Kenya: Roots of Conflict & Hope For The Future
http://www.aganoconsulting.com/matunda/?p=146
By Matunda Nyanchama (mnyanchama@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
)
Speech made at Brock University, ON, Canada
March 6, 2008
Kenya - shocking mayhem
On December 27, 2007, Kenyans trooped to the polling stations to elect a
president as well as civic and parliamentary representatives. The turnout
was massive and, perhaps when all data is available, may indicate a
historical high in voter turnout.
Opinion polls had suggested a close race between the two leading
presidential contenders - the incumbent Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga. And
what a close election it was!
Prior to the announcement of results there arose controversy regarding the
authenticity of the numbers compiled by the Electoral Commission of Kenya
for the presidential vote. The opposition protested the release of the
results in the glare of local and international media. However, the
Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) chairman proceeded to announce Mwai
Kibaki as having won with a margin of less than half a million votes.
Raila
Odinga was in second place with Kalonzo Musyoka a distant third position
with less than one million votes.
No sooner were results announced than violence broke out; Chaos erupted
(especially) in opposition strongholds with fighting targeting communities
perceived to have supported the president.
In the Rift Valley (places like Eldoret, Molo, Narok and others) the
violence became an all out ethnic cleansing exercise, where some ethnic
groups (specifically the Kikuyu and Kisii) were targeted for removal,
ostensibly to be sent back to their "ancestral lands".
The most graphic of this was the incident in a church in Eldoret, where a
number of people, including women, children and people with disabilities,
had sought sanctuary only to meet brutal fate as all were burnt to death.
What makes the incident tragic and horrific is that even those who escaped
from the inferno were promptly thrown back into the fire where they
perished!
As well, there was fighting in other areas such as Kisumu, Molo, Kericho
and
more.
In Nairobi there were chaos and mayhem in poor neighbourhoods, especially
in
the slums of Kibera and Mathare, among others. Kibera, reputed to be the
largest slum in Africa, bore the brunt of the chaos, complete with ethnic
overtones.
In these areas violence took a graphic, inhuman form with neighbour
hacking
neighbour using crude weapons such as machetes; and burning what little
was
left of their simple dwellings that they called home. Dwellings and food
kiosks went up in smoke even as angry demonstrators uprooted the railway
line that passed through the slums.
One shudders to imagine what would have happened if there were widespread
use of guns.
Police responded to the deteriorating situation as the government banned
public rallies. In the process of putting down protests, people died; many
of them killed by live ammunition. In the age of video cam coders and
instant replay, some policemen were caught on camera shooting unarmed
demonstrators. Reports since indicate that many deaths in western Kenya
were
due to police shootings.
As the chaos continued illicit militias came into play. Soon revenge
attacks
were reported in Naivasha and Nakuru, this time targeting the cleansers
and
opposition supporters, including members of Kalenjin and Luo ethnic
groups.
In Central Province churches and government compounds provided shelter for
Luos and Kalenjins fearing revenge attacks. As the world watched, thoughts
of Rwanda came into mind. World leaders and Kenyan watchers feared for
regional turmoil that would follow the break-up of the country.
--
There is a Kiswahili saying that baada ya kisa, mkasa, whose English
equivalent is that every cloud has a silver lining. And that silver lining
appeared recently in the form of a peace deal between the key
protagonists.
Thanks to the efforts of Kofi Annan and eminent persons, including Graca
Machel (wife of Nelson Mandela) and former Tanzanian president, Benjamin
Mkapa, and support and pressure from all over the world, there is a
power-sharing deal that has defused tensions and kindled hope for a return
to normalcy. Parliament has given the pact the full force of the law and
Raila Odinga is set to become the country's prime minister.
Even then, the impact of the turmoil has been devastating for a
once-peaceful country, an island of stability and one admired by many on
the
African continent and the world.
The death toll from the post-election conflict stands at over 1000 and
with
close to 500,000 displaced; refugees in their own country! There has not
been an independent valuation of the associated economic loss. The
country's
projected 7% GDP growth for 2008 is not likely to be attained.
Tourist numbers that had been growing steadily since 2002 have dropped to
a
trickle! No longer would visitors be comfortable with the images of
brutality they saw on global TV screens, newspapers and the Internet.
Clearly this is not the Kenya we knew; it is not the Kenya the world knew;
indeed, it is not the Kenya anyone expected. The country has been seen as
a
model of stability in an otherwise turbulent region. Like many African
countries, Kenyans lost their innocence with respect to violence.
Civil strife would not only affect Kenyans but the entire Great Lakes
region, especially the landlocked countries.
Neighbouring Uganda, Northern Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern
part
of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been hit by all-time high
gasoline
prices. Transportation of goods from the port of Mombasa to these
countries
was rendered impossible. The full impact regional economic impact has yet
to
be fully quantified and documented.
The international impact of the crisis could be far-reaching, given that
Nairobi houses the third largest UN mission after New York and Geneva. As
well, Kenya has in the past provided sanctuary for refugees from Sudan,
Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. No country in the region
has
as well advanced infrastructure as Kenya. It is the reason why many
western
nations have their regional consulates in Nairobi. The Kenyan capital has
perhaps one of the highest concentrations of western journalists and press
agencies outside of South Africa. Nairobi has developed into a regional
hub!
The Problem(s)
It is my considered opinion that the elections were merely a trigger for
what happened and that something else could have set off the same reaction
sooner or later.
The conflict has been viewed as ethnic, especially by western media.
Indeed,
this is a western preference of terminology that sees Africa as a region
populated by tribes (remember tribe and its negative connotation) and
where
tribal conflict could erupt any time. I prefer to call it ethnic conflict.
Nevertheless, ethnic conflict theory is only partially true.
The fact is that the Kenyan problem is complex and has social, economic
and
political dimensions.
That said ethnicity remains major problem in the country. Indeed, Kenyans
are people of dual loyalties: to the nation and to ethnic group.
Leadership,
since independence, has only exacerbated ethnic loyalties at the expense
of
national integration. If one were to ask people what it means to be Kenyan
and one would get blank stares!
Ethnicity is one problem, though. There are many others, including skewed
income distribution, strong attachment to land as the primary economic
source of sustenance, lack of statesmanship in the Kenyan leadership since
independence and the debilitating effects of corruption on the national
fabric.
Prior to elections it was revealed that an investigation had unearthed
massive corruption perpetrated by former president, Daniel Arap Moi. The
report, commissioned by the government of Mwai Kibaki and done by Kroll
Associates estimated that the former president and those close to him
bilked
the country of close to $1billion. This is aside from several other
corruption scandals that took place in Moi's 24 year rule.
Corruption, and massive corruption at that, has had a devastating impact
on
the economy, especially where it has been perpetrated by powerful
individuals in high places in government.
Poverty is rampant with 43% of the population living under the poverty
line;
although this number has been on a downward trend since 2002, it is not
declining fast enough. The degree of poverty is simply intolerable and
untenable. Unemployment stands at more than 50%! It is notable that
violence
was largely perpetrated by masses of poor, unemployed youth who hoped that
change could possibly bring better fortunes for them.
Kenya is also a country of large income disparities with extreme riches
displayed amidst a sea of poverty. The connected elite and well-to-do live
such lavish lives that few can attain in many western countries. The
country
has one of the third largest income disparity gaps right behind Brazil.
Indeed, as the country's economic prospects have revived so also have the
ranks of the poor swollen.
Land remains the country's dominant source of economic sustenance with
close
to 80% of the population living directly off the land. It is no wonder
that
clashes were centred in the fertile Rift Valley; and these clashed
pertained
to issues of land. And with the claim of land grabbing by political
leaders,
this issue will remain explosive for years to come. Indeed, it will remain
more so if there is no clear diversification of economic livelihood.
Centralized Power & the Imperial Presidency stifles the growth of
democracy,
and skews national development through inefficient and corrupt resource
allocation. Many, including those in opposition, covet the power of the
imperial presidency and (perhaps) have no intention of restructuring it
should they acquire power. Moreover, this power is dispensed through
client-patron networks that arbitrate the distribution of national
resources. A powerful position in government means access to largesse that
sustains the said client-patron networks.
In Kenya, visionary leadership has been lacking. Not a single Kenyan
leader
has been able to rally the nation into a common vision, strategy and
direction. At independence Kenyatta had the opportunity to do so. However,
his regime is discredited for entrenching tribalism and ethnic nationalist
interests. This is in contrast to Mwalimu Julius Nyerere in neighbouring
Tanzania.
There is more. The western multiparty democracy is clearly unsuitable and
has yet to fully entrench itself in a multi-ethnic nation where ethnic
bonds
remain stronger than national bonds. Kenya has more than 200 registered
political parties, many of which are termed "brief-case parties" that are
often activated at the right time. If democracy were to be measured by the
number of political parties registered, Kenya would be one hell of a
democracy!
The tragedy is that existing parties aren't born of ideas, agendas of
visions. In Kenya, parties are aligned along ethnic lines and are fiefdoms
of the political and economic elite from the tribe!
Further, the model of winner-take-all, in an ethnically polarized nation,
means that some regions could end up shut out of government! In the most
recent example, Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) hardly won any
seats
in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) strongholds and vice versa! Losing
out in an election could mean exclusion, politically and economically
speaking.
The next logical question is: how did Kenya end up being what it is today?
How come countries like Tanzania and Botswana, both with similar colonial
legacies, have succeeded where Kenya seems to have failed?
I propose to you that some of the problems outlined above have colonial
origins while others have been entrenched by the post-independence
leadership.
Kenya - A Profile
Many of you may know Kenya from its globally popular safaris; the rolling
landscapes, the picturesque terrains, wild life, food and people of varied
traditions and culture. It is the place where you can be in deep Maasai
country and a few minutes away you can enjoy western-style life in
Nairobi;
or a place where you have contact with the Mijikenda and a short distance
away you are staying at a luxurious western-style hotel in Mombasa. It is
a
place of contrasting beauty of the Rift Valley, Mount Kenya and
Kilimanjaro
in the distance.
Kenya is a country of coffee and tea, some of the finest in the world; and
home to Akamba wood carvers and Kisii soapstone makers. It is the land of
the nyatiti from Luo land and Muomboko from Central Province. This is a
land
of long distance and marathon runners, especially from Nandi hills; a
nation
of tales from old that speak of brave Maasai warriors that held British
incursion to the hinterland.
For some, the memory of Kenya is from "Out of Africa" the movie with its
pliant workers that obey mzungu orders while for others it is the ancient
cradle of mankind.
Kenya is a land of contrasts; it is diverse from the coast to Lake
Victoria
and the Ugandan border; it is varied from North to South, from the
Sudanese
and Ethiopian borders to Tanzania. As varied as the terrain is its people,
culture, music, dance and language.
The country has two official languages: English and Kiswahili. The former
is
legacy of colonialism. Kiswahili, an indigenous Bantu language from the
Coast, is the lingua franca spoken by close to 100 million people along
the
East African coast stretching from Somalia to Mozambique and extending
inland to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Most Kenyans are multilingual and could easily speak at least three
languages: Kiswahili, English and some (out of 41) mother tongue. As we
shall see later, many of these ethnicities were really nations in their
own
rights. Today, they retain elements of nations even as they exist within
the
Kenyan state.
Talking of ethnicities, there is no major dominant group as happens in
countries like Zimbabwe where the Shona are more than 50% of the
population.
Instead, the largest ethnic groups in Kenya are Kikuyu 23%; Luhya 14
percent; Luo, 13 percent; Kalenjin, 11 percent; and Gusii (Kisii), 6
percent; Kamba 11%, Meru 6%; etc.
As stated before, land remains a contentious matter for Kenyans. The
country
has a total of 580,367 square km (224,080 square miles) but only 25% of
this
land is arable. The rest of it is semi-arid, with intermittent rains and a
challenge for meaningful agriculture and livestock development. Nearly 80%
of the Kenyan population lives off the land.
As we shall see later, close to 75% of this land was in the hands of
colonialists at one time.
Pre-colonial Kenya
The name Kenya is derived from the highest mountain the country, Mt.
Kenya.
In the lore of ethnic groups that live around the mountain, their gods
lived
high up the mountain and it was usual for religious leaders to make
pilgrimages up the mountain to offer sacrifices to the gods[1].
Mt. Kenya was known as Kirinyaga locally. It is said that the White people
that heard it pronounced as "Kinyaa" rather than "Kirinyaga" and from then
on called it Kinyaa which later became Kenya.
There was no Kenya before colonial times. The country came into being
following the 1884 Berlin conference. It was first administered by the
British East Africa Company, then as the British East African Protectorate
and, starting the 1920s, a British colony.
Pre-colonial was a land of different nations, at least 41 of them, that
occupied the current territory called Kenya. They had their own diverse
governance structures, cultural norms and identities. They have been
portrayed as egalitarian societies with their management and internal
control.
Granted these ethnic groups clashed from time to time in competition for
resources. This is especially so with respect to land and livestock with
the
latter being a measure of wealth and source of food. Many Kenyan nations
were pastoralists while others did subsistence farming. No matter what
they
did, land remained central to their livelihood; it remained central to
conflicts; and remains thus more than one century later.
Here is a citation from the World Culture Encyclopaedia[i] on the Kikuyu
organization.
"Political authority in pre-colonial Kenya was decentralized. No kings,
chiefs, or bureaucratic institutions existed. For the most part, political
authority was collective at every level, and decisions were generally
reached by the oldest males of kin groups or political units in council.
Although the councils made some important decisions for the group as a
whole, their primary role was judicial-the settlement of disputes between
kin groups. The collective prestige of the elders in council, as the
representatives of tradition and the ancestors, gave their words weight
and
their decisions authority. Women also had a council, the function of which
was to deal with domestic concerns, matters of the farms, and the
discipline
of female social and ritual life. Women were excluded from politics and
were
usually prevented from holding rights in land.
"The imposition of foreign rule on the Kikuyu drastically altered their
social and political structures and disrupted their traditional ways of
life. European settlement policies had an even more drastic effect on the
Kikuyu as land was virtually taken away from thousands of resident Kikuyu
without adequate compensation.
With respect to land, the concept of the landless was hardly known.
Landlessness was rare in any of the nationalities because anyone was
entitled to use the land that was available; and no one would be denied
use
of land. This is despite that in some communities, groups of elders
controlled access to the land which was for communal use. Even where there
was a concept of land ownership, those that could be termed landless were
allowed access to the land for cultivation and animal grazing. It was more
like for each according to their needs and nothing more.
When the British first came to Kenya, they placed the territory under the
administration of the British East Africa Company led by Lord Lugard. In
1895 Kenya was declared a British Protectorate following the failure of
the
British East Africa Company to administer it effectively[ii].
The good weather, fertile soil and rainfall made Kenya attractive to
colonialists; we live with the consequences to date.
The late Kenyan president Jomo Kenyatta used to remark that before
colonialism we had the land; then the settlers came with the Bible and
asked
us to pray. We closed our eyes to pray and as we opened them after prayer,
we had the Bible in hand, they had the land, and a gun over our heads!
The British take over of Kenya wasn't without resistance. There is the
legendary Waiyaki wa Hinga famed Kikuyu leader that was condemned to death
following his leadership in resisting the colonialists. Then there the
Maasai Laibon and his warriors that held British incursions for a long
time.
Koitalel Arap Samoei, led his Nandi people to resist the British putsch.
In
Kisii the movement called enyamumbo started in response to the British
conquest; it aimed at boycotting British rule and protest against forced
labour. In Kisii, a famed warrior named Otenyo speared the local
administrator named Northcort after being given medicine that he believed
made him immune to gun bullets.
Colonial Kenya
In Kenya, like most of their colonies, the British adopted a system that
came to be known as "indirect rule" where they co-opted local
administrators
from the community who then carried out the mission and mandate on behalf
of
colonialists. Despite being part of the colonial administration, these
administrators remained inferior to the British counterparts. That said,
however, the system was a very effective way to keep local ethnic groups
in
check for the oppressor they saw was indeed one of them! It was a divide
and
rule system, a divide and conquer strategy. Here is a quote on indirect
rule:
"Primarily, the British used indirect rule to govern their colonies. This
system of governance used indigenous African rulers within the colonial
administration, although they often maintained an inferior role. Overall,
it
was a more cooperative model than direct rule. Lord Lugard, a British
colonial administrator, used this system of government first in Nigeria
and
later brought it to British East Africa. This system of government assumed
that all Africans were organized as "tribes" with chiefs. However, this
was
not always the case. [.] people in Africa had diverse types of government
ranging from highly centralized states to "stateless societies." As a
result, indirect rule increased divisions between ethnic groups and gave
power to certain "big men" who had never had it before in pre-colonial
history. Consequences of these significant changes in social organization
and identity are still being felt today.[2]"
As said earlier, the fertile land, suitable highland climate and ample
rainfall were the major attractions for the colonialists to Kenya. The
British paid settlers to come to Kenya to take up what came to be known as
"White Highlands". These were Kenya's best lands, fertile and blessed with
cool weather.
European settlement was confined to the highlands for another reason: this
was away from the lowlands where mosquitoes and tsetse flies bred. Thus
settles could be away from malaria and sleeping sickness.
It is estimated that the settlers had acquired more than 75% of the
country's
arable land by the 1930s. Remember that only 25% of the country's land is
considered arable. This means that indigenous Kenyans had been pushed to
roughly 6% of its land with the rest being arid and the other being in the
hands of colonizers.
The highlands offered the best land for cattle ranching, wheat and maize
farming, tea and coffee growing; and for the longest time Africans were
NOT
allowed to grow cash crops in the colonial days, lest they compete with
the
settler companies or become independent and hence cause the settler farms
to
miss needed labour.
European infrastructure was designed for the exploitation of the country's
resources. Thus the railway line linking Mombasa to Kisumu was completed
in
1908. This snaked through the country side and to the shipping port where
resources extracted from the interior were shipped to foreign
destinations.
As early as the 1920s Harry Thuku, a famed trade unionist was calling for
independence. Demonstrations by indigenous Kenyans were ruthlessly crushed
occasioning major fatalities. Land remained the primary cause of conflict
as
it does today. In 1928, Jomo Kenyatta was drafted by the Kikuyu Central
Association to make presentations to His Majesty's government for the
return
of appropriated lands. Kenyatta, who would later become the country's
independence prime minister and president, spent many years in Europe,
most
of it in London during which he made key petitions on behalf of local
populations for the return of stolen lands.
He would later meet with great Pan Africanists such as Kwame Nkrumah and
George Padmore as the agitation for the return of lands turned into calls
for independence.
The coming of World War II was a watershed in African history, Kenya
included. It came through African soldiers drafted to fight on behalf of
colonial powers. The war exposed the lies of white superiority perfected
by
colonial regimes and the Christian Church. Bildad Kaggia, a Kenyan freedom
fighter who went as a conscript to the war says in his book "Roots of
Freedom" that he, for once, noticed white people bleed and die just like
the
black soldiers they fought alongside. The white soldiers ailed and
succumbed
to disease, as did the black soldiers. World War II removed the veil of
lies
of superiority that had been perpetuated by the colonialists. This, in
turn,
emboldened the campaign for independence.
The Mau Mau movement was an offshoot of this agitation constituted
originally as Kenya Land Freedom Army (KLFA). The colonial government
crackdown and summary execution of captured fighters was one of the most
brutal in guerrilla history. The hanging of Dedan Kimathi, the Mau Mau
leader, offers an example of colonial brutality against Kenyans.
Despite this, Kenyan people continued to strive for independence and when
it
did come, it was a negotiated compromise. Here the nationalistic Kenyan
African National Union (KANU) reached a tactical compromise with the
settler
based Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU). No sooner did independence
come
than the reactionary KADU dissolved, swallowed by KANU.
Post-colonial Kenya
In 1963 Kenya became independent amidst pomp celebrations from the coast
to
the hinterland. The country was awash with hope that came with the
independent sweep across the continent. First there was Ghana in 1957
followed by Nigeria and there after colonial administrations fell like
dominoes. In East Africa, Kenya's independence came at heels of that of
Tanzania and Uganda in 1961 and 1962, respectively.
As preparations for independence took place, there was panic among White
settlers fearing revenge. This soon dissipated after Kenyatta, who the
colonialists had termed "a leader unto darkness", addressed a
well-attended
White farmers gathering in Nakuru. He asked them to stay. He promised to
forgive and asked all Kenyans to do so. However, he told Kenyans not to
forget the injustices of colonialism.
Kenyans, excited by the opportunities that independence brought, set of
with
pomp to work. They heeded Kenyatta's call for "return to the land" and his
promise to eliminate ignorance, poverty and disease. He spoke about the
joy
of working the land and that every Kenyan needed to get to work in order
for
the nation to prosper. However, some choices made at the time have
reverberations to date.
The Issue of Land
If land was a major issue of contention in colonial times, the
independence
governments have failed to address it fully. Part of the independence
settlement provided for funds to buy off white settler farms on a
"willing-buyer-willing-seller". The land thus acquired would be
distributed
to people displaced by the colonial settlements and the independence
struggle thereafter.
In its place, the political elite, led by Kenyatta's inner circle, took
advantage of this arrangement to acquire large tracks of land for
themselves. Kenyatta himself grabbed tracks and tracks of land across the
country. One famed one that was later renamed Gichecha Farm, spanned
several
kilometres on either side of the Nakuru-Eldoret Road. One drove through
the
place seeing tracks and tracks of wheat, ranches and the like.
In the neighbourhood is Daniel Arap Moi in his Kabarak Farm, a story that
repeats itself in places like Laikipia, Nyandarua, Molo, Uasin Gishu,
Trans
Nzoia and many other former White highland farms.
A story is told of Mwalimu Nyerere of Tanzania visiting Jomo Kenyatta in
Nakuru. The Kenyan president then took his visitor for a tour of the farm
and proudly showed how good a farmer he had become and the large stretch
of
the land he owned. It is said that the trip ended in a sour note between
the
two leaders. Mwalimu Nyerere, it is said, remarked sarcastically, about
Kenyatta being the president of Kenya, asking what happened to the promise
to settle the landless and address the needs of the poor!
Kenyatta is also said to have had contempt for others like the late Bildad
Kaggia who stood for fairness and transparency on government matters. The
latter had joined the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in the opposition to
Kenyatta advocating for a socialist state in 1966. Kenyatta contemptuously
dismissed Kaggia arguing that Kaggia had nothing to show for himself. This
is while fellow independence detainees had amassed huge amounts of wealth
in
land, urban buildings and transportation. [Note that Kaggia was among the
famed Kapenguria Six with Kenyatta, Kungu Karumba, Achieng' Oneko, Fred
Kubai and Paul Ngei.]
Where settlement occurred for the masses, the political leadership's work
meant organizing individuals into groups that then took advantage of the
programmes to buy land. The 1960s and 1970s saw the mushrooming of large
numbers of land buying companies, many of which served as reservoirs of
political support. Many targeted settlements were in the former White
Highlands which are mainly in the Rift Valley, and places of some of the
recent conflicts[3].
This meant that those who knew about the programs benefited. Those that
did
not know about the programs, never benefited. As well, those whose
leadership took no active role in organizing groups never formed such
companies and as such never acquired land.
The late Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, who had been in Kenyatta's inner circle,
is
said to have remarked once that he didn't want a country of ten
millionaires
and ten million beggars. To this he accompanied the action of voluntary
subdivision of his land to settle the landless.
Seen as an affront to the Kenyatta regime, the man was hounded and later
murdered. His body was found in Ngong Forest just outside Nairobi!
Luckily,
no hyena had dared touch it, perhaps an omen as he was a good man!
-
Political Leadership and Centralized Administration
In colonial Kenya, there was strong centralized exercise of authority,
much
of it that had no consent of the governed. If centralized authority with a
divide and rule approach was an issue in colonial times, the new rulers
did
little to make it better. They retained the centralized power and in some
cases even centralized it more and did nothing about ethnic divisions. An
argument was made that the country, given its ethnic diversity and
(sometimes) ethnic animosity needed strong central authority as a unifying
force.
The president inherited the powers of the colonial governor intact,
complete
with an unelected bureaucracy in the form of the provincial administration
with direct link to the presidency and hence the term "imperial
presidency".
Kenya won independence under a multiparty constitution with upper and
lower
houses of parliament, and regional governments called jimbos.
A year later, the country adopted a republican constitution that
centralized
power under the presidency. The legislature became unicameral.
The opposition voluntarily dissolved itself and the county became a de
facto
one party state. However, between 1966 and 1969 there was an opposition
party by the name Kenya People's Union (KPU) that was proscribed following
chaos in Kisumu after the assassination of the brilliant politician Mboya.
Kenya remained a de facto one party state through to 1982 when single
party
legislation was passed in parliament.
Multiparty democracy agitation reached a crescendo in the late 1980s; in
1991 the single party system act was scrapped in the face of resistance by
the Moi regime. Even then, Moi correctly predicted the rise of ethnic
tensions as he saw parties develop along ethnic lines.
-
Ethnicity
If ethnic divide was an issue in colonial era, the political leadership
never crafted a strategy for national unity that would see the birth of a
Kenyan nation rather than an amalgamation of ethnicities.
In its place, the leadership reinforced ethnicity and entrenched even
more.
Prof. Ali Mazrui a prominent Kenyan political scientist working in
America,
once remarked that Kenya would have become a great country. And that Jomo
Kenyatta had the opportunity to make the country great. However, the late
president never lived to the occasion.
Here is what I wrote a few days ago on reflecting on issues of ethnicity
and
its entrenchment in Kenya[4].
'Kenyatta was substantially instrumental to this culture of ethnic loyalty
and tribalism that resulted.
'I recall a time when a delegation from my place visited the late
president
Jomo Kenyatta at State House Nakuru. This was around the time the
government
was under siege following the murder of the popular Member of Parliament
for
Nyandarua North, J.M. Kariuki.
'The delegation, as was tradition, proceeded to pledge the loyalty of the
Kisii people to the president and his regime. They also presented the
president with a series of requests, including new hospitals, roads,
schools
and the like.
'When the president stood up to respond, he paraded the ministers from the
community - then it was the late Dr Zachary Onyonka and the late Mr. James
Nyamweya. The president went on to remark that these leaders had offices
and
they should take care of the community! The message should have been:
present your demands through your leaders; they will be discussed in
cabinet
and prioritized based on national needs!
'Kenyattta, like almost all leaders around him, viewed Kenyans as tribes!
It
is no wonder we remain so - tribes rather than Kenyans.
Unlike Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania who started a lengthy civic
education campaign (others called indoctrination!); Kenyans lay back and
waited for representatives from their ethnic groups to bring home the
beef!
And these ethnic leaders knew not how to build bridges to other ethnic
groups. In the process, the seeds of ethnic loyalties and bonds were
firmly
planted later to be watered following Kenyatta's death.
'Enter Daniel Arap Moi, a professed Christian and church goer. He came
meekly promising to follow the late Kenyatta's nyayo (footsteps); and
nyayo
he did follow and with that ethnic discrimination to another level of
entrenchment.
'Under Moi, some corporations were reserved for certain ethnic groups as
were some government departments and, in some cases, whole ministries. As
an
example, the defunct Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC)
was reserved for the Kalenjin. Delegations after delegations from the Rift
Valley that went to see Moi emphasized this point: that the corporation
management must never pass to another ethnic group.
'In the Moi era, schools that enjoyed broad national representation is
their
student population were directed to take students (not less than 85%) from
their localities. This had side effects as kids would be sent to their
"home
districts" just because their parents were born there! I heard of cases of
children born in Trans Nzoia, that had never set foot in (say) Kisii,
being
sent to be enrolled in schools in Kisii!'
Poverty
At independence the government under Jomo Kenyatta, promised to tackle
ignorance, disease and poverty. And in the decades that followed
independence, there were substantial achievements in education with
government funded support; leaps in health care with results showing
increased life expectancy and reduction in poverty levels as the economy
did
fairly well: what with favourable coffee and tea prices globally;
moreover,
the Kenyan legendary safaris attracted tourists in record numbers.
As early as the 1970s the literacy rate had climbed to near 77%! Life
expectancy showed good signs and reached close to 60 years from an abysmal
mid-40s during the colonial times.
These gains could be nearly wiped in the 1980s with the embrace of
poisonous
and retrogressive IMF and World Bank policies.
In the 1980s through 1990s, the Kenyan government under Daniel Arap Moi,
was
a good student of the international Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
Today the Kenyan nation is paying dearly for the misguided policies from
these western-based "lords of poverty".
Among harmful measures were forced currency devaluations when world
agricultural commodity prices were declining (this saw the near-death of
the
coffee industry); cost-sharing where government withdraws from financing
social programs like education and health care, among others.
Devalued currencies never spurred exports as we were told! No! World
consumption of exports like coffee and tea hardly increase by leaps and
bounds. And in the 1980s/90s, the prices of these commodities declined
substantially in part because powerful consumer cartels dictated prices.
In health care, people couldn't afford even basic consultation fees and
ended up either dying or coming to hospital when they were chronically
ill!
People died from preventable illnesses as they could not afford even
consultation fees! Life expectancy that had risen to mid-fifties tumbled
down into the forties! In effect it became a more costly exercise than
before and we were headed for the dark ages.
In education, school enrollment dropped substantially. Some estimates put
primary enrollment in the mid-90% before structural adjustment reforms,
which dropped to mid-70% as a result of cost-sharing. It means a whopping
20% of eligible primary schoolers could not attend school! They are now
adults and may have not got meaningful employable skills. Given the
correlation between crime and education attainment, it is possible that
the
education cost-sharing policy indirectly contributed to the increased
crime
levels in the country.
In 2002 with the newly-elected Kibaki administration, more than 1 million
kids enrolled in school when primary school fees were scrapped.
It came too late for many!
Corruption
Corruption remains a major culprit in Kenya. It is entrenched and people
take it for granted as the cost of doing business. It is interesting that
people that have been involved in massive corruption scandals continue to
be
elected to public office.
How did corruption come to be? A story is told (not confirmed whether true
or not) of a minister in Kenyatta's government that used to seek 10% of a
project value in order to provide approval for submitted project
proposals.
The president is said to have had a whiff of this and promptly called the
minister to his office. After berating him and lambasting him for setting
poor precedent, the president asked the minister to explain what happened;
moreover, he wanted to know what the minister done with all the money from
the 10% bribes.
The minister is said to have indicated that he had invested the money well
and that his investments provided security for his family and employment
for
people that now worked on some of his investments.
Perhaps "impressed" by the "ingenuity" of this minister, the president let
him go. Kenyatta, it is said, never asked him to stop what he was doing.
Perhaps, grudgingly, he was admiring what the person was doing: acquiring
wealth for God's sake! And providing employment to boot!
Today corruption is grand with scandals in names like Goldenberg, Anglo
Leasing and more. And songs are sung about Kenya being a land of
corruption
where, in some cases, people ask for kitu yote (everything) in place of
kitu
kidogo (something small).
It is worth noting that the Kibaki administration promised transparency in
its dealings, starting with the wealth declaration by public officials.
This
task was assigned John Githongo, who came to be known as the government's
corruption Czar. He would later quit in a huff, frustrated by the lack of
commitment by government to fight corruption. Githongo has testified how
many ministers in government cautioned him to go slow on targeting people
involved in government's worst scandal that came to be known as Anglo
Leasing after the infamous name of the company that was behind the scheme.
Pre-election Agitation & Subsequent Conflict
In 2002 Mwai Kibaki was swept to power at the head of what was called the
National Rainbow Coalition, NARC. The party was born out of a union of two
forces: the National Alliance Party of Kenya (which had been in opposition
in Moi's time) and the Liberal Party (composed of a section that differed
with Moi on his choice of a KANU presidential candidate). The deal to form
NARC was sealed in a (now infamous) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Differences emerged once the government was in place with the Liberal
Party
wing of NARC accusing the president of reneging on the MOU. These
differences culminated in the defeat of the government in the
constitutional
referendum in 2005. A number of ministers, including recent presidential
candidates opposed the government in that referendum. Subsequently, they
lost their ministerial appointments following the formation of "Government
of National Unity" that drew from opposition benches. On the other hand,
the
Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) was born, adopting the name from the
symbol
used in the referendum.
The political pitch since the referendum harped on ethnic interests that
targeted the government dominated people from the Mt. Kenya region,
commonly
termed the Mt. Kenya Mafia. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) evolved
into a political party that grouped interests opposed to the government.
The lead up to the elections saw Kenyans line up along ethnic groups.
Raila
Odinga's ODM put together a formidable party and movement under what some
termed the "Western Alliance" with massive support in Nyanza, Western and
Rift Valley provinces. ODM also had substantial support at the Coast and
in
Nairobi.
On the other hand, support for Mwai Kibaki's PNU was largely centred in
Central and Eastern provinces with competitive support in Nairobi and
Coast
provinces.
These alignments along ethnic lines, along with the debate over Majimbo, a
form of federalism, attested to the ethnic nature of Kenyan politics. This
has been affirmed by many acts that followed the announcement of election
results. Perhaps the most glaring examples of these are the ethnic
cleansing
in the Rift Valley that targeted so called "foreigners", mainly Kikuyus
and
Kisiis. In Luo Nyanza Kikuyus and Kisiis were targeted. In Nairobi slums
there were inter-ethnic conflicts, mainly pitting the Luo against the
Kikuyu. Subsequent clashes, seen in some quarters as retaliatory, in
Naivasha and Nakuru also took similar lines. In Kericho where a lot of
Kisiis have lived (harmoniously) and worked for a long time, were targeted
and evicted, a situation exacerbated by the cold-blooded murder of the MP
for Ainamoi in Kericho in the hands of a policeman originally from Kisii;
the police termed the murder a crime of passion, even as politicians saw
it
as political.
Ethnic polarization can also be seen in the media, including newspapers,
radio and the Internet. The degree of polarization on the Internet is even
more baffling considering that many participants on the Net live, school
and
work in the Diaspora. That they remain so ethnically inclined makes a
sorry
state of people that have been exposed to diverse global cultures, systems
and democratic societies. It goes to underline the saying that "one can
take
a man out of a tribe but fail to take the tribe out of the man".
In a recent article in the Sunday Nation, veteran journalist Philip
Ochieng'
marvelled at the ethnically partisan nature of debates, even for people
with
academic achievements. Many of these, Ochieng' lamented, were quick to
condemn reprehensible acts perpetrated by people of other ethnic groups.
However, they were not willing to do the same when the perpetrator was one
from their ethnicity!
-
If I could summarize: the clashes happened because of pent up emotions,
the
need for change and the harped state of ethnicity. This is not only
because
the people are not happy with the current regime but also the system that
perpetuates the current condition. The underlying causes of discontent
include pervasive poverty, lack of national cohesion, political corruption
and lack of leadership with a vision of building a Kenyan state as opposed
to strengthening ethnic nationalism.
The opposition had promised change and identified "the enemy" to be those
ethnic groups allied with the president and "his people", the Kikuyu. It
is
not surprising that these ethnic groups became targets of and bore the
brunt
of the post-election violence.
The way forward
What I present here are only ideas on the way forward; I cannot claim to
have done justice to the topic in the remaining few minutes of this
lecture.
However, this synopsis can give you an idea of the options the country
should consider.
Grand Coalition
The peace pact must hold lest we degenerate to the chaos that followed the
elections debacle. In 1963 the opposition joined the government and thus
blunted the agitation for the ethnically demarcated majimbo. In 2002 the
NARC coalition won because of its broad national representation. Going by
the close presidential vote, neither PNU nor ODM have a majority of the
country behind them. They need each other to make any progress in the
country.
The Grand Coalition MUST work.
Truth-telling and restitution
There is a need for truth telling for people to understand what happened
and
its root cause. There is a Kiswahili saying that asiyekujua hakudhamani -
he
who does not know you will not value you. Kenyans need to know who they
are
better; they need understand each other; they need to trace the origins of
the cause of the problems and acknowledge mistakes of the past; culprits
seek forgiveness. And only in an atmosphere of appreciation of the
country's
potential, the high stakes of the chaos and most importantly how
collective
will is needed for national survival.
Ethnicity
Kenya should declare an all-out war on negative ethnicity otherwise known
as
tribalism. In my view ethnicity should be relegated to culture rather than
be used for political arbitration. We need to go back to and implement the
unitary vision of the Kenyan state that we had at independence. A new
leadership needs to emerge with a national vision of one Kenya, as opposed
to a multiplicity of ethnic groups. That said, the country should explore
the possibility of legislation that compels compliance to diverse
representation in all public institutions and organs of government. Such
legislation would require people with public authority to ensure there is
national representation in the public entities they manage. The
legislation
would also punish those who discriminate others based on ethnic origins.
There is also a need for better understanding and communication of Kenyan
problems. Indeed, as much as ethnicity is part of the equation, most
problems are mainly to do with poverty and the gap between the rich and
the
poor and perhaps less to do with ethnic polarization. This is because a
person of Luo origin in the slums lives the same life experiences as those
of Kikuyu, Kisii, Embu, Meru, etc origin in the same circumstances.
Think about this: while the poor people were fighting in the slums and
poor
areas of the country, Kenyan MPs were being sworn in, peacefully, in
parliament. The MPs, part of the elite class, were "fighting" with words
and
not guns and machetes! There is a need for a class analysis and a class
perspective that Kenyans understand.
Moreover, Kenyans need to put things in perspective. The Kiswahili saying
that wapiganapo tembo nyasi huumia, meaning that it is the grass that
surfers when two elephants/bulls fight should be in all Kenyans' waking
moments. Kenyans, especially the poor, need to understand that they do not
need to be pawns the chess game game ofthe fight for political power.
Government policies (as in the case of education) can help with eventual
integration. As an example, we need to reverse Moi's policy that compels
the
selection of 85% of high school candidates from the school's locality. The
ratios, in my view, should be reversed. That way we can realize greater
understanding through elevated interaction.
Constitutional & Government Reforms
There is need for comprehensive reforms that devolves government power to
the grassroots. In fact, one such instrument of devolution has had
substantial impact on development at the grassroots. Examples include
empowering local authorities and urban government to elect their
representatives more democratically while making development choices based
on their taxes.
Reforms must also include the rights of Kenyans as Kenyans, not as tribes
or
groups. The unitary state model where any Kenyan could live, work and own
property anywhere must hold.
Reforms must also target the multiparty system of elections. It is
important
to ask whether this is the right model for an ethnically polarized nation,
a
situation worsened by the winner-take-all where whole regions ethnicities
can find themselves out of government. At times, I tend to agree with
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni when he dismisses multiparty system as
unsuitable for Africa. Yet, in its place, there is no clear system that
can
support democracy. Given the gap and challenges Africans face, I would
lean
towards a hybrid of multiparty system, with proportional representation
and
guarantees on diverse representation in public institutions. This may be
the
most progressive resolution and may help us build stronger states.
It is not simply political power that should be devolved. There is a need
for economic devolution. The Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is
perhaps
the most democratic instrument of spending seen in the country since
independence. This fund, which allocated to each constituency and to be
used
for local priorities, has transformed the rural landscape in the country.
Despite the challenges of corruption and excessive control by MPs, the
kinks
in the system can be ironed out. The government should consider increasing
the budgetary allocation for this fund.
Corruption
As part of truth telling, Kenyans need restitution. Those that stole
public
wealth should be encouraged to return it provided they acknowledge and
seek
forgiveness from prosecution. A good first step would be the Kroll Report
to
which Moi and company would be asked to return the wealth they stole from
Kenyans. Others involved from other scandals should do likewise.
Beyond restitution the country should enforce existing laws against
corrupt
public office holders. The office of the Corruption Czar should be
reactivated and funded appropriately to ensure its effectiveness. The
Kenya
Anti-Corruption Authority, in my view, should be disbanded at the earliest
convenience. It has failed to live to any expectations despite the hefty
budget it is allocated.
Land Reforms
Land is central to conflict; it needs addressed urgently. Specifically,
focus should be placed on idle land, placing a ceiling on land holdings
(especially for foreign companies and non-Kenya residents) and availing it
for use by others. Land is a national resource and should be used for
national good; owners of idle land should allow its use for production
under
acceptable terms. Moreover, the government should explore schemes to
support
owners of idle land, that may not be able to develop the land on their
own,
to acquire the means to put it in meaningful productive use. As well, any
land allocation should be based on need and target the most needy, the
landless. This would ensure that those that we do not have a repeat of
what
happened following independence in the Kenyatta era.
Along with with this should be minimum size of land for farming purposes.
The continued subdivision of land (based on traditional inheritance
practices) cannot be sustained. This is because smaller units are
inefficient and have no economies of scale.
Land reforms, however, should not lead to anyone's eviction or cleansing.
An
individual should be free to own land and live wherever they choose in the
country. I strongly stand for Kenyans living anywhere they choose to live
in
the republic. In this respect, there is a need for expedited settlement of
the people displaced during the clashes and their protection thereafter to
guarantee safety. As well, perpetrators of ethnic cleansing should be
brought to swift justice to deter similar future action and ensure the
rights of Kenyans are respected no matter which ethnic groups they come
from.
Further, there is a need to remove the high level of dependence on the
land.
Kenya should learn from countries like Canada and Japan where a minority
of
their population derives livelihood from the land. The need for economic
diversification with (say) processing, manufacturing, services, etc. has
never been greater!
Addressing Poverty
Since poverty is a major cause of conflict, there is a need for massive
investment in the country to provide jobs for the masses of the
unemployed.
Once employed productively they may worry less about killing their
neighbours when politicians differ. Indeed, as was seen from the chaos,
there were very few clashes in middle and upper class neighbourhoods. Yet
the poor were killing each other like hunted prey.
Investment must necessarily focus in other areas of a modern economy:
manufacturing, processing, finance, ICTs, infrastructure and the like and
take away the central role of land. Kenya needs the equivalent of a
Marshal
Plan that would make use of the huge pools of (currently) idle labour.
Development of alternative sources of income, other than from land, would
ease the pressure on land and thus reduce clamour for land.
The country has an emerging microfinance sector that promises to transform
rural poverty. More resources and efforts should be directed towards the
effectiveness of this sector. Key among these is the creation of business
incubation services targeted at rural Kenyans to help elevate their
production (and productivity thereof) and marketing their goods and
services.
For many years, government have harped on industrialization to achieve
economic diversification; it is about time that this dream was realized.
In
the world where there is competition for investment capital, the country
needs to play the game that would attract investment as a means of poverty
reduction.
Education
Kenya needs to learn from India in order to lay the foundation for a
future
modern state. India's network of Institutes of Technology (IITs) and
Institutes of Business (IIBs) are largely responsible for that country's
economic resurgence. The orientation of Kenya's education remains the
creation of workers, as opposed to entrepreneurs.
The nation's education system needs to be revisited and redesigned for the
modern economic times.
International Trade and the Community
One way the international community can help the country is through fair
trade. Like most African countries, access to and being competitive in
global markets is hampered by trade barriers and subsidies in (especially)
western nations. Lowering trade barriers, removing subsidies and the like
would be much better help for countries such as Kenya than donations and
the
discredited aid industry. Countries like Kenya need fair trade and price
for
their products such as coffee, tea and others that seem to make more money
for middlemen than for the farmers and primary producers.
Leadership
None of the suggestions for the way forward can be realized without
leadership. The country needs fresh leadership that has a global view of
things. Quite frankly the people in power today have stayed so long even
their brains have become stale. They know no other way of leading other
than
how they have led in the past. Yet that leadership has left us in the
quagmire we find ourselves in. They must vacate the scene and allow for
new
leadership and new ideas to emerge. However, we also know that no person
or
groups of people or class gives up power voluntarily. They must be forced
out along with their old ethnic thinking and make way for a new
dispensation
suitable for the 21st century.
Conclusion
Let me finish by saying this: the Kenyan problem is complex; those calling
it ethnic strife have a partially right answer. The problems pertain to
poverty, land, lack of leadership and the like. The problems should be
seen
in that context and these will not be over in the next short while. A long
term strategy is required, under visionary leadership that would take the
country to the next level.
Thank you for your patience and God bless you all.
I will now take your questions.
References
1. George O. Ndege. Health, State and Society in Kenya. University
of
Rochester.
2. Steven Orvis. The Agrarian Question in Kenya. University Press of
Florida. 1997.
3. Njuguna Ng'ethe, Jeremiah O. Owiti, Shadrack W. Nasongo, David
Beetham and Sarah L. Bracking. Democracy Report for Jamhuri ya Kenya.
August
2000.
4. Mwangi S. Kimenyi and Njuguna S. Ndung'u. Sporadic Ethnic
Violence:
Why Has Kenya Not Experienceda Full-Blown Civil War?
5. Wunyabari O. Maloba. Mau Mau and Kenya: Analysis of a Peasant
Revolt.
6. Jennifer A. Widner. The Rise of a Party-State in Kenya:From
"Harambee!" to "Nyayo!". Berkeley: University of California, 1992
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] As recently as the 1970s such believers were sited in the mountain by
tourists. In one such case, the man in question was scantily dressed when
encountered by a tourist crew that sought to help. He promptly disappeared
to the gorges in the mountain only to appear several days later in his
village where expressed disgust that people could disturb his mission to
commune with the gods.
[2] See
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7b/activity2.php.
[3] On the land question it is interesting that a lot of it still remains
in
the hands of foreign multinationals engaged in agriculture. There are
companies like Brook Bond, Tetley and Del Monte that still do large scale
farming and own the lands they have farmed since colonial times.
[4] See my article The Making of Tribal Kenya
http://www.aganoconsulting.com/matunda/?p=142
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[i] See World Culture Encyclopaedia at www.everyculture.com and search for
term "Kikuyu"
[ii] See George Orvis. The Agrarian Question in Kenya. Pages 19-20.
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