One thing I am beginning to like about the Eighth Parliament is that it seems to have a lot more guts than any other since the days of Jaramogi Odinga's short-lived Kenya People's Union.

Besides the work done by the Parliamentary Investments Committee and the Parliamentary Accounts Committee, which have been giving the ne'er-do-wells in Government annual nightmares, most of the other committees have been dormant for years.

But now they have at last discovered they have an important role to play keeping the Government on its toes, and they are going about it with much relish and to great effect.

What could have brought about this burst of exuberance by me, seeing as I have very little time for politicians in general?

It is that, on more than one occasions these past two years, these parliamentary committees have been rising to the occasion on matters of national interest. Take, for instance, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and International Relations. It is worried that Kenyans have become easy prey to itinerant, heavily-armed militias from Ethiopia and the Sudan. They have turned our entire northern border area into a battle-zone with our security forces either watching helplessly or being mown down in the cross-fire.

On Wednesday, the committee summoned Foreign Minister Bonaya Godana and a Minister of State in the Office of the President in charge of defence, Mr Julius Sunkuli, to explain what the Government is doing about insecurity in general and about those deadly incursions into Kenyan territory by government terrorists in hot pursuit of their enemies.

It is everyone's hope that the ministers concerned will not only honour the summons, but also give credible answers on what options the Government has to defend Kenyans, who, for all practical purposes, have become cannon fodder for warring foreign militias.

Incidentally, it is the same committee which proved that parliamentary bodies need not be toothless, when a number of its members travelled to Sierra Leone to negotiate the release of Kenyan soldiers held captive by Foday Sankoh's barbaric army. They may not have been wildly successful, but they clearly showed that not every issue is beyond their competence. But this is not about ragtag foreign armies invading our territory while we sit on our hands. It is about a state of insecurity so pervasive that the border line seems like a picnic site by comparison. It is about the fear, apprehension and terror that have become our lot in every corner of the Republic. And it is about the fact that we appear so helpless even when our survival as a society is under severe threat. In short, insecurity has become synonymous with Kenya and things seem to be getting worse, not better, whatever efforts our security forces make.

There are, of course, all the usual reasons trotted out to show just why there is so much insecurity. The proliferation of small arms is, certainly, one. It is easy these days to acquire a pistol, a revolver, even an AK-47 assault rifle (don't look at me, I don't have any!) and those who own such weapons are easily tempted to use them. I hear that with just Sh5,000 you can change from a poverty-stricken job-seeker to an affluent carjacker without breaking a sweat.

The other reason given is that, due to the escalating unemployment and subsequent grinding, dehumanising poverty that has more than half of the population living in abject squalor, the crime rate must, of necessity, increase exponentially.

But that is only half the story. Kenya is not the poorest country on earth, yet it is steadily becoming one of the most crime-prone and violent. The other half is the kind of society we are, where we come from, and where we are going. There must be deeper underlying reasons for the intensity of crime.

Last weekend, a colleague was clobbered on the head by petty thugs while walking home from work. He did not have much money. He did not have anything else but a loaf of bread, a piece of meat and a couple of thrillers. He has never indulged in ostentatious display of wealth, since he does not have much of it. Yet the fellows who hit him could have easily wasted him. And for what? A loaf of bread?

It is always tempting to blame the police for the state of insecurity and the rising brutality of crime. They are a convenient scapegoat for society's almost total breakdown. But if, statistically speaking, every one of our policemen and women is supposed to safeguard the security of 300 Kenyans, how on earth are they going to accomplish this feat?

Rather than blame the police – who are, indeed, in danger of being overwhelmed by crime because of Government neglect – it would be wiser to find out why brutal violence has become so attractive and what we can do about it. For, let us face it, all of us are past or potential victims, and only those lucky enough live to tell the tale.

Early this week, the Catholic Church's Justice and Peace Commission pinpointed one of the possible causes of this seemingly inexorable march of crime and impunity, when it accused the Government of condoning violence on the political front.

This is not news, of course. The violent break-ups of legally-convened rallies by either the anti-riot police or thugs-for-hire or a combination of both has taught Kenyans that it is all right to commit crimes against fellow Kenyans as long as you are on the side of the angels. The tribal clashes taught them the same lesson.

Past suggestions do not seem to have worked so far, and it is now necessary to change tactics.

The beginning point ought to be for the Parliamentary Committee on Administration and Security to summon the minister in charge of internal security, Major Marsden Madoka, the police chief, and anyone else concerned with security, and ask them pointed questions about the steps being contemplated to combat the crime that's making the lives of Kenyans a total misery.p

* This columnist can be reached at magesha@dailynation.com