Re: Kibaki will win this Year's Elections

Joab,

I agree and I alluded to that by introducing the term 'disruption'. Since Kenya has 42 different tribes, there are many elements in the social order of the different individual tribes that cannot be shared commonly by all the other tribes. These should be left to be managed at lower levels by the individual tribe. If national and common resources and opportunities were shared openly in a transparent manner, none of the tribes will feel marginalized and will remain at low energy levels and therefore non-aggressive.

If we may delve further into the Kenyan situation we will find that during the fight for independence, the Independence leaders were united and had a common national agenda for the people of Kenya irrespective of region, tribe or clan. They included the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the late Tom Mboya, the late Pio Gama Pinto, the late Masinde Muliro, the late Paul Ngie, the late Achieng Oneko, Mr. Martin Shikuku, the late Ngala Mwendwa, the ate J.M. Kariuki, the late Kungu Karumba and many more. It is only after coming into power that Kenyatta realized he came from a tribe and he had to be seen to represent their interests. We don't know why he did this, but maybe for fear that he wasn't in the forefront of the freedom struggle, he feared the Mau Mau soldiers or generals that survived or other leaders who felt that they did more for Kenya than him could have overthrown him and so he was seeking cushioning from his tribe through bribery and favouristism. He dished positions to his tribesmen, he dished land, he dished money through the banks, etc at the expense of the rest of the nation. This created jittery and discomfort form the other tribes and raised their energy levels. Kenyans became uneasy and started to recognize that they indeed belonged to tribes and not a nation. When looked at in this lens, tribalism is bad because it discriminates solely for greed and political protection rather than for prosperity for all.

It is after such negative strategies that some tribes start feeling superior and other neglected and discriminated upon. When such tendencies are built into the national fabric then it becomes a practice and a bad one for that matter. To swim with the current that had been started by President Kenyatta, President Moi and now President Kibaki think that it is the only way to build and maintain politic support from his tribesmen and women. Kibaki for example quickly and conveniently forgot that he was elected by an agglomeration of Kenyan tribes who then believed he would be a neutral player and a leader for change. So long as a leader retains this as a Trump Card to consolidate and sustain himself in power, then Kenya will remain in a high energy state. This is what creates fear and negative feelings about tribes.

In conclusion, if we use the good elements of a tribe or the tribes in Kenya, we can only come out stronger. If we use the tribes to entrench ourselves in political power then it is wrong and any leader who shows these tendencies should be rejected by the Kenyan people. Every Kenyan leader should stretch his/her hands out and reach out to all the Kenyan communities without fear or favour and embrace them for they make the Nation called Kenya and this is what produces a Kenyan. Look at what Mwalimu Nyerere did for Tanzania as an example. Common rules, common language, common aspirations, common concerns, were some of his values. He only failed in the wealth creation for Tanzania but left a nation. We should emulate this.

Kenyans have to deal with tribalism in a neutral manner in order for us to move to the next level of social, economic and political development. This is the way we should approach the December 2007 elections.

Thanks.

Dr. Peter Okoth
Nairobi, Kenya