The importance of the national anthem of Kenya.

  

Date Posted: 4/6/2013 6:32:46 PM

Posted By: prey  Membership Level: Gold  Total Points: 1405

---

The National Anthem of Kenya

The national anthem of Kenya was written by the Kenyan Anthem commission in 1963. It is based on a Pokomo song that the mother used to sing to their children. It is a vital part of Kenya in many ways. The following is the importance of the Kenyan national anthem.

1) It is a prayer.
The anthem is a prayer. This is heard in the first stanza where it begins by saying, “O God of all creation”. It continues and asks for divine blessings over the land of Kenya where the anthem goes, “Bless this our land and nation”. This therefore makes Kenya to be more blessed as a result of this prayer.

2) Encourages national unity.
The national anthem is sung by every Kenyan usually during many public gatherings. In most schools, the anthem is sung every Monday and Friday. This reminds all Kenyans that they are one people thus encouraging national unity. It also encourages national unity by the words it possesses. The anthem tells all of us to build our nation, not just one individual but all of us as a nation thus encouraging national unity in Kenya.

3) It discourages tribalism.
The anthem is sung in English or in Swahili. It was originally written in Swahili. This ensures that none of the tribes in Kenya will feel more superior or more inferior to the other tribes as a result of this anthem. By doing so, it discourages tribalism. It also discourages tribalism by uniting all Kenyans.

4) It encourages patriotism.
In most schools in Kenya, all children are taught to show their love to their country from a tender age of as young as ten years. This is done through teaching them the national anthem and telling them to sing it very often, which is at least twice every week. Since those who sing

the anthem sing of how much they love Kenya, the children would be singing of their love for their country Kenya. This teaches them to love Kenya and by the time they grow up, they would be singing of their love for Kenya from their hearts thus the national anthem would have made them patriotic Kenyans.

5) It allows some African traditions to be appreciated.
The anthem was prepared by the locals in Kenya and is derived from a Pokomo song. This fact allows us to appreciate the cultures of the Pokomo by acknowledging that one of the songs of the Pokomo was used to give Kenya its national anthem. This makes some people to even take a lot of interest in the other Pokomo cultures. It was also first written in Swahili which is one of the languages that it is sung in. This allows us to appreciate ourselves as Africans since Swahili is an African language which was made partly from some of the African tribes and communities.

The national anthem of Kenya has so much importance to our nation. Every Kenyan must know the national anthem and sing it at least two times every week. If we do this, then we will be able to reap all the fruits that come from this national anthem.

---

Next: The importance of physical education in schools in Kenya
Previous: BRICS to provide bricks for Africa