HATRED , Mercy Gichuki
    * RE:HATRED by Mercy Gichuki , J. Odhiambo.
    * HATRED - who on earth is this girl? , Chrisogonas Odhiambo / Coop.NET
    * re: HATRED , Peter Hongo
    * re: HATRED : Mercy , Cyprine Omollo
    * re: HATRED , Oduor Abwao gombas
    * re: HATERED by Mercy , Ochieng Owoho

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Dear Mercy,

 

I'll ignore the blatant insults that are rampant throughout your diatribe and deal with the claims that you make one by one. I have italicized your statements.

 

 

To whom are you referring? Jaluo.com is a democratic site and submissions are received from people all over the world--Luo, Kikuyu, Kalenjin, white, black, Chistian, Muslim, etc. I have heard of submissions being censured or denied publication because they constituted hate speech or were simply vulgar. As your post shows, however, this is not always the case... In any event, it would probably be in your interests to specify who your insult is aimed at...

 

 

To date I have received no money or other personal benefits for posting my views on this site. If anyone else is profiting, please let me know so that I can file a discrimination lawsuit...and get paid.

 

 

Hmmm... Am I supposed to believe that Tuju and Kibaki lead modest lives, that they do not ensconce themselves in luxury? Am I supposed to believe that neither Kibaki nor Tuju profit off the backs of poor Kenyans?! (Check out the Kumekucha link for more on Tuju and his HIV/AIDS work...) And isn't it common knowledge that Kibaki keeps SEVERAL residences to Raila's two. And what has Kibaki, who actually has more power than Raila, done for those in Kibera??? Hasn't Kibera existed for more than eighty years?! And aren't these slums a direct result of a colonialist-turned-capitalist economic system that ignores the plight of the poor? And what about the neglected in the northeastern province? What has Kibaki done for them?

 

I will criticize Raila for threatening his Kibera constituents with evictions. But these are not Raila's homemade policies. Neglect has always been the official government policy toward the poor in Kenya. I sincerely hope that, once in power, Raila Odinga will put into practice his rhetoric of compassionate economics.

 

That said, here are some of Raila's accomplishments:

 

In the 1980s he fought against Moi's totalitarian government and was detained for more than eight years as a result.

 

In the 1990s he fought for a more democratic Kenya, founding the Forum for the Restoration of DEMOCRACY and then breaking away to join the National DEMOCRATIC Party

 

In 2002, he received the third most votes, somehow ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/12/28/wkenya28.xml ) receiving fewer votes than Dictator Moi.

 

Also in 2002, he put national interests before personal ambitions and backed Mwai Kibaki, believing, as so many of us did, that Kibaki would actually work for democracy

 

In 2005 he led the new Orange DEMOCRATIC Movement in rejecting the government-revised constitution.

 

Not to mention Kibaki's betrayal of the Memorandum of Understanding power-sharing agreement...

 

Why, even a detractor of his admits that, "For his long detention stints in prison, Raila is an unadulterated icon of the struggle against tyranny" (more on Mogi Yusuf below).

 

Finally, a self-described Social Democract, Raila Odinga is one of few politicians who recognizes the obvious--that laissez faire capitalism is not working in Kenya and that people need increased access to the factors of production and a more equitable system of wealth distribution.

 

Kindly supply us with a list of Kibaki's accomplishments (specifics, such as names and dates, would be greatly appreciated).

 

I think Onyango Oloo's assessment of Tuju is rather good... http://demokrasia-kenya.blogspot.com/2005/09/preliminary-assessment-of-tujus-new.html Kumekucha also raises some serious issues about Tuju, and, by extension, Narc's, ties to the Goldenberg scandal. http://kumekucha.blogspot.com/2006/02/who-financed-narc-campaign-in-2002.html I think that Luos saw right through the ploy to use Tuju to divide the Luo vote. It's really quite sad that Tuju allowed himself to be used in that way. I agree that he has done some good work, but Tuju's accomplishments pale compared to Raila's years of service. Also, there are those who argue that his impact in Rarieda was minimal and may even be nonexistent. Do you have evidence that conditions improved in his constituency? If so, do tell.

 

In short, I neither excuse Raila for what he has not done nor interpret his shortcomings as assets of the opposition...particularly when that opposition has done far less for all Kenyans.

 

 

This is where Raila supporters have to be on guard. Just as some in the U.S. are trying to discredit Obama by calling him the black people's Jesus, there are those in Kenya (like Mercy) who will try to discredit Raila by calling him the Luo's Jesus. This tactic makes those who are not black or Luo feel as though Obama or Raila, respectively, would not represent them. Raila's allegiance, according to this rhetoric, is to Luos only.  And all Luos will vote for Raila based on their simple-minded, unfounded and fervent belief in him.   

 

People like Mercy will continue to tow this party line ad nauseum. They hope that by saying it over and over again you will begin to believe it. In effect, they hope that your vote will be motivated by fear rather than by the on the ground reality or, even, by any hope for positive change. They want every Kenyan who is not a Luo to be so afraid of the possibility of change, even positive change, that she or he will simply vote for the status quo. (For more on this, see below and check out this excellent analysis by Binyavanga Wainaina, winner of the 2005 Caine Prize in African Literature: http://bulletsandhoney.wordpress.com/ ) Should we fall for such see-through tactics, we will have helped ensure that Kenyans simply get more of the same. Like those who voted Bush Jr. in the second time around, we will have only ourselves to blame for our gullibility and/or ignorance.

 

The Jesus strategy has a corollary. At the same time that those who identify with the opposition for ethnic reasons are supposed to fear Raila because he is the Luo Jesus / God, those who would identify with Raila for his populist politics--that is, the impoverished and disenfranchised--are supposed to dismiss him because he falls short of being revolutionary enough. (In the U.S. the claim is that Obama isn't black enough...so black people beware! Here it's Raila isn't poor enough...so poor people beware! The obvious questions are who in the U.S. presidential race is blacker than Obama and which one of Kenya's presidential candidates is actually poor?!)

 

The only aim of this type of rhetoric is to instill unfounded fears in the entire populace, even in those--Kenya's poor--who would most benefit from not just a regime change but from the increased democratization of Kenyan politics. And as long as one tribe retains a monopoly on political power in Kenya--saturating the highest levels of government-- then Kenyan democracy will remain what it is today, a farce.

 

Other strategies equally employed by the anti-Raila and anti-Obama campaigns include some of the most incredible abuses of logic known to mankind. Mogi Yusuf proves himself especially adept in this regard ( http://www.mashada.com/forums/politics/45312-major-announcement-raila-good-leader.html ).

 

According to Yusuf, it is precisely because "Raila is a good leader" that he "will not be voting for Raila Odinga or campaigning for him."

 

I know. The "HUH?!" reaction to such logic is all but universal. Adherents who have used this strategy against Obama and Raila argue that, despite their positive qualities, these men are likely to incite division rather than national unity. (Obama because he is black. Raila because he is Luo.) Note that the group with the least power in this scenario is almost always accused of being the divider. Those who have monopolized power are never blamed for the role that they have played in polarizing the society.

 

Don't vote for Obama or Raila, goes the argument, even though he is a good candidate; even though Obama worked as a community organizer at Altgeld Gardens in Chicago's south side, and Raila suffered long detentions and torture under Dictator Moi; even though they are both more likely than most, if not all, of their rivals to overthrow the status quo in favor of national progress because...well, because the country is just not ready for an INSERT MINORITY (black or Luo or female or Jewish or gay or "other") leader.

 

What these people are really saying is that, because of their own privileged positions in the status quo, they would prefer that things not change for the better for the majority of Americans or Kenyans. It is they who are not ready for change.

 

The fact remains that, even with his faults, Raila is the only candidate who is likely to represent all Kenyans--Luo, Kikuyu, Kamba, Lhuya, Kalenjin, etc. He is neither God nor Jesus. He is, however, Kenya's best hope for national unity and democracy, and against tribal politics.

 

At this point it should be clear to everyone that when Mercy entitled her post "HATRED" she was really referring to herself and merely projecting her anti-Luo paranoia on all of us.

 

Where have I heard this before? Concern yourselves with economics not politics... Sorry sister. Not a chance. Intelligent people know that, particularly in Africa, you must have both political and economic power. Otherwise those who are today touting economic liberalization may seize your business and assets at the first opportunity.

His excellency has done what NO ONE COULD HAVE DONE. Remember all those claiming to be angles got their through the last regime in the most corrupt manner, even some of them have pending cases in Court.

What the hell are you telling us????????????????

I could ask the same question of Mercy. (Notice that I have stopped addressing this to Mercy as I now highly doubt that she is open-minded enough to critically reasses her statements...even if I should spell out her H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y in plain type.) How are Kibaki and Tuju different from "all those claiming to be angles" or angels?

 

Kibaki is, after all, solidly a member of the old guard. Trying to distance Kibaki from Moi is like trying to distance Bush Jr. from Scooter Libby, Karl Rove, or Alberto Gonzales (take your pick). Like all his predecessors, Kibaki was hand-picked...by his predecessor. Like the Kenyattas, he belongs to Kenya's version of the good old boy's club. This group serves only the interests of its club members, who usually hail from Central Province. (Who knew it was the new Texas?!)  But, like Bush et al., they also exploit their ethnic, religious, and class associations (take your pick) to convince those who share their skin coloror ethnicity, purported "religious" beliefs, and income bracket to vote for or keep them in power. They do this by constantly alluding to an often abstract "other" (it used to be the native savage now it's the Muslim terrorist, the brown Mexican, or, in the case of Kenya, the dark-skinned Luo) that is out to take away their privileged way of life, corrupt the so-called values of their privileged way of life, and generally **** things up for everyone or, at least, everyone belonging to the privileged group.

Still... Mercy's statement strikes me because it is written with such passion and conviction. I would really like to know what is it that Kibaki has done SINGLEHANDEDLY and that NO ONE ELSE IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, or even just Kenya, could have done? Seriously, I await your response with bated breath.

 

Having said all that...

 

You know what I would like to see?

 

I would like to see more Kikuyu posters at this site and elsewhere condemning this type of anti-Luo propaganda. Just as racism against blacks will not end until enlightened white people enlighten other white people, prejudice and discrimination against Luos will not end until enlightened Kikuyu people enlighten their fellow Kikuyus.

 

I have a great deal of respect and admiration for Binyavanga Wainaina because he has taken a courageous stance against what (African)bulletsandhoney.wordpress.com's blog master calls "Gikuyu tribal chauvanism." In an open letter to his father posted at the aforementioned blog under the title "The Gikuyu Debate Hots Up!," Wainaina writes:

 

 

Unlike Mercy and her ilk, Wainaina recognizes that another Kibaki term or another term under a wanna-be Moi or Kibaki is not good for Kenyans of any ethnic background. Xenophobia, like racism, the xenophobe as much as it exploits and demeans his or her victims. Racism, tribalism, xenophobia, and all forms of bigotry thus degrade all Kenyans.

 

Wainaina shares a concern that I am sure bothers many like me who have noted the relative absence of Kikuyu responses to hate speeches and anti-Luo diatribes posted by their fellow tribesmen on this site. Wainaina notes that, "No coalition of visible younger Gikuyus has made their position clear on issues. None is saying anything about the rising xenophobia."

 

He also urges "all thinking Gikuyus to completely ignore any attempts to fan your tribal pride - this is the single biggest hurdle facing us in building a meaningful government... If Kibaki’ s people come back to power, the gloves will be off. . . it will be 27 years before their clique will cede power. Believe the nonsense at your peril."

 

 

Peace,

Annah Sidigu