KING DAVID vs URIAH

Leo tunasoma from 2nd Samuel 11-12.

It is the story of David who at the time was the King of Israel. One day, he was sunbathing his body parts on the rooftop of Statehouse when he saw Bathsheba bathing outside in the next compound. They were neighbours. King David was overcome with lust so he called his P.A and sent him to go get her.

We are not told if she was given time to dry herself or at the very least to put on official clothes, clothes befitting of a visit to Statehouse. Nonetheless, she was brought to King David who, without wasting time, took advantage of her. Went against Chapter Six on Leadership and Integrity. He abused his office and committed several other crimes. Dude did not even bother to use protection and she became pregnant.

What I had not told you is that Bathsheba was married to a soldier in the IDF. Israel Defence Force. She was married to Sergeant Uriah, who was away fighting in the army.

When King David realised that Bathsheba was preggo, he tried to cover up his mistake by dispatching a chopper to bring Sgt Uriah back from the war.

“Sergeant Uriah.” the King started.

“Sir yes Sir”, Sgt Uriah answered.

“How is the war?”

“We are doing well Sir. No major issues but we are holding up well Sir.”

“Good. Now Sergeant, there is something I wanted to discuss with you. Sijui wewe utaichukuliaje. In the Sitreps I receive from the battlefield, your bosses put in a good word for you. How you are brave, how you are disciplined, how you respect your colleagues irrespective of rank, how the enemy fears you as an individual more than they fear the whole IDF.”

“Thank you Sir.”

“So I was thinking. How about I give my trusted and brave Sergeant off from work for, let’s say, a week or two. To relax and go to Gawanaz, spend quality time with your wife, take her to Comfort, you know the drill. Actually since we are neighbours, one of my staff was telling me that you don’t have a bathroom. How true that is, I am unable to tell. But if it is true, I can add you another week, plus some money and fundis so that you can construct a bathroom. What do you think, Sergeant?”

“Sir, I am humbled by your generosity and kind words. My pledge is loyalty to the King and land of Israel. My willingness and duty to defend the flag of our Kingdom, Sir. About the three weeks off and some support here and there Sir, I am truly grateful but I think it can wait until the war is over, Sir.”

“Uriah, Uriah, Uriah. Maybe you didn’t understand me. All I want is for you to cool off, recharge, so that when you go back to the battlefield, ni kuwafinish kumalo. Let me give you time to think about it. It is both for your own good, and for the good of the Kingdom. Now go home, go to your bedroom with your wife, discuss it, actually you don’t have to come back here to tell me that you have accepted the off. Just continue with your off Sergeant.”

With that, Sgt Uriah saluted, did an about-turn, and marched out of the Oval Office. He went straight home to take some shopping the King had given him.

King David’s aim was that, months later when the child is born, Uriah would think that he was the father. Kuiywo maiyo.

Sergeant Uriah loved his military job so much that he had many photos in his sitting room of himself. From his days as a recruit, to when he was posted to Laikipia Airbase as a Private, all the way to his current rank. When he looked at them, his passion for the military grew stronger. So instead of entering the bedroom with his wife while his colleagues were out there fighting, he chose to go back to war. He communicated this decision back to the King.

King David felt that this was insubordination. He wrote a letter to General Joab who was in command of the battle group. In the letter, King David had instructed General Joab to assign Sergeant Uriah to the frontline, so that he would be neutralised by the enemy. He sealed the letter well and gave it to Uriah to take back with him. Sgt literally carried his death certificate with him back to the battlefield. So much for kufurahia kazi.

Long story short, Sergeant Uriah was dispatched to Sayun by the enemy. King David inherited Bathsheba, built her a decent bathroom, and she carried the pregnancy to full term.

David was the most powerful person in the whole of Israel. He could do whatever he wanted, and with impunity. He had unchecked powers. Above the law. He was actually the law. Never cared about the kwesekwenses of his actions. Today, many Davids exist. In politics and leadership, in the corporate world, at the workplace, kwa estate yenyu, everywhere.

What do we learn from King David?
One, kwesekwenses of his impunity on individuals and society. An innocent man, Sergeant Uriah, had to lose his life because King David could not control his lust. A family was thrown into mourning. We are not even sure if he was accorded a military funeral. And guess what the whole of Israel was saying about Bathsheba. In Whatsapp groups, on Facebook, Tikitoko, kwa ground, everyone was saying how Bathsheba had quickly moved on after the death of her husband. Imagine the shame she had to be put through. And why? All this would have been avoided if King David had kept it in his pants. Or shuka. Whatever.

Msisahau kupitia Gawanaz mtu wangu.

In the second lesson, there is a need for support systems. Sgt Uriah was betrayed by his own people. The very same people he diligently worked for and with, sent him to his death. Walimkula maghasia. Wamenikasirisha mambwa. Institutions and society ought to have a support system on which we can fall back on. Unfortunately, those unsupportive systems send you deeper into the pit. Or worse. Maybe if he had not died in battle, Sgt Uriah would have been left with physical scars or internal wounds. PTSD. Mental health. I doubt the IDF even had counselors.

On lesson number three, here we have to clap once for King David. How he managed to make Sgt Uriah carry his own death certificate without even knowing it, at a time when envelopes had not been invented, hapo alicheza kama master. Ati the only two people who could understand the message therein, were King David and General Joab. Not even the carrier.

Lesson four is about the need to have checks. Oversight. The King of Israel lacked oversight. Legislature and Judiciary were in bed with the Executive. Okiya and other activists had been silenced. This explains why King David ate impunity for breakfast lunch and supper. Nobody could hold him to account for his actions. He was the law and the law was him.

Final lesson for today, be on your guard. Temptation can come when you least expect it. You are on the balcony sunbathing your own, you spot your neighbour’s wife aniking nguo, maybe she is a soldier’s wife, you covet her, and that will lead you to the wrong path. You are driving, you see a beautiful woman or handsome man, you crash into a tree. You are on Facebook, you see a beautiful profile picture, you slide into the inbox, she suddenly and urgently needs 2k, you are being led by the wrong head, you send not 2k, but 5k, jina inaleta Fidel Waruai.

1. As a boss wherever you are today, are you abusing your powers to oppress those underneath you?
2. Do you have a support system for those who look up to you?
3. How secure are your information systems? Do confidential emails and sensitive documents leak out to Bloggers? Juzi there was a wakili who was sengenya-ing a certain magistrate in a live online court session without knowing that other members were hearing.
4. Kenyans have been flooding MPs’ phones with calls and messages. They are now speaking truth to power and the MPs are complaining. In a normal society, the one whose salary you pay is your employee. In Kenya, the politician paid by taxpayers somehow is now the boss. Mko na nyenje kwa kichwa. If those mandated to oversight will not do it, we will. At this rate, the bottom will not hold for much longer.

Bonus lesson, build your wife a bathroom. Especially if your neighbour has a flat roof or balcony.