By Doug.
I started reading your blog last week and to tell the truth, I thought you were a little one sided. Being Kikuyu I fell into that trap…Kibaki won. I feel different now. All I want is for things to go back as they were. I have never considered myself tribalistic but this has been a trying time for us…notice I said us…Kenyans not Luo or Kikuyu. Your words are soo true… “we have now been reduced to admiring Moi’s rigging tactics.†Everything was so fogged up by this thing that I did not even care that Obama won.
I am better than that…we are better than all of this. We need to come together and come up with a solution or else our country will to the dogs. Walking the same streets you walked here in Boston, friends, co-workers and even strangers have asked me “what up with you Kenyans…thought your were civil†now that’s embarrassing. It’s not about Kibaki or Raila… It’s bigger than any of them. Whatever it takes to restore our position as the most stable country in Africa.
Have you seen Binya’s Op-ed in the NY Times? It is really strong, and should help bridge the Luo-Kalenjin-Gikuyu rifts. My only quibble is that he shifts from talking “tribe” to “nation” and no-one should be throwing that rhetoric around right now. The only nationalism we need is Kenyan nationalism, and that, only insofar as it supports a multicultural, decentralized, and democratic society.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/opinion/06wainaina.html
I hear you but the days of us Kenyans clapping ourselves on the back and lauding our place as one of the most stable and peaceful countries in Africa are gone.
We were the nation upon which our neighbours can depend on if anything went wrong….I say ‘were’ because I do not think this is something we can lose and regain at will.
Our ugly underbelly is on display for the world to see and I fear if we do not address the underlying issues of the violence, it may even recur in future.
Which is why we ought to get to work on ourselves and our friends and family. Have a discussion on peace, a discussion on being good neighbours and helping Kenyans in need. Don’t forget the dicussion on justice and our expectations in inflencing our representation through the ballot box.
I had also fallen in the same trap but I asked myself WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KIBAKI & RAILA ? Nothing
They are from the same class of people & no wonder when our fellow Kenyans are dying they are not protesting so strongly to stop the bloodshed because NONE of there family members or relatives are affected.They are all in there mansions & bunkers hoping they still remain relevant after all is said & done.
Perhaps that’s what we should all work on…seeing ourselves as Kenyans first, then, if absolutely necessary, the various tribes. It’s unfortunate that even those of us overseas first see our tribes first, then, on hindsight, think…oh wait, we should see ourselves as Kenyans coz the big guys don’t care for the little guys. A little too late don’t you think. The fact that many of us are looking at ourselves as Kenyans on hindsight (after the fact) is a bit telling of how far we have to go. It totally bugs me when people come out and say, oh! I didn’t put much thought into the tribalism factor…except you did, that’s why it’s taken such an awakening to make you really see that you are tribalistic. I’m not attacking anyone in particular…just totally pissed that people only react instead of being proactive.
we cant go back to the way things were that is wishful thinking but we can live in peace with each other
I feel that until all communities accept that there is a lot of disenchantment bred by years of inequality, we will not heal.
I speak as a Kikuyu; believe me, my family has never benefitted from any Kikuyu leader who has been up there. We have fought for every last thing.
But I can also understand why other communities would feel that Kikuyus have had the upper hand. I know lots of people who have worked hard yes, including my own, but i can understand why other communities would have the perception that we have been living off the fat of the land.
Until everyone is willing to come to the table with an understanding of the sort of anger and frustration that marginalisation and inequality has bred, we will not move forward.