Editor's note: Stephen Ndegwa is a Nairobi-based communication expert, lecturer-scholar at the United States International University-Africa, author and international affairs columnist. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Apparently, the COVID-19 pandemic is not the only formidable challenge that threatens the very core of the foundations on which the U.S. has been built for the last two centuries. Few would have envisaged the kind of civil insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 when hundreds of diehard supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump ran over the seat of Congress.

The objective was ostensibly to stop Congress from convening to validate Joe Biden's presidential win in the 2020 elections. It was the culmination of Trump's intransigence as he refused to concede his loss to Biden and incited his followers to "stand back and stand by." The unprecedented breach of one of the most hallowed icons of U.S. democracy is a red flag of a system that could gradually be reaching its sell-by-date.

The ugly incident had echoes of a past that Africa would like to forget when coups were en vogue in several countries. In the years following independence from colonialism, democratic governments in much of the continent lived on the edge, dreading the day that soldiers would leave the barracks and forcibly take over State power.

During the Cold War, America was often accused of sponsoring regime changes through coercion or violence in countries whose governments leaned to the Soviet Union or those that the superpower deemed neutral. All these coups led to thousands of both civilian and military casualties after the breaking out of civil wars.  

It could be karma as the chickens come home to roost for the U.S. Technically, there is no difference between what happened in Washington and what makes America brand other nations as "failed states."

On January 7 the shoe was on the other foot as world leaders expressed concern with what they generally termed as disgraceful events in America. Key allies like the UK, Canada, and Australia among others said they were shocked and outraged by the violence. The United Nations and the European Union as a whole also weighed in, saying the untenable situation was a big blow to democracy globally.

Beyond the failure of democracy when the U.S. needed it most, the civil disobedience put paid to all pretenses of America as a country where all are equal in the eyes of the law. It finally confirmed  that institutional or systemic racism is ingrained in the country's body politic. Observers  immediately pointed out the hypocrisy of a system that victimizes black Americans at the slightest provocation, but used half-hearted attempts to stop the Wednesday mayhem from mainly White protesters.

It is also unprecedented that major social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube can actually lock out the president of the most powerful nation in the world due to his anti-democratic, hateful and provocative posts. Although justified, it shows that the First Amendment is not a blank check where an individual can spew all manner of hateful utterances.

Some things need to happen in the short term for the U.S. to restore its own democracy and the rule of law. First, the investigative arms of the government must get into the real motivation behind the revolt and identify those culpable in its organization and execution. 

Questions are being raised why it has taken the Federal Bureau of Investigations almost 24 hours later to state its intention to make arrests and prosecution of the U.S. Capitol's trespassers. Secondly, all who participated in storming of the U.S. Capitol must face justice expeditiously in order to prove that the American system is not impotent.  

However, calls for invoking the 25th Amendment for fear that Trump could do worse, particularly as he still holds the keys to nuclear warheads has been met with caution. It would involve physically restraining him from accessing the instruments of State power, which might incite raw emotions and result to uglier situations from the president's fanatical supporters. Whichever way one looks at it, the next 12 days are extremely dicey for the American nation.

After January 20, the U.S. should undertake serious soul searching. Maybe Trump is not even the cause of all these chaos, but simply the catalyst that was needed to light up the powder keg. The U.S. should also humble itself and accept the best solutions to fixing its system from the unlikeliest of sources.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com)