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By Anon.
In the chaos since the new years’ announcement that there is violence in Kenya, I have barely slept here in the U.S, nor am I at peace regarding the safety of Kenya. I am young enough to remember the Njoroge, Onyango, Chebet and Ali names in the primary school reader books that proposed an attitude of acceptance of different communities to us as school children.
With every gory story, I remembered home and shed tears.Wasn’t it just after Christmas, when I marveled with other Kenyans over how integrated we were and how ready we were to embrace a leader of any tribe? I must have misread things grossly.
I have devoured every image and article that I could get my hands on since the first reports came out. I was dissatisfied with the simplifications that emerged about it being a Kikuyu-Luo issue, and the haste to throw around terms such as genocide, when the ethnic clashes of the past were called ‘ethnic clashes’
Living with many people who have visited Kenya, I fielded questions over whether I was Kikuyu or Luo and for many here I saw the extent of their perception of all Africans as skin-clad, warring African tribesmen. Worse still, I was upset that we were lumped together as ‘ errant’ Africans unable to solve our own issues, and the pity party for Kenya with its “pooh poohs” over warring tribesmen went on.
In any case, world famous or not, visitors to your house cannot adjudicate family issues, and people from elsewhere cannot tell us what is best for us. Where are our ever present civil society activists and our own mediators?
My people remain safe, mercifully, but I am afraid of what the politicians will let the mobs accomplish. Neither man has led calls for a humanitarian arms surrender outright, and they have proved to us that politicking trumps concern for the ordinary man.
Sadly, the events of the last week reveal that we are far from near unity. You cannot choose where you are born, but Kenyans are choosing to reject leaders whose sole agenda is to divide us. Our fight continues against the few who seek to divide our Kenya.
As a university student with pals at Baraton, my heart goes out to them as the campus remains under lock down.
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.
By Abass. [As KP I have asked readers to submit their own perspectives on the unfolding events. This is their voice.]
Mandera, in the far East of the country is where I was born. With many refugees from Somalia already living in our town, for a moment, I was pondering what if all of a sudden we become like them. I was confident though that things would calm down and that Kenyans are wiser than the footages I was watching at miles away from home. Still, the notion that we are Africa’s beacon of stability and democracy has being dealt a blow that only time will tell its severity.
Living in the diaspora too doesn’t help much. You live in anxiety, not knowing what tomorrow holds in place for your country. You can’t contemplate on what would happen if the worst-God forbid- happens. I remember during the election day, I used to stay awake almost all night waiting for the results. And when I finally go to bed, it is so difficult to sleep. And when you finally wake up, you can’t wait to switch on the PC before you pray or do anything. Little did I know that it will end in this. Much credit to Ory, who has being invaluable in keeping us up-to-date.
What hast triggered all of this ’sudden’ violence? Personally, I believe it is a combination of complex factors rooted in injustice, poverty (the result of unemployment), ethnicity, a struggle between two generations, greed for power and what I would say a lack of academic or mental maturity among other factors. Successive regimes since independence ignored the needs of the people as they amassed wealth to enrich themselves and their closest relatives. In where I come from, Mandera, for example, the people often wonder whether they are part of Kenya. This is because the people’s needs have being ignored, many live in abject poverty and they feel they are being marginalised. The same with other communities all over the country. When the ‘leaders’ only care about their selfish interests, when the plight of the youth is ignored, when one group dominates another, there is bound to be some sort of reaction that may result in violence with time.
The solution? I believe first and foremost that the root cause of the problems be addressed. I believe that for this problem to be addressed effectively, the plight of the youth must be addressed. Kenyans from all over the country must be treated equally beyond the constitution. With justice comes equality, with equality starts the eradication of poverty, with the eradication of poverty, comes stability. With all these, we can achieve unity and with unity, we can have peace. As for the political limbo we are in now, a gov’t of national unity is, in my view, not the way out. We need to address all those things I mentioned and others. We need to lay the foundation for a stability that will be beyond Raila and Kibaki. The international community is calling for a gov’t of national unity but I doubt whether they have any understanding of the political situation in Kenya. In fact, I doubt whether Jendayi Frazer ever heard of something called NARC. When this didn’t work in 2002, how is it going to work now? I guess the short term solution is an interim gov’t with a new election in the shortest time possible. Read that again. The short term solution, not a long lasting solution. Once we have a legitimately elected gov’t then, the first task of this gov’t should be to address all these factors and find a lasting solution for posterity.
By Nyamse. [As KP I have asked readers to submit their own perspectives on the unfolding events. This is their voice.]
vuitu et al acted according to what is required by law when there are election disputes, all this mess would likely have been avoided. Had he gone ahead and announced a presidential outcome based on partial results, Raila Odinga would have been declared president, and we would more than likely be in the same situation that we are in right now. Because I have lived away from home for over 12 yrs, and never made it a priority to educate myself on the ODM/PNU/ODM-K platforms, I had no preference for any of the presidential candidates/ political parties. All I wanted was a peaceful election and I was encouraged by the long lines of voters as seen on TV. I am truly saddened by the fact that so many people have lost their lives. I will be very honest and say that in the beginning, I focused on the GSU shootings in Kisumu because I come from Nyanza and felt as though “my people” were being targeted. Then I realized that this was not just the government forces targeting any one particular tribe. There were a lot of Kikuyus being targeted in Rift Valley (particularly Eldoret), some Kisiis in my mother’s village had their house burned to the ground because they supported PNU. I kept telling myself that this could not, and was not, happening in Kenya. Haven’t we been the “haven of peace” in East and Central Africa? Aren’t we the ones that continually provide refuge for those escaping the turmoil in Sudan, Somalia, Uganda etc? I spoke to my family and friends in Kenya many times over the phone, feeling very fearful for their safety. Inevitably, the issue of tribe/ethnicity kept coming up. One of my closest friends, who is politically as uninvolved as I am, casually “sided” with me by saying “wow, you guys have been robbed”. Sadly, some of my Luo friends seemed almost happy that people from the GEMA community were being targeted particularly viciously in Rift Valley. I feel so disappointed in my generation, especially those of us in urban areas, who have interacted very closely with people from different tribes. We have always said that our parents’s generation is the one that is still firmly rooted in tribal division but it appears we are so very wrong. You are right Ory, at this time so many of us pride ourselves in saying that we have close friends who are Kikuyu, or Luo, or Kisii..whatever the case might be. But the mere fact that we have to voice this is probably an indication that tribal divisions run deeper than we care to think. So many stereotypes have been highlighted by this election and the subsequent violence. There was talk of “Luos will not pay rent if Odinga wins”..this because the assumption is that most Luos rent from Kikuyus. I mention this because I heard this comment over and over before elections, even from non-Luos who were themselves not landlords. It has been very casually mentioned that the reason why Mwai Kibaki et al want to hold on to power is because they are “money loving”, a longtime stereotype of Kikuyus. We as Kenyans, have destroyed ourselves; our politicians have taken advantage of ethnicity/tribal divisions and it has exploded in the most unimaginable way. I was naive to think that this could not happen in Kenya and it has been a very rude awakening. We truly have a long way to go and my sincere condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones. I feel outrage that we did not see this coming and unless we come to a point where we share a collective responsibility for all Kenyans without regard to tribe, we may never know peace.
I’m writing this late Sunday night. I’m exhausted. If I though liveblogging the elections and the aftermath was exhausting, rehashing what is going on in Kenya in every conversation is getting to me. But as a Kenyan there is nothing else to talk about is there? And I’m one of the lucky ones who has the luxury of talking about things and not living in actual terror.
God, the implications of “this thing” are so big. Beyond the loss of lives, the loss of political gains and everything else that has been talked about so far. There is the loss of tourism (it was just getting back more than ten years after Likoni), loss of investor confidence, loss of the rebranding war which is already difficult enough to win, possible loss of the UN, I could go on and on…and we keep wondering – can the egg be unscrambled?
Today we were talking about friends who moved back to Kenya from the diaspora and were so optimistic, we were wondering whether to begin to mourn about the loss of our “next plan”, we were wondering where our children would fit in in this Kenya that is being defined for us, we were dreading going back to work to tomorrow after many of us had spent the last year lobbying hard for substantial investments in Kenya (I’m seriously not looking forward to dealing with “what the hell happened” questions tomorrow).
OK enough of that.
Thank you to everyone who has submitted diaries, please keep them coming.
News from Kenya today (apart from what’s being reported in the media) – general consensus is that things are calm and almost “normal.” Though keep in mind that in Nairobi to the privileged that means that guys were able to go the banks, get groceries, run errands, move around etc. Both Raila and Kibaki still seem unmovable as far as actually resolving the issue. Everyone says things will “explode on Tuesday” that’s when the next ODM rally is scheduled. Getting reports of reprisal attacks being planned in the Uasin Gishu/Turbo area. In most slums focus is on getting food, especially in Kibera, which has been cut off for days. Still no trucks on the road though oil pipeline and storage tanks said to be full.
– Where are the freaking 210 MPs who were recently elected – shouldn’t they be at minimum issuing statements addressed to their constituents urging peace? Or at least trying to address the humanitarian crisis?
I’ve attended or spoken at conferences where the question of “should we be focusing on technology in Africa when there is no electricity/hospitals/teachers etc.” comes up – I hope the role that e-commerce and technology (mobile, internet, blogs) have played throughout this crisis will answer that question for once and for all – checkout this piece about Mama Mikes and the demand for phone credit. I hope this is a story that gets much more attention.
The google mashup idea is cooking. Thank you to everyone who is contributing.
More ways to help:
– To assist institutions that are dealing with the rape crisis click here.
By Magotsi [As KP I have asked readers to submit their own perspectives on the unfolding events. This is their voice.]
After the fiasco that was the announcement of the
presidential tallies stopped right before my eyes by
Ruto on Al Jazeera Channel. I asked my wife what would
prevent Kivuitu from going to KBC and announcing the
results while ODM protested. Hardly had thirty minutes
passed I received a stream of texts about the
president being declared in some corner on KBC TV and
subsequent stopping of live broadcasts. Aljazeera was
there showing the spontaneous explosion of violence in
the Kibera slums. Since the people I had been relying
on seemed to go underground and the newspapers were
taking long to update the result I switched to the few
blogs that I had seen on Bankeleles Blog. I am a
regular visitor there. Its there that I settle on
Kumekucha and Your Blog for the updates.
For me it has been a rollercoaster feeling. I feel
betrayed though I did not have the opportunity to go
and vote for various personal reasons arising form
having a new born baby and not also having a vote.
Lost my ID sometime back early in the year in Joburg.
I had hoped that ODM would win and they seemed to be
on the path to win.
I cannot say for sure whether
Kibaki won squarely, which if he did I would gladly
accept, but it seems the circumstances of his winning
are suspect. First a private announcement of the
result, a seemingly pre- arrange ‘kitchen’ swearing in
and then the pussyfooting while the nation burned. It
seems Kenyan were deeply divided on certain levels
even before the election results. The seeming theft of
the election provided the immediate reason for the
savage reaction we have witnessed. A clear issue
that seems to emerge is why the riots are concentrated
in the slums? I think it’s because these young men
have lost hope. Their last hope whether real or
imagined seems to have been dashed hence their release
of pent up anger in looting and murderous riots. It’s
only a person who’s lost the value of life who lifts
up a machete and kills a neighbour he meets in the
street simply because they think the neighbour has
been an accomplice by association with those he
considers to have stolen his hope. I see politician
as merchants of hope, and in this case they seemed to
have promised the young men who have little hope of
getting out of poverty despite having to work daily.
They are what we call the working poor.
However more disturbing is the senseless murder and destruction of
property in the rift valley. It seems to be based more
on ethnic aggravation and hatred more than anything
else. Come to think of it, if the kikuyu are being
killed because they are seen to have voted Kibaki, did
they have a chance of surviving had ODM won? It seems
to me that they would still have been evicted. Why?
Because I think that those evicting them would have
haunted them out, they only needed and excuse
unleashing their murderous reign. Now I come to the
whole question of ethnicity and why people think the
only way their elite can survive is to capture the all
powerful presidency. I was shocked when I visited my
home town in 1997 and was told it was time for the
luhyia to eat and the luo especially needed to support
the late Wamalwa to win the presidency. Such fallacy
was beyond my understanding, but having visited form
Mombasa where I was based I came to realise that
indeed maybe I was out of synch with the local
thinking.
Before I discuss some issues on ethnicity,
I would like to say I personally find being asked what
my ethnic group is embarrassing. Why? Because I do not
understand what the questioners require of me. I was
born of a Kisii father and a Luhyia mother. I was
brought up by a Luhyia foster family and hence I faced
the knife and speak Luhyia and Luo. So what tribe am
I? Does tribe mean my phenotype, my gene pool and
hence being in patriachical society I would be
considered Kisii? But what does that mean, I do not
speak Kisii and I do not practice Kisii customs, the
closest I have been to Kisii was en route to Mwanza
Tanzania. Having dismissed myself as being Kisii, am
I Luhyia then? Maybe I am not sure, but I speak Luo
also, does speaking Luhyia make me one? Of course No.
Am I Luhyia because I faced a Luhyia Knife? Of course
no, in any case many other groups also face the knife.
So when I applied for an NSSF card and I found out I
had to fill what my tribe was I left it blank only to
get in trouble with the officer there. In protest I
filled kikuyu. For me what tribe I am is neither here
nor there. It is interesting that when I meet people
and they are unable to find out where I come form
based on my surname, they ask where my home is and
when I say Trans Nzoia, they ask if I was luhyia or
Kalenjin. My retort is to ask then if knowing what
ethnic group I am will help them in defining relations
with me. They usually get embarrassed at that point.
In moving forward we need to reflect on what it means
to be Kenyan first and then tribe second.
Unfortunately this seems to have escaped our nation’s
founders and those who have been involved in
statecraft.
I was once saddened when I attended a
service in Minneapolis US and on getting out of the
service the first person I met enquired about my
ethnicity. The service had been delivered in a local
Kenyan language and translated into English. I was
shocked that even Kenyans who are supposed to be
enlightened still clung to the echoes of tribalism.
In moving forward I reproduce an article I penned in
my journal on 22nd June 2004, when a form I was
filling in church in application for marriage
counselling requested that I fill in what my tribe was
and I felt that infringed on me and questioned my
identity as a Kenyan. I title the article, ‘In search
of identity-beyond ethnic prejudice’
“I am surprised that the ethnic mindset seems to be
seeping in the church, and it’s a reflection of the
Kenyan society and a reminder to our failure to build
one nation and define our nationhood to be embraced by
all who live within our borders. We have become and
increasingly ethnicised community. Ethnicity by itself
is neither good nor bad on its face; it is the
insistence of using it as a reference point in an
increasing cosmopolitan society that really begs a
question of our nationhood. Of what use is it to the
NSSF or the church or to whichever stranger I have met
to know what ethnic group I belong to? What purpose
will such information be used for? I am increasingly
afraid that of the information is useful to anyone, it
is to the detriment of whoever gave it. In a society
where true brotherhood and sisterhood fraternities are
loose, the only networks that remain are the normal
kinship ties.
This begs a question again, if we still
have to retreat to the cocoon of kinship help, what is
this nation called Kenya? Why am I a Kenyan? What does
it mean to be Kenyan? Other than sharing a spatial-
temporal dimension that was decided o a hundred years
ago by some land hungry Europeans- what are the core
values of the Kenyan nation? What can we call our way
of life as a Kenyan nation? What is the positive
social fabric that identifies us as Kenyans and not
Ugandans? What is our kenyannes? If I were to use that
term. Other than the spatial-temporal space we occupy
what is unique of us as Kenyans? I believe that this
question is of immediate importance, not just as an
occasion to debate but also truly reflect on who we
are. The search of an identity of nationhood is
important if we are to move ahead as a single cohesive
and not disintegrate into ethnic enclavesâ€.
I am afraid that unless these question I raised three
years ago in a private diary are looked into beyond
the whole issue of sharing power as well as working
more to make sure that issues of poverty are indeed
dealt with, whatever other solutions we enter into,
will simply be balm to festering wounds. Although I
live in South Africa, I am afraid that when I go back
home I will find an even more polarised society. I am
ashamed that we have provided more fuel to those of
our detractors with racist inclinations, that as
Africans we are incapable of running viable modern
states. While this may not be true, in the world,
perception sometimes matter more than reality. For
example Kibaki could have won squarely, but the
perception of most people and the circumstances and
behaviour of the ECK and the private swearing in give
a perception that there is something that Kibaki is
hiding that has unleashed the demons of thuggery and
senseless murderous gangs unto our nation. Perception
here ruled the people emotions and see where we are.
We may never ever really be able to establish the
truth of what truly happened. While I feel helpless,
I guess I have the power of positive thought and will
not give up on my nation. I will pray for healing,
reconciliation and a renewal to a more equitable
nation seeing how fragile we have become. Although I
came to South Africa in search of better economic
opportunities, I now feel like a real politician.
By Sheliya. [As KP I have asked readers to submit their own perspectives on the unfolding events. This is their voice.]
I have gone from optimistic to peeved to expectant to crestfallen… and no, I am not bipolar. This election was potentially an opportunity for most Kenyans to rise above the status quo but that may never be possible. You see to me it’s not just about another five year term for Kibaki… there’s more at stake. The outcome of this will determine our fate and that of our posterity.
Odinga’s demand for a re-run of an openly monitored election seems reasonable. Whoever is ousted by the ballot can forever hold their peace.
I will not waste space talking about the elections being rigged – we all know the reality of that. If both parties believe that the other rigged the election, then it seems in order to have it re-run in the open. In fact, the ECK chairman should already have exercised his constitutional right to annul the results. (See http://www.youtube.com/ntvkenya and http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=39&newsid=113952)
While I castigate the use of violence, I don’t think Kenyans should give up their democratic prerogative. Kibaki should allow people to non-violently express their dissatisfaction in the process and he should also provide for a way to amicably resolve the issues that exist between him and the majority of Kenyans. He is not even acknowledging the issue despite independent sources (EU EOM, ECK) condemning the tallying. Shooting at people with white cloths and branches says that you want war, so please don’t tell Kenyans you seek calm and order!
(PS: I understand that in order for him to stay in office he cannot admit to rigging the elections, but don’t you think it is too late for him to still be burying his head in the sand?)
By Paul. [As KP I have asked readers to submit their own perspectives on the unfolding events. This is their voice.]
I love you Kenya why are we breaking up?
I have lived in naivasha, nakuru also schooled in different parts of the country and never gave a damn about realistic lines at all, never gave a damn bout the kikuyu, or luo or embu in short had no ill feelings to any tribe I mean am young and the group I know we do crack some jokes here and there along tribal lines but now nobody is, we cut it off due to what’s going on.
what happened people, what is going on in Kenya, i sit here and ponder does me killing a kikuyu or I hear an embu help me, no no people no. and what’s with the burning of the church, i know we are of a third world country but a church you got to be kidding me, you playing right!
my fellow Kenyan man we got to grow up i do know that racial lines, tensions will always be there that’s human but sometimes its human to think too. I have no clue how we are going to pull out of this but man if we do let the Lord ride us on this one.
its a shame what we have come to burning little kids you mean little children u got to be kidding me I mean little children, they have no clue what’s going on. seriously what about the women who gave birth to us, the womb, you just stole that too.
its a shame man its really a shame, do people sometimes print out this pictures, the gruesome pictures at the morgue, on the streets, alleys and worse of all carcasses of people so that these heinous crimes can be seen by all? and lets be honest here for a little bit each tribe has lost somebody right its just barbaric how these has happened.
now lets talk about our two year old kids, our politicians who of course cannot think straight and know that lives are at stake here,. Mr. Kibaki you very well know you are not suppose to be there, you like a kid holding on to a candy stick. Sir please think of what’s going on and I mean right now. Your own people are dying and you think while you sit there at what you call state house give a sheepish address and go back helps. As these man gone out of that place anyway to the streets and seen what’s going on. Kenya is burning brother, Kenya is burning and who will pour in the water.
Sir please please think I know you are a father think and think. If you keep sitting k have no clue then, you know Raila is not stupid to say I am going to court hello they aint go do nothing! and so will a recount help. Can you guy seek help from outside do something. Man kibaki was doing good till now. Is it really that hard to leave that famous sit for the sake of a brother living is it?
My second born child raila you probably know that they might listen to you and I mean the protesters they are out there dying for you, why cant you walk out there and ask them to stop and I mean plead with them, its time to stop all this raila it is. One thing I do understand is I know the courts will fail you I totally agree but is there something else you can do. Peacefully!
I love Kenya I do I really do love Kenya, we were doing so so good till now. Why Kenyans why, why did we have to bring mama African pride down why.
Get up be proud and ask ourselves what are we really doing. Yeah I know something was wrong with the vote but we can stand up peacefully and cry ourselves out.
By the way I am a kalenjin and proud of who I am, proud of those I have met, those I have befriended and those that loved and been loved by me. I love each one of you as a Kenya except for the barbaric creatures that slaughter little children that to me is extremely sickening and unforgivable. I put this on out high ranking officials remember that the honorable, misters and mistresses. Think and sleep thinking this is all on you.
Love Kenya.
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