Human life; Is the preciousness and high value accorded to it slowly "unhemming" from our social fabric?

A story is carried in the media of a man who has killed his wife and children somewhere in a shanty dwelling in one of the country's major cities.

A few days pass and another bizarre story is carried in the major dailies. This time a man has hacked his wife to death.

Separately, a man and his fiancée are reported to have been accosted by unknown people on the eve of their wedding day and shot; the man fatally while the lady (who is pregnant) escapes with serious injuries and is rushed to hospital for treatment.

Almost during the same period it is reported that two brothers have been gruesomely hacked to death by unknown people in their rural home under what local residents term "very unclear circumstances."

In another part of the country, floods raise havoc destroying properties, displacing and killing people. But despite the affected people seeking assistance from the government and aid agencies operating in the region, none cares to offer the much needed assistance leaving the community with no option but to contend with their own already highly compromised capacity to cope.

These are just but a few instances where human life and dignity have been accorded, what I consider, the highest level of disregard possible by fellow human beings in our country.

Human life has for the longest time and through out ages been accorded utmost respect and dignity.

In fact, in most societies a person is respected irrespective of his/her social status both in life and death sometimes even more in death. For instance, in my community elaborate burial ceremonies are usually held for departed ones. The sole aim of such a ceremony is to accord the dead person a decent send off. The essence of the decent send off being basically to underscore the fact that every person has dignity and deserves respect.

But the unfolding trend in the contemporary society is a big cause of worry to any human being who believes in the dignity of a person.

Just yesterday there were media reports to the effect that two people, one supposedly an attendant at a leading morgue in Nairobi and the other a hearse driver, had been caught by police in possession of a male private part believed to have been chopped off from one of the dead bodies lying at the morgue. Quite disturbing!

One may wonder what makes a person lose his/her head to the extent of imagining that human body part(s) hold solution(s) to life's problems.

I think something is really wrong somewhere with our perception of life and how we interact and relate, not only amongst ourselves, but also with the other non-talking partners with whom we share this planet.

I believe it is time we looked deep into our relationship(s) and interaction(s) with each other and nature. And reaffirmed our commitment to the spirit of brotherhood and good stewardship with regards to our non-talking partners.

We are losing it. And losing it at a very fast pace.

But all is not lost. We still have a chance of redeeming our kind. I believe one way through which we can achieve this is by changing our mindset and adopting a positive approach to life while discarding the overly superstitious and self centered approach to life that a majority of folks ascribe to today. We also need to be very vigilant in ensuring that the dignity of every person is upheld at all times.

Any attempts to demean human dignity should be repulsed and condemned with the contempt it deserves at all times.

Police may be there to protect us but so long as the rot is deeply rooted in us all their attempts at bringing sanity will be in vain.

It is all up to us. We either change our perception and attitude towards each other and live purposeful lives; or we sit there, watch and do absolutely nothing and get consumed by the ills of a rotten society which we have propagated ourselves.