Understanding Tribalism in Kenya
At
the heart of tribalism in Kenya are two evils; victim mentality and Self Aggrandizement.
If there should be any national cohesion minded president or commission in Kenya,
these are the issues to work on. These issues are somehow discussed in my book “the
spirit of understanding” but for those who may never have the liberty to read
my book, here are my opinions on tribalism in Kenya.
Self- Aggrandizement
We
all belong to an ethnic group and naturally we are inclined towards self aggrandizement.
This basically means we are inclined towards feeling we are great or better
than others. Tribalism in Kenya is accentuated by a certain primitive feeling;
remember every child thinks his father or mother is better than all the other fathers
or mothers. There are many of us in Kenya who have not accomplished much hence
our only sense of pride are primitive attachments to family names, tribal
legends or the tribe at large. I have no doubt in my mind, many unexposed Bukusus
feel a bukusu man or woman is superior to all other men of other tribes or
races. A kikuyu in Kenya feels he or she is better than the other just because
he or she is kikuyu.
How
lucky I was during those days in primary school, I was introduced to legends in
Kenya. We used to learn about Luanda Magere, Kotalel Arap Samoei, Mekatilili,
Oloibon Laban, Dedan Kimathi, Martin Shikuku, Elijah wa Nameme etc.
Unfortunately, the story of Kenyan heroes has been skewed and it might appear
that other narratives have been replaced with only one; MAU MAU. Maybe a cohesion
commission that helps us celebrate the rich heritage of different communities,
their heroes and their contribution to nation building will help us go beyond
self-aggrandizement to acknowledging our nationhood.
Victim Mentality
The
other ill that is most vitriol and threatens our nationhood is victim
mentality. There is no better way of indoctrinating and inciting others than
making them feel like victims suffering a heavy injustice. In our good country,
talk of historical injustice has been used to justify hate against others.
Without looking at the facts conclusively, we all believe Kenya is unfair to
our lot.
The
people of North Eastern Kenya are victims; they believe subsequent governments
have often intentionally refused to take development to them. Luo Nyanza is one
of the poorest areas in Kenya; save for a few pockets of affluence in urban
areas. The Luos believe they are victims given the subsequent governments that
have been sidelined them and marginalized them due to political reasons. The Luhya
in Kenya feel the government has not been interested in the welfare of the
region. They point to poor road infrastructure, failing industries and limited
appointments into government and cry foul. The Kalenjins recount how the first
president settled or his regime facilitated settling of the Kikuyu community on
their ancestral land. The people of coast see lack of development in their
region as caused by skewed regimes and unfair allocation of resources. This kind of thinking cemented the 41 against
1 strategy by ODM in the 2007 elections and the results were a massacre that we
all regret.
This
narrative is championed by leaders from those areas; most of whom have been in
power i.e. serving government for many years. Question is; why haven’t local
leaders done anything for their people? Does this narrative take into account
the development path and dynamics of the nation? Are these leaders privy to the
development narrative of Kenya as a player in the international system? Do they
know of how Mzee Kenyatta did well not to antagonize the whites upon independence
leading Kenya to a developmental path that made it the strategic country in Africa;
a status that we enjoy today? Are these leaders privy to the dynamics of the
aftermath of the world oil crisis in the early 1980s? Do these leaders know that
the whole of Kenya was not growing and our economic growth rate was negative until
Kibaki took over in 2003? Do these leaders know that the Kikuyu just like any
Kenyans were in Opposition for the entire time Moi was in power? Now with devolution,
are these leaders keen to ensure that every penny going to their counties is
being used for the good of the common mwananchi? What a tragedy it is that
while we are crying foul about the national government, we have left wolves to
plunder resources meant for alleviation of poverty at the grassroots. How do
you explain a county government using 5.8 billion on projects that are not
tangible and that have not put a penny in the hands of any poor local man or
woman in a financial year? But no, our leaders especially those in the
opposition only want us to believe we are victims of bad national regimes.
A
new narrative is emerging where those deemed to have enjoyed regime support are
now victims crying foul. Do you know that our Kikuyu brothers and sisters have
faced much negative profiling by the rest of the nation? We all believe Kikuyu
are thieves, they are selfish and they only eat with Mundu Wa Nyumba. We
believe they are selfish because they have never voted for another presidential
candidate who is not Kikuyu. We believe that the elite Kikuyu with theire
economic interests are currently holding this country at ransom and using the
ordinary Kikuyu as a shield. The ordinary Kikuyu is dismayed at this narrative.
They like any Kenyan are struggling to make ends meet. Some of the Kikuyu are
somehow lucky to have owned chunks of the white highlands and through tea and
coffee they have built some wealth. The proximity of the like of Kabete and
Dagoretti to Nairobi CBD advantaged some Kikuyu. The proximity to city
advantaged some of them to get into the urban hustle; they are the majority
landlords for Nairobians. Some of them are children of Land Lords and seem to
lead privileged lives in Nairobi. But why would anyone feel bad towards them just
for being priviledged?
There
is the ordinary Kikuyu who suffers and has suffered the throes of poverty like
any other Kenyan. The colonialist unsettled many of them and the Kikuyu elites
took over the shambas of the colonialists without considering original owners.
Since independence, the land less Kikuyu had to find somewhere to settle.
Wherever, they settled they have had to work hard and build a future for loved
ones. Despite the genuine efforts, they walk around and feel like people with a
mark on their foreheads. Many feel animosity started when Kibaki consolidated power
around the so called Mount Kenya Mafia. However, what followed was victimization
of every Kikuyu just because some elite somewhere was deemed unfair. In all
this, the young Kikuyu hustling on the streets of Nairobi wonders how he is the
problem to Kenya. Elites as usual want to exploit this scenario. Words like Kenyan
Jews are easily used to incite the Kikuyu nation and emphasize the point that
they are a targeted community. In order to survive as a community, they have to
defend the status quo or regimes like the current one with their blood. They
are haunted by the victim mentality and truly believe that if Raila were to be
elected president of this nation, we are finished as a community. They have demonized
the likes of Raila and believe Raila and Jaruos are very unruly people. They
are lazy bums who want to reap where they have not sown. To survive, such
hyenas should be anywhere but not near the seat of power.
As
all these dynamics play out successfully, the opposition tosses with glee; they
are keeping the government ruffled and have maintained their tribal
constituencies intact. On the other side, the state and its leadership feel
very angry given the opposition is disturbing their peace and interfering with
what they are entitled to. Their sense of entitlement make them do whatever
they want e.g. appointing senior officers of government from only two tribes.
Some will want to quickly rebut this but that is petty denial; think of any senior
position in government that was filled recently and tell me if it was not a
Kikuyu or Kalenjin given the position. The impunity of “we are in government so
shut up and wait for your turn” tears into the hearts that feel the last two
elections were marred in electoral fraud. It also cements the feeling that
unless our own is in power, we have to shut up and wait for morsels falling
from the dining table.
Yes,
we need a sober national dialogue. But beyond that dialogue, we need sober
action from our leaders. If our leaders stop the victim narratives, Kenyan will
begin to focus on issues affecting us as national issues and not tribal issues.
If our leaders deliberately demonstrate they are keen to see an equitable Kenya,
Kenyans will follow suit. If the rhetoric of our leaders will be in line with
building our great Kenya, devoid of impunity, threats, gerrymandering and
arrogance, Kenyans will be proud and a sense of national pride will grow. Slowly,
self aggrandizement and related tribalism will be replaced with patriotism and
ultimately humanism. As patriots we shall be proud of all Kenyans and as
humanists we shall have compassion towards all humans and creation in general.
This was a good research Mr. Gideon. Tribalism is the cause of all the harms we are experiencing in Kenya like: Insecurity, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and corruption. Our wide stomachs will come to kill Kenya one day. Because we are only filling our stomachs through dubious means. Lord Help Kenya! and Bless this young author!
ReplyDeleteThank you Maurice Murefu Lubisia. God Bless You Too
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