Appeared on the Daily Nation, 8th October 2025
The National Honors Act (Cap 216 A), is an Act of Parliament to give effect to and establish procedures and mechanisms for conferring of national honours by the President under Article 132(4) (c) of the Constitution.
The criteria for identifying, proposing and eventual conferment of national honors to an individual, a body, unit or association of persons or a corporation as stipulated by the act is based on four (4) key well thought out parameters. These parameters are; 1. A person who exhibited or exhibits exemplary qualities, actions or achievements of heroism, sacrifice, bravery, patriotism or leadership for the defence, benefit or betterment of the country or a county; 2. A person who has made an exemplary contribution to the country or a county in the economic, social, scientific, academic, public administration, governance, sports, journalism, business, security or other fields; 3. A State officer or public officer who has made an exemplary contribution to the betterment of the national or county governments, the executive, the judiciary, the legislature, an independent commission or an independent office; 4. A person who has otherwise brought honour, glory or pride to the Republic.
On the 7th of October 2025, the Joint Secretariat of the Parliamentary Honours Advisory Committee published in the local dailies a list of sixty (60) individuals who have been proposed for conferment and award of various national honours in four (4) categories. These include the Order of the Golden Warrior (OGW), Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS), Moran of the Order of the Golden Heart (MGH) and Head of State Commendation (CBS).
The list is however so deranging and unsettling and must be halted because it is a nauseating joke. A quick analysis indicates that that 46 out of the 60 are members of parliament, which translates to 77% of the Awards and only 23% for other members of society. Further, of the remaining 14 slots, 7 are allocated senior staff in both Senate and the National Assembly. This would therefore mean the total allocations amount to 88% politicians, their handlers, and only 12% given to civilians.
Surely, does it mean that only politicians are the majority of the societal grouping that deserves these awards? Of course not! What is so special about this category of people? I don’t know. It is clear that the 77% of the awards may have been dished to only one sector of Kenyans. They might deserve yes, but the question is, do we have police officers, engineers, scholars, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, cultural ambassadors, media personnel, Information and Technology mavericks, sports people, authors and inventors who also deserve these awards? Honestly, this list is not balanced.
Revisiting the four parameters given by the National Honours Act I am sure that Kenyans would question whether the 46 meet the set criteria of exemplary qualities, exemplary actions/achievements, made an exemplary contribution, exemplary contribution to the betterment of the national or county governments and bringing honor, glory or pride to the Republic. It is outright and my personal view that if strict vetting was done, some of the first 46 nominees would not even score 1 out of 10.
The list of nominees is a very good reflection of how our leaders view themselves. A friend of mine once joked that we live in a society where those holding positions of power and influence believe and practise the philosophy of ‘’Me, Myself, I and Mine first others last.’’ I think he was right because why would they be the only ones to be factored in?
Trivializing national issues like honors, which should result into honor and pride, is a goof. These awards should be a preserve of individuals who would be role models in society and especially the young ones. We would be joking to imagine that some people who have been implicated in countless scandals, corrupt deals, served prison stints and some spewing ethnic hatred would be the role models for Kenyans. This joke stretches back to 2017 when persons whose only qualification were being Kenyan were conferred undeserving titles. After public outcry, in 2019 the state had moved in to correct the mess, Tom Nyamorata, an undersecretary in the Office of the President tasked to bring sanity in the awards process. The 2017 list was harshly analyzed and concluded thus as a struggling alcoholics, slay queens and abusive bloggers. How we have slid back to mediocrity is something that is regrettable.
It is my humble opinion that the list be withdrawn and a fresh one be initiated. We have Kenyans who deserve these awards, and not necessarily the majority being politicians. May a good lawyer somewhere pick this and initiate a court injunction.
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