They teach “voice of the voiceless,” yet remain silent in times of injustice.
They grade essays on civic action- but never stand in the streets.
They are called lecturers, but when it matters most, they do not speak.

This blog is a fire-lighting letter to the teachers, lecturers, and scholars of Kenya who taught us about justice- but now hide in times of crisis.
It’s not an insult. It’s a summons.
Because the nation is bleeding, and those who carry the knowledge must now carry the flame.

The Role of the Educator in Society

In every free and conscious society:

• Teachers are prophets of the mind.
• Professors are guardians of truth.
• Scholars are the conscience of the nation.

They are not neutral. They are meant to be:

• Thinkers.
• Truth-tellers.
• Torchbearers.

When education works, it awakens and activates.

🧱 The Dangerous Silence of the Learned

So where are they now?

• The social work lecturers teaching “advocacy” and “community mobilization”?
  Where are their voices when youth are killed in protests?
• The law lecturers teaching “human rights” and “dignity”?
  Where are their petitions, their media statements, their presence?
• The civic education trainers teaching democracy?
  Where were they when the Finance Bill passed without public participation?

Many have disappeared behind the walls of their institutions.
Or worse, they now quote neutrality as an excuse for inaction.

Let’s be clear: Silence is not neutrality. It is betrayal.

🔍 Why Are They Silent?

1. Fear of Losing Jobs

Some are employed under government contracts. Speaking out could risk their position.
But what is a job that demands you bury your soul?

2. Conditioned Obedience

Many educators themselves were raised in systems that punish critical thought.
They repeat what they were taught- safe speech, safe minds.

3. Academic Pride Without Moral Backbone

They have degrees, but no spiritual or moral courage.
They mastered content but never embodied truth.

🪞 A Mirror to Social Work and Law

Let’s hold up the mirror.

👥 Social Work:

• You teach empowerment– yet stay quiet when the people are disempowered.
• You teach human dignity– yet remain seated when people are violated in broad daylight.

⚖️ Law:

• You teach rights– yet allow unlawful police shootings to go unquestioned.
• You teach justice– yet watch injustice rule the courts.

If you teach the law but don’t defend the people, you are teaching slavery disguised as justice.

✊🏽 What Real Educators Do

Across history, it was the teachers who ignited revolutions:

• Socrates died for teaching people to think.
• Malcolm X taught from prison to podium.
• Wangari Maathai was a professor who went to the streets to plant not just trees- but courage.

These were not just educators. They were activators.

If you truly understand what you teach, then you know:
Now is the time to practice it.

💥What Must Be Done

To every educator reading this:

✅ Speak.
✅ Mobilize your students.
✅ Publish real paper- not just academic ones, but spiritual and civic ones.
✅ Use your platforms, your staffrooms, your lecture halls.
✅ Teach critical thinking as an act of national salvation.

Let your degrees mean something more than job security.

⚠️

“A teacher who cannot rise when the people cry out has not taught anything at all.”
– The Book of Rose

We don’t need more silent classrooms.
We need spiritual classrooms.
We need law classes that ignite justice.
We need advocacy lessons that lead people to the streets- not just the final exam.

📣 At Awakening Souls Institute, we say this with love and fire:

To all teachers:
Now is the time to teach like the nation depends on it- because it does.
Your silence will be remembered, and so will your courage.