First they came for Boniface Mwangi
And I didn’t speak up,
Because I was an online activist.
I didn’t want to go to jail,
I only cheered him on social media.
Then they came for the reporters and bloggers.
And I didn’t speak up,
Because I wasn’t a reporter,
Why were they digging up scandals
That should have remained buried?
Then they came for the artists and musicians,
And I didn’t speak up,
Because I wasn’t an artist,
They shouldn’t have been making art,
That reflected badly on the government.
Then they came for me,
And by that time there was no one
Left to speak up for me.
I could no longer hide,
Behind my computer screen.
This poem is based on a provocative poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoller. It is about closing our eyes and not seeing the bad things happening around us because we think it doesn’t affect us. One day it will be our turn.
