do not exist in reality.

In a normal society, this question should be rhetorical: "Why cause so much suffering to Kenyans seeking healthcare?" The question assumes that GoK DOESN'T WANT Kenyans to suffer and so asking the question would get Kenyans to be angry and jolt GoK to end the suffering. 

But sadly, Kenya is not a normal society and the GoK doesn't give a SHIF about our suffering. So the question "Why cause so much suffering to Kenyans seeking healthcare?" is not rhetorical. The reality is this: GoK DOES want Kenyans to suffer. 

Sorry, but it does, because it's the logic of the system. The more we suffer, the more we need intervention and saving from politicians, NGOs and churches. And the more Kenyan journalists from media houses get awards for reporting. And the more academics get grants to fund their research. And the more white people back at home don't feel exploited because their barons are showing them pictures of OUR suffering. There is a political economy around African suffering that makes rhetorical questions useless.

And I suspect Kenyans also don't mind the suffering. We mind that politicians are refusing to save us, even when it's not in their interests to save us. So we have to stop using rhetorical questions and actually answer them.

PROFESSOR WANDIA NJOYA

- Kenya