CHARLES OBIERO

BLOODSHED FOR MR.

PRESIDENT
An insight into Kenya's post election violence
LAMBERT
__ Academic Publishing

CHARLES OBIERO
BLOODSHED FOR MR. PRESIDENT
An insight into Kenya's post election
violence
LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing
Impressum/lmprint (nur fur Deutschland! only for Germany)
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;z
BLOODSHED FOR MR.PRESIDENT
An insight into Kenya's post elections violence
CHARLES O. OBIERO.
This book is written with the vision of promoting a sense of nationhood and positive
ethnicity. If I am able to transform your mind from ethnic chauvinism to a mind filled
with national patriotism, from a mind filled with hate and ethnic resentment to mind
filled with love and hope for a better future for Kenya, then this book has met its purpose.
ii
Book Overview
This book contains the story of my country, Kenya during the post election violence. In
the pages of this book, you will find the events that preceded the violence but which
helped set up the violence in place. You will meet the horrors of bloodshed during the
crisis period, but also the strong appeal the author has put up to counter such actions from
occurring in the future. The book is divided into four parts; the stolen victory. politics and
peace, Education and Religion for peace building.
If you are an educator, parent, politician, youth or a spiritual1eader. then this is your
book.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank the Almighty God for giving me the vision, strength and ability to do this piece of
work. Secondly, there are people who guided me and unreservedly offered pieces of
advice on this book before it was published. I thank them so much and also more
gratitude to Paul Otula, the principal, Maseno SchooL I thank Pastor Andrew Ochieng' of
the Redeemed Gospel Church, Maseno for his spiritual in put and for securing interviews
for me with people, great spiritual leaders in the country, who I would not have
personally managed to meet.
I thank my dear wife, Evelyn Atieno for her moral and intellectual support.
Her patience when I worked late into the night made this work become possible. My
parents, the late Hesbon Obiero and my mother, Linnet Obiero are wonderful people in
my life; they believed in me and gave me an education. I forever remain indebted to
them.
iv
Some of the names of the characters in this book have been changed for confidential
purposes.
v
DEDICATION:
This book is dedicated to all the victims of the post election violence in Kenya; those who
died and the masses who were internally displaced.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Book Overview ................................................................................................................ iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..
DEDICATION:.
.. .................... iv
. ........... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. vii
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... viii
THE STOLEN VICTORY
CHAPTER 1 ... . ........................................................... I
Chapter2 .................... , ... , .... , ............................................................................................... 5
Chapter 3 .. . ............................................................................................. 8
Chapter 4 ... . .. ......................................... II
Chapter 5 ... . . ................. 15
Chapter 6 .. . . ............................................... 18
Chapter 7 ...................... ", ................................................................................................ 21
POLITICS AND PEACE
Chapter 8 ........................................................................................................................ 28
Chapter 9 .............. ......... .......... ...... .... ... .... . ................................................................... 31
Education ....
Chapter 10...
Chapter II ..
Chapter 12..
..................................................................... 33
.. ................ 34
.. ............................................................... 39
. ................. 43
RELIGION AND PEACE BUILDING
Chapter 13 ..................................................................................................................... 49
Chapter 14... . .................................................. 55
ABOUT THE AUTHOR .. .. ................ 59
vii
INTRODUCTION
Negative ethnicity has affected every sphere of our lives. The social relationship amongst
different communities is continuing to widen. The politics of the day continues to go
from bad to worse as if the politically motivated violence which happened in the year
2008 was a mere child's play. These have left a trail of devastating effects as Kenya
continues to drag behind in high rate of unemployment among the youth, insecurity,
political instability, environmental degradation and tribal clashes as witnessed at the
height of post election violence. The author interrogates the political system, religious,
social and educational systems of Kenya with the intention of finding an eternal cease fire
in the country. He brings all these stake holders of peace in to sharp focus and reminds
them of their duty which they have abdicated for decades i.e. promoting peace, love and
unity amongst all ethnic groups in Kenya.
viii
THE STOLEN VICTORY
CHAPTER I
The general election was suspect to be potent with violence long before the date was set.
This is partly because the public emotions had been excited in the various campaigns of
political parties and also the constitutional referendum which was held in the country two
years before the general election had left the nation very polarized along tribal lines.
The government had suffered a resounding defeat at the referendum. I would say that the
referendum had three main effects; one, the opposition realized that the government was
two; the government was aroused to counter the growing opposition which
was takmg the country by stonn. Lastly, the referendum left the nation politically and
ethnically polarized.
The preparation for the general election continued and I applied to participate as a clerk.
My .could not allow me to serve at a higher capacity. I was surprised to learn that my
was successful because many of those who were recruited confessed that they
had to bribe some of the members of the recruiting panel in order to have their names
appear.in the final list. They refused to believe that my application went through without
squeezmg an envelope of money into somebody's hand or sending an M-pesa (electronic
money transfer by mobile phone) to somebody.
From the training, it was obvious that the election officials were biased even though they
gave us booklets that clearly outlined the code of ethics of the officials. The booklet
clearly outlined that the election officials were prohibited from showing partiality to any
party or to any candidate of any given party. Despite this, some of them advised the
clerks to vote in favour of certain candidates. I know that even the officials had a right to
vote, but. they no right to cast more than one vote to any candidate. This was a grand
malpractice which was done not only in my polling centre, but in the entire nation.
Maina, my friend from central province called me at 6p.m on December 27 and told me
that candidate of most people's choice did not win by a very big m;rgin, then he
doesn t thmk that he'll make it after all.
We were advised to spend the night of December 26, at the polling centre so that we open
the at 6a.m, this was highly perilous. The constituency politics was
bloodier politiCS before the polling day. The returning officer dispatched
one polIce to each poling center, but I still chose to spend the night at
home owmg to very porous security during this time. At 4.45am, I was woken up by
some strange nOise. Some youths had stormed into our neighbors' compound and
demanded to know why he chose to support a candidate that they did not like.
"Come out. We want to bum you now!!! they roared.
These were people who were well known by their victim of rage and some of them were
well known to me as well. In fact, I could pick out their voices in the darkness of dawn. I
had gone to primary school with some of them.
I made my way to the main road with an intention of avoiding them. They were rowdy,
ruthless and bloody. I risked being detained had I tried to quell them. People were already
in a long meandering queue when I arrived at the polling station, It was 5.30a.m. The
voters were excited; they talked and laughed in small groups, some proudly wore their
party T-shirts although this greatly contravened the polling regulations. The polling
regulation demanded that there was to be no campaigning within the polling centre, or
trying to influence other people to vote with one, once one had arrived in the polling
centre. A group of some young men began to insult us and demanded that the station be
opened before 6a.m. They were immediately repulsed by the police even though they
came later, not as a group, to cast their vote. The events of the day unfolded successfully
and at 6p.m the polling station was closed. We were to get into the next level; counting
the votes cast and filling in the forms. People gathered all round the hall to witness the
counting. They were now not permitted in to the hall but allowed to watch through the
windows, They cheered the counting but occasionally they could boo when an opponent
of their candidate got a vote.
We finished the counting a few minutes past IIp.m after which our station leader took
the results to the returning officer for the constituency compilation. The following day,
there was excitement, jubilation and celebration as the results from other parts of the
country began to trickle in. People were glued on to the television screens. Others held
small fm radios close to their ears and watching TV at the same time, just in case they
missed to see or hear anything.
Many people began postulating what their candidate would do when he finally assume
the office; he would build our roads, give our people employment, resurrect our dead
factories; It was our turn to be in power, et cetera. It was a matter of when, not if he
assumes the office, The margin with which their candidate had led was insurmountable
according to many, The media did not let down the 'news hungry' people. They brought it
glaringly live. They relayed the information so bare such that even the dumbest could get
the clue of what was happening or who was likely to assume the big office.
By December 29, 2007, things began to falter. The information flow became intermittent.
One result could take too long to be aired and it would be followed by long periods of
time before the next announcement. Many at times, from my observation, these later
broadcast seemed not to please the people. They grew impatient, worried and angry. The
'opposition' was narrowing the gap at a suspect rate, From the initial reaction of the
people towards their disappointment, I knew we were plunging head on in to violence.
It was December 31 at 2pm. I went out to the local trading center along with my two
cousins, Fred Wao and Ali Olando. The mood in the market was so tense because it was
2
now apparent that the marginal difference between the two protagonists was a mere
breath of votes which threatened to change any second. The police had read the public
mood and was equally ready for action. People had gathered in to small groups and
engrossed themselves in discussions when suddenly they began matching in protest.
The police presence was very intimidating and threatening, It was time to go home.
I suggested to my company that we approach home from the rice farms and not from the
main road. This is because I knew people would attempt to engage the police on the road
which I was not ready for. My cousin Olando is brave, risk taker and full of youthful
grandeur.
When I began to run, I only saw Fred running behind me. We ran and ducked behind
buildings. At times we lay down flat on the ground as though we were dead until the gun
shot sounds disappeared. Once in the rice farms, though slightly far from the road we
were not oblivious of the bullets that were threatening above our heads. I knocked my toe
and stumbled down as Fred passed and lay down behind a bund in front of me.
He called out my name and asked whether I was hurt. Fred thought that I was shot but
I was lucky. We reached home lucky to be a live but soaked in water and without our
shoes. My left shoe got stuck in mud but because of the commotion, I could not risk
wasting time picking it up. Life was more precious then than shoes. At Sp.m Olando's
mother came to our house to call Olando to go for supper but he had not yet arrived.
By IOp.m we got worried because he had left with the keys of the house where all of us
were to spend the night. Olando's cell phone went unanswered. We could not risk
venturing out for fear of insecurity and the violence. We broke the door and slept.
George is almost my age mate, but he is my uncle (brother of my father). He woke up
early in the morning before me. I did not realize when he actually woke up but I noticed
when he banged the door and shook me so hard before he dropped the bombshell.
"Charles, Olando is dead. n He said it slowly but firmly with a quivering voice. I thought
it was a bad dream. I felt so guilty because the previous day we had gone out together
with him, though I still had a feeling that maybe it was not Olando that George was
referring to. I dressed up to go and see my friend. It was indeed true. He had been shot
from behind, a sign that he was running away from his killers, The bullet pierced through
his back and got lodged in his chest. He died facing down inside a ditch, clinching his
cell phone in o n ~ hand and the keys in the other. People gathered all around him in
disbelief. His mother not believing that he was dead, attempted to initiate a conversation
with him with the hope that her son would just rise up and walk home with her. I sat there
crying, looking at my friend, my cousin, the first casualty of post election violence in our
village. The police arrived in a land rover, wielding big guns and pistols. I did not know
why they wielded their guns, but probably they thought that people had gathered there to
plot a protest against the government. The people saw them and ran away for safety but I
refused to be moved. I just sat next to my friend and cried. Olando1s mother layover her
3
-:-'.
dead son and threatened the police to kill her with her son. The police took his body away
to the mortuary for postmortem.
When George and I went to the mortuary the following day, we found that his body had
not been preserved. He lay still on the floor beside other bodies which on close
observation, I realized had gunshots wounds too. I would not be able to detennine who
their killers were, but for Olando, we knew he was among the first casualties of the post
election violence to be admitted at the mortuary. Inside the mortuary, some bodies were
still warm and fresh. One could not quickly establish that they were actually dead, The
only difference was that they were still and except for one, they had bullet wounds at
their backsides. The other one was shot in the stomach, We made arrangements with the
mortuary attendants to preserve Olando's body before we took our leave. At the gate of
the mortuary, we met a wailing woman. She walked back and forth about the gate with a
shawl in her hands. She had put on in her feet sandals which did not march the other; one
was blue and the other was red. She was grievously sorrowful and seemed not to bother
with the attention she was attracting from passers by. Suddenly she fell down and fainted
on the hot track. I saw people ran and carried her away to the shade nearby. She just lay
there still. Some people began blowing air over her face using pieces of cloth while a
woman bent over her and adjusted her legs together. She had lay down embarrassingly
bad. Women can never let one of their own to be embarrassed, even in death, especially if
certain parts of their bodies threaten to become public knowledge. A woman may go
mad, but other women will not bear her parade her features before everyone in the
public, They will cover her nakedness even if she is not known to them. This is not true
for us men. When the people realized that she waS not responding to anything, they asked
us (George, I and other people) to help carry the lady into the hospital emergency room.
The hospital gate was a mere twenty meters away,
It was obvious that the hospital staff was overwhelmed by work. I thought the woman we
had brought in was an emergency, but honestly there were more pressing issues of other
patients that needed to be attended to immediately. There was blood all over the room,
some patients lay on the floor, writhing in pain, Others snored as though they weri';: deep a
sleep yet they were very a wake with their eyes fixed at one point. Some were
sandwiched between their relatives so that they could not topple over, Death stared us in
the face. Wherever I looked to inside that room, I saw corpses in waiting. Most of them
had a common thing; the homemade bandage which was wrapped either round their legs,
shoulders or anns. The bandages had blood stains which had clotted leaving red stripes of
blood extending to some parts of their skin. Occasionally I saw the patients feebly wave
their hands over the bandages to scare the flies away but some of them were too weak to
even notice the swarm of flies streaming in to have a sip of their blood. Most of the time
it was the hands of their relatives which swung in a pendulum manner to drive away these
insects. It was not a sight to behold if you are faint hearted.
4
Chapter2
We decided to leave for home at about 11.30am. In the morning when we had come the
road was without much drama, but now we knew that it was teeming up with ro:.vdy
youths who marched a long the road protesting the polling results. There were few
vehicles on the road. The main mode of transport then was a bodaboda taxi (motorbike or
bicycle taxi) which charged commuters based on how they judged one. If one was clean
and well groomed, they thought that such a person had money and therefore he or she
was charged much money. This money was prepaid before the journey and it was not a
guaranty that once one paid the money, they had to reach with you your destination.
Reaching the destination was detennined by the level of security on the way. For one to
travel safely, one had to at times pretend that he was part of the protesters. The way one
approached a protesting crowd and the manner in which he left was a matter of life and
death. Mother tongue was the second key to a successful journey. If one did not speak the
of th,e region, such a person was half dead. For such people, they had to
Justify that their commumtles voted for the candidate as favored by the protestors.
were other impediments on the way especially if one ran into a protesting crowd
was already being confronted by the police. It was common knowledge not to just
pIerce through the crowd and approach the police at that speed. The police would treat
as an of defiance in order to attack them. They never hesitated stilling such
victims of misJudgments. Having loose money in smaller denominations of shillings fifty,
one hundred or two hundred was equally important. In case one ran in to a very violent
group, hy would appease them with some token of money. It was very frustrating because
one could pay two hundred shillings to a gang, but hardly one kilometer on the way there
would be another gang who demanded the same kind of treatment.
we had paid hundre? shillings for the taxi (seven times the nonnal price), we
Jumped on to the bIke, The taxI operator put some twigs on the bike and gave us other
twigs to carry. This was a disguise. We wanted to be seen as protesting yet we were
seriously on a journey. When we approached a crowd, we climbed down and marched
along with them. We had to be mindful of the time. I mean the time we joined such a
crowd in their protest and the time we left. Any miscalculation could endanger our very
lives and the bike could be burned to ashes. We had to master the game very well. We
we:e about five kilometers from home when we ran into a very rowdy, violent crowd of
mamly They had set up fire on the road as they danced and chanted their party
slogan some who wielded machetes in their hands scratched the weapon on the
road sendmg fire works in the hot mid day atmosphere. Being so close to home made us
calm because we expected that these were people who were well known to us and
probably some could be our neighbors. , We never anticipated any harassment. They
or?e.red us to stop we obliged. Before we could climb down, a young man in his early
tillftJes named Achlla approached the bike.
5
"You guys are happy, yet we are morning, uhh?" he roared. Before any of us could
respond, he raised his machete in a poise to strike. I did not believe what I saw Achila do
for George. He slapped George so hard with the blade of the machete, George's shirt got
tom in the process and the blade marks were imprinted on his back for several hours of
the day. We did not dare retaliate; any attempt to retaliate was very suicidal. We begged
to be allowed to pass as George was very angry, I knew certainly that this was not the end
of the matter. It had gone beyond mere protest against flawed elections to very personal
levels that even village mates could confront each other and commit crime in the guise of
public protest. It was a fight pushed for another day. I pleaded with George to forget
about the whole incidence but he out rightly shut me down.
I would blame coincidence for what happened later that day. I knew George was a wreck
less, temperamental fighter who would retaliate given that he had the opportunity.
However, that opportunity for George seemed to have come too soon. It was about 6p,m
as we gathered next to the gate of the local primary school. The place was ideal for our
meetings because it gave us a good view of the security situation of the area. We'could
notice when the police men were approaching or if there was any demonstration in town.
Besides this, we loved these evening meetings because it gave us the opportunity to
update each other on the latest gossip in the country; such as which dignitary had jetted in
and who was expected to come to quell the violence. We were greatly encouraged by the
visits of such dignitaries especially the visits by some African head of states as well as
fanner heads of states of various countries. They inspired hope in us, We also felt that
our country was so special in the eyes of the world to warrant such a speedy response and
concern from a broad. Our neighbors, Somalia have fought for decades now. Meanwhile,
we saw Achila approaching. He was not coming to us but just passing from the local
market and was headed home. George had told our company of his ordeal in the morning.
"Is that him"? Some body asked casually. I looked at George and shook my head to signal
him to deny that it wasn't him. In our village, it is common to have more than one person
bearing exactly the same names. Our people name their children after their departed
relatives or after a common great grand f father. The name Achila was therefore very
common. George refused to budge. He rose up and approached Achila from a distance. I
had expected that Achila would break forth in a sprint but he did not. He had been the
best sprinter in the entire district during our high school days. They both came to where
we were, conversing.
Contrary to the Achila I had seen in the morning, I saw a different man. I saw a
remorseful person, apologetic and humbled. He pleaded for mercy which I really pressed
George for. It was true that Achila did not know George as he claimed; he came from a
neighboring village and George was born in Bungoma, in western province and had gone
to school there. I wanted Achila forgiven, not because he did not know George but
merely out of sympathy for him. If he did not know George, then he knew me very well.
When I joined form one in a local secondary school, he was in fonn four in the same
6
schooL We used to call hiin Billy Konchela for his prowess in athletics, We tried to
mediate between the two men but all seemed to be in vain. I tried to prevail against
George and suddenly I saw a change of heart,
"Ni sawa Chalo," (Its o.k. Charles) he obliged smiling at me. We also made Achila
realize that what he had done was very wrong. He might have been acting from a mob
psychology, but he had to take the individual responsibility for what ever he did. As a
matter of fact, had the machete slipped just a little bit, George would have been admitted
in the intensive care unit of a hospital or even dead, People have the freedom of choice,
but they can not be free from the consequences of their actions, This is a fact I ensured
sank down in to the minds of George and especially Achila.
George can be flirting at times by his facial out look; he may put on a grin on his face yet
he is burning with rage. This is something I had known about him for so long but on this
day, he completely caught me unawares. He managed to camouflage his feelings from
me. When I assumed that the matter was completely solved, and everybody was happy,
George struck with a horrifying attack. I had not noticed a piece of timber that had fallen
off the school gate. The timber had nails still attached on it at one end, George suddenly
sank the nails at Achila1s shoulders. It was so hard that Achila went down on his knees as
he gave out one prolonged scream. George wanted to give out another strike but we
overpowered him and wrestled the weapon out of his hands as he clenched his teeth
together in anger and frustration. We had created a scene which we had all along tried to
avoid. Achila lay down bleeding and writhing in pain while George still wanted to break
through the cordon around him to attack Achila. We successfully frustrated his efforts for
a second attack but we knew we were losing Achila. People were now confused on what
to do with the unconscious body that lay before them.
I did not know where they got methylated spirit, but I remember seeing Billy, one of the
people who were at the gate when Achila was first spotted, holding Achila by the head
and wiping off the blood. He massaged his shoulders with some antibacterial chemicals
and then poured the spirit over the wounds. I suddenly saw Achila tum his neck in pain
and then sat up. I must say that I was very relieved by this tum of events as I envied Billy
do what he did; administering the first aid,
We helped Achila up and escorted him home. As fate would have it, that day was our
darkest day in the entire days of the post election violence,
7
Chapter 3
Public protests were initially spontaneous. It was a common sight, seeing men, women
and children all united for a common cause; condemning the electoral system for what
they called an abuse of their rights.
January 4 at about 6.30p.m we again met at the usual school gate to discuss the security
issues of our area. The security had deteriorated so much that everybody took law in to
their own hands. A group of people could just begin some strange noise in the guise of
protesting against the fraud elections. These thugs could go to a horne and vandalize
property or steal those properties and later claim that their victim was a mole of the
enemy. This was unacceptable and we vowed to stop the unbecoming behavior. There
was an incident that prompted our meeting that evening; a member of our village took his
cows out in the field and left them there to graze. This was a common practice because
there are large tracks of land where people do rice farming. However, that day all the
three cows were slaughtered by unknown people. Only their horns, hooves and skin
remained on the scene.
I suddenly saw a large crowd marching towards our direction.
"Haki yetu" (our right) they sang. They carried twigs and portraits of the opposition
candidate. They got unruly when a petroleum tanker approached them and hooted them
out of the road. Completely oblivious of what they were exposed to, they hurled stones at
the tanker and the driver lost control of the vehicle. The driver charged at our direction
with full head lamps on. We had to disperse immediately or get run over. The vehicle
passed and got stuck in the mud behind the fence of the school. I don't know h.ow the
police got notice of the matter. [n fact, the police approached from two different
directions; from Kisumu town and from Ahero town. I suspected that the police from
Ahero was part of the escort who called for reinforcement from their counterparts in
Kisumu.
We were sandwiched between two very powerful forces which we could not dare any
counter attack. However, in any big gathering, there must always be trouble makers;
people who do not rest until they cause some commotion. They dared the police. ~ i k e a
herd of buffaloes would break through a pride of lions, the crowd charged at the agItated
police officers who also refused to back down. From experience I gained while I was a
university student, I knew the consequences of such untactful engagements with armed
policemen, I had to find away and slip out of sight It was already dark and the police
could use the cover of darkness to massacre the people. Many of our people still do not
understand the distinction between public protest and destruction of property. To many
people, public protest is like a license for them to go out there and destroy either public
and private property, or simply a license to go and loot other peoples' property. Though
8
the integrity of the police may be doubted during the post election violence, I can not
entirely castigate them. I am certainly sure that they were totally opposed to the
destruction of properties. I don't want to appear to be supporting the careless killings of
people that were witnessed during the post election violence, but [ mean that even the
police were pushed beyond their limit of tolerance. It is true that the following day there
were casualties; some were shot in the leg, some in their anns. Though there was no
death reported on the scene, but there were people who later succumbed to death in the
local district hospitaL Such deaths were never recorded as part of the post election
violence victims.
In any society, there are human vultures; people who will always take advantage of any
situation to their own personal gain. However, there is always a price to pay. At times the
price is so devastating. During the period of crisis, I used to see people, both young and
old, men and women, loot property. They looted food stuffs which was so rare during
those days. Everyone who went out to loot took as his or her strength would allow. They
carried bundles of floor, gallons of cooking oil, and bags of sugar among other
commodities. When all the prospective shops had been looted, they turned in to hard
wares to get cement, fencing wires, nails and timber. Most of the looted shops and hard
wares belonged to either Indians or indigenous foreigners. The latter were citizens by
naturalization but did not speak the local language and their respective tribes did not vote
according to the expectations of these local people. At times these looters could pick up a
quarrel amongst themselves and fight over these looted property. If two people for
instance reached a property at the same time, it was one's strength that allowed him the
access to such property. Most of them ended up with severe cuts on their bodies. One
man was not so lucky though; he attempted to grab a bag of cement, but before he could
walk away with it, other bags of cement fell over him and suffocated him to death. He
was slightly elderly and fragile, The other looters did not bother with him; they merely
went on with their looting. They were more concerned with the loot than the suffocating
man. People fought over the bags of cement that had covered him and when the dead man
got exposed, they vanished from the sight to allow the police to carry the corpse away. It
was very unfortunate.
The transport system in the country had completely deteriorated, There were few vehicles
plying the routes. The few companies that released their vehicles had to employ police
escort to offer them security, The vehicles traveled together at the same time, for example
if the buses left for the city, it would be a very long convoy with the police ahead and
behind. If one missed the buses, he had to wait for the next time the vehicles would be
traveling again along the same route which could take even up to a week and some days,
The government had ordered all the institutions of learning to open. This was an attempt
by the government to keep all the idle youths busy with some work and to still fire from
the public demonstrations. Some institutions heeded the call but others did not, fearing
that that the students could tum against each other. The universities and colleges
9
especially did not open until things had cooled down. 1 had to make the risky journey to
Maseno against my mother's wish, [ took a bodaboda taxi to Kisumu. There was a heavy
police presence in the town, a situation that greatly intimidated me. They carried A.K - 47
rifles, head masks, metal shields, teargas canisters strapped around their waists and they
wore no nonsense faces.
Very few vehicles were present in the Kisumu bus tenninus. I jumped in to one that was
teasing to leave in the next second though it lingered there for another ten minutes.
Generally, the atmosphere in the town was evidently tensed. Few people had ventured out
into the streets. The streets were littered with burning vehicle tyres, and scrap metals
which produced black smoke that billowed into the sky. When we reached the airport
junction, we met a lorry burning right in the middle of the road with youths cheering on
as it burnt. I remember that on several occasions, our driver had to go off the road to
avoid the many barricades.
Our journey from Kisumu was aided by well armed police officers who I realized were
giving security to a foreign diplomat. I did not know who the diplomat was but he was
driven in a Toyota land cruiser which had a UN plate registration. We were merely lucky
to have caught up with their convoy on our journey, otherwise I doubt if we would have
had a peaceful journey. The police went ahead of us to clear the barricades on the roads
and when they fired into the air to scare away these people, I got so scared. I have never
been used to this, but these policemen seemed to enjoy their work so much. I did not
want to imagine being hit by a stray bullet and I thought of how the old woman, my
mother, had sternly warned me against taking this risk of traveling. I knew any such news
would shock her to death.
When we arrived in Maseno, we ran into a public demonstration. The police refused to let
the people pour out into the road. The people had lit bonfires on the road which we
managed to meander through though the smoke choked us in our vehicles. The air was
dense with smoke and teargas, an indication that the public and the police had confronted
each other. The protesters had seen our police escort approaching and they vanished
behind the market buildings. This allowed us to pass through without much drama and
three minutes later, I alighted to go to my house which I had missed for one and a half
month. There is something that impressed me when I was alighting from the matatu
(passenger vehicle); I noticed that the police escort and the vehicle carrying the diplomat
had also stopped. They did not know me, and they did not stop because a Charles Obiero
was alighting from the vehicle; they stopped because they realized that this matatu was
vulnerable and relied on their security, A security officer waved at me through the
window as I crossed the road and I waved back as they proceeded. I felt honored to be
accorded such a V .I.P. treatment.
10
Chapter 4
I sat on a couch in my house, and followed through the television, the wave of violence
that rocked my country, our country. Previously I used to hear of distant wars in
Afghanistan, Somalia, and Iraq among other countries, but during January 2008 we
watched our own news. We watched our own people killing our own people. We watched
our people burning their own towns, destroying their own towns, bridges, fanns, factories
and roads.
The police, dressed in full combat paraphernalia, cordoned off the famous Uhuru Park in
the country's capital, Nairobi. Some of them walked about the garden with police dogs,
some mounted on the back of their horses with their guns strapped around their
shoulders, while others just stood at strategic positions with no nonsense pose. The
opposition had earlier threatened to stann Uhuru Park with their supporters and
inaugurate their leader as the new president of the republic. The government was merely
not ready to allow the civilian to commit treason even though the results of the election
were very controversial. Even the chainnan of the electoral body confessed to the public
through the local and international media that he did not know who had won between the
two protagonists.
The police did not spare anybody. Not even the journalists who were filming the civil
unrest in the country were spared. They had to carry their cameras by one hand, fight
smoke and tear gas by the other hand. At the same time they had to run away from the
charging police or hostile crowd that had put their lives in great jeopardy.
I am not a journalist, but I can imagine how hard it must have been so hard for them at
that time. The local news correspondents were at a greater risk than their foreign
counterparts because one could wander obliviously into a territory of the wrong tribe.
The wrong tribe in the sense that if you did not speak the language they spoke, then you
had to justify that your tribesmen voted overvvhelmingly in favor of their preferred
candidate. Such communities which did not vote the 'right way' were considered enemies
or traitors for not voting in their favor. It did not matter whether one supported the
government or opposition. Government supporters killed members of communities that
had voted for the opposition, likewise, opposition supporters killed members of
communities that voted with the government. Members of the communities labeled
'traitors' were killed by any means. It did not matter whether one was an opposition or
government sympathizer; what mattered was that one was in the right company and this
was determined by the tribe one belonged to. I remember seeing one of the foreign news
correspondents was gassed by the police and the police horse nearly trampled his camera
while his eyes were irritated by the tear gas. It was very sad and unfortunate for him.
In Maseno, it was equally not peaceful at alL Gun shots reigned in the air, trampling
sounds of people, who were either running away from the police or from the charging,
II
dreaded General Service Unit (G.S.U) could be heard from my house. "The smell of
burning plastic and tyres, mixed with nauseating smell of teargas was part of our
necessary oxygen. The people were matching along the Kisumu-Busia road. Women and
children carried twigs; young men carried stones and tyres which they burnt to express
their disappointment in the electoral process in the country. They sang in unison with one
to another.
"Hakiyetu, hakiyetu. hakiyetu ........... /I (Our right, our right, our right .... " .. ,)
The police was seen to be an enemy of the people. They had all the machinery for war
including the support of the government, while the civilians trusted in their numbers and
of course the readily available stones. It was like a confrontation between the biblical
David and Goliath; a powerful police (military police, administration police, prison
police, general service unit and traffic police) against the vulnerable public. The situation
was like this all over the country, except for towns within the central province. However,
central province exploded later to counter attack what they perceived to be violence
directed to members of their community. Pictures of murder were flushed in the screen as
hundreds of thousands fled their homes.
The whole country was engulfed in a civil war following the disputed elections. The
opposition had expected an overwhelming victory but as it turned out, there was no clear
winner. The opinion polls had greatly misled the pUblic.
"Nothing will stop river Nile from reaching the Mediterranean Sea". That was the verdict
of the opposition leader as they were being chased out of the votes tallying center at the
Kenyatta International Conference Centre (K.LC.C), in Nairobi.
It was very humiliating, seeing the opposition leader chased out like a common out law
criminal. I bowed my head in shame. I did this not because I was an opposition
sympathizer nor a supporter of the government, but because of the sheer contempt to the
rule of law and lack of commitment to democracy that was exhibited by our leaders. I
wondered how fate of a man can actually change within a split of a second. This was a
man who was already proclaimed president by certain sections of both local and
international media, because they thought he had set an unassailable lead over his
competitors, but here was his political fate dwindling for the worse.
The opposition had called for country wide protests against the :flawed elections; however
as it turned out, the public demonstrations and protests quickly mutated into tribal
clashes. Each camp wanted their own president in whom they believed would protect
their interests. It was a blood shed for their Mr. President.
People who lived beyond their perceived ethnic boundaries were hunted down during the
day and night. They were killed by machetes, beating by rungus (a big stick usually used
12
for herding cattle).Some were tied up in houses and burnt together with all their
possessions. [t is horrifying to hear that an eighty year old grand mother is cut in to pieces
and burnt to death beyond recognition. But such are the scenes we were treated to by the
media and those who managed to witness and were lucky to escape. From Eldoret, a town
in the Rift Valley towards the western part of Kenya, some members of a community
were torched when they collected themselves in side a church bUilding. In Naivasha, a
town in the heart of rift valley province, a man lost all members of his family. He saw
people carrying petrol corning towards their apartment. He was not sure of their motive
but he decided to just run and watch from a far. These arsonists collected his wife and his
children and burned them alive. The< dead bodies remained clustered together. The
children died hugging their mother for protection. The man says that he had gone to the
town twenty years before that incident when he was alone and empty handed, and as fate
had it, he left the same town alone and empty handed. I wept when I saw that man narrate
his ordeal.
There was uncertainty in the country. The angel of death and destruction hovered over us.
Every side and part of the country was death, destruction and confusion. The future
looked very dark as there was no hope that the violence would end any sooner. There was
no hope because the peace mediators who had corne earlier left the country frustrated and
equally without hope just as the people. Children suffered most due to hunger and
trauma. I used to hear the children in our neighborhood cry, demanding food and water.
In their innocence, they could not understand why their parents could not make available
the first basic need, food.
It is n o ~ that the parents had abdicated their duties; there was simply no food in the
market. All the businesses were closed. The lawlessness witnessed during this time of
post election violence could not allow anybody to do any business. One could easily lose
his merchandise to thugs or robbers who took advantage of the situation. The few Indian
shops which were initially opened got generously looted and set ablaze. Some traders
were hording their commodities. If one was lucky to find a shop, then the prices of the
goods were doubled or tripled. On a nonnal day, a 2kg packet of floor could cost seventy
shillings, but during the post election violence it used to cost between one hundred and
fifty shillings and two hundred shillings. A fifty shillings airtime credit for making a
phone call used to cost between eighty and a hundred shillings. These prices were
adjusted by the local vendors and people used to make long meandering queues to
purchase them because they came in shot supply. There were times when things could
ease off and people could dash to supermarkets to purchase the goods. However, the
number of goods one was allowed to purchase was not pegged on onels financial ability;
the goods were rationed. Ugali (com cake) is a staple food amongst our people in Kenya.
There can be any other kind of food, but without maize floor, our people will cry of
hunger. However, during the post election violence, besides the hiked prices of the floor,
one was allowed to purchase only a maximum of three packets of the 2kg floor.
13
I went to town one morning for shopping. Things were looking good that day and there
were even sizable commuter vehicles on the road. However, there is something that
shocked me; I noticed that a referral hospital in town was burnt to ashes. I was shocked.
How did the sick manage to escape from the inferno? The referral hospital was located
above a supennarket owned by some Indian business men. I was told that when the police
attacked the looters from the supennarket, they protested by setting the supermarket
ablaze but unfortunately, the fire gutted down the hospital. The police had to evacuate the
sick to another hospital. Because there were no fire fighters in town by that time, the
speed of evacuation was a matter of life and death.
14
Chapter 5
'Blessed are the peace makers, Jar they will be called the children of God. ' Holy Bible.
On January 6, 2008 at about 7p.m, I was with Ambi, a friend who works at the university,
in his house. There is something that I herd from the TV that caught my attention. I
watched in disbelief as the secretary general of the opposition alleged that certain people
were caught in Maseno, inciting the public against each other. According to the
opposition secretary general, the culprits had attempted to incite the different
communities against each other by distributing flyers which had hate language. I got
shaken to my nerves and immediately left for my house.
Maseno is a very cosmopolitan township. The Luo community and Banyore, a sub tribe
of the Luhya community are the majority residents. This is because Maseno lies at the
border between Nyanza province and western province, the home of the Luo and Luhya
communities respectively. There are other ethnic communities like Kikuyu, Kalenjins,
Kamba, Taita, Meru, and Kisii among others. This is partly because Maseno University
attracts people from far and wide; lecturers, students, farmers and business people, who
do business with the university community.
Maseno is a wonderful place. I fell in love with it the very first time I came as an intern
teacher in Maseno National School. It lies on the equator and also upon the hills over
looking Lake Victoria. This gives it a mixture of cool and warm weather. At times after
work and tired, I love taking the beautiful gaze of Lake Victoria and the hills surrounding
it. It's very soothing to see the Lake on top of the hill with distant beautiful villages of
Seme on one side and Kisumu extending on the other side. Before the post election
violence, Maseno had been very peaceful. I never expected that residents there could be
persuaded to participate in ethnic based violence. It is true that when things had began to
look bad, members of certain communities left in fear of attack.
From Ambi's house to my house, one had to pass through the Maseno shopping centre.
Tension from the broadcast had already gripped the whole region. I passed people who
were collected into small groups within the market and muttering words just under their
breath. I managed to reach my house safely.
My neighbor, Robert, had heard the news and quickly ran into my house. He was
breathing so heavily and carried a hockey stick in one hand. Robert looked worried and
unsettled.
"Have you heard the news?" He asked me. That was his first statement as I beckoned him
in to the room to have a seat.
HWe need to be very vigilant tonight. Anything can happen. I don't trust these people," I
15
said reaching for my cell phone to text some friends. I warned them to be careful in their
movement especially during the night.
The phone vibrated and I reached for it to read the text message. Staff meeting tomorrow
starts at 8.30a.m. Plan to attend DIP .The message read. This message reminded me that
the school was due for reopening the following day. The following day was a Monday,
January 7, 2008, the day we had expected our students to report back to school. It is a
tradition of the school to hold a general staff meeting on the day of opening. The
meetings are traditionally long which can last up to eight hours. This is because every
department of the school has to give their progress. The challenges of the students in the
various subjects are compared to previous candidates as at the same grade. This allows
the teachers to really focus on the individual needs of their students and suggest on the
way forward to attain the expected target.
It is usually a very comprehensive report and intensive analysis of the candidate class.
The departmental heads also share with the staff about the targets that they have carefully
guided the students to aim at, as well as a report on the expected resources needed in
order to make their respective departments to run effectively. There are a lot of things
that go on during this rigorous meeting which I may not be able to mention here.
That night, we did not sleep well. We anticipated a knock on our door at any time of the
night. I reached for a panga (machete) and my neighbor'S hockey stick, made us feel
remotely brave. In the event that we were attacked, we had to try defending our selves.
That night was a generally quite except for occasional distant gunshots from the police
who were doing their routine patrol. I guessed that they loved shooting in the air at night
to alert the neighborhood of their presence. This was very necessary because their
presence averted many crimes, especially at night. The last time I glanced at my cell
phone, it was 1.45am, and my eyes felt so heavy that I began to doze on the sofa.
I went to school the following morning at 8.00am for the meeting. The meeting kicked
off at 9.00am sharp.
After discussion of the main agenda about the school, we had to contend with the
unfortunate truth; that there was some thing we could not control as a school even though
it directly affected the smooth running of the school. This was the violence which
surrounded our school. The rioters chanted war slogans that caused our nerves go cold in
fear.
"No justice, no peace. No justice, no schooL" They threatened. They vowed to paralyze
any learning that would take place. This happened not only in Maseno area, but in all the
regions that were perceived to be opposition strong holds. The previous day,
demonstrators stonned a school in Kisumu town where they beat up the teachers and
chased them out of the school compound. It was chilling nerves to see young school
16
children caught between the police teargas, bullets and the rioter's sling shots. Parents
were called to take back their children. We knew that they meant business when they said
no justice no schoo!.
In other places across the country, for instance, Eldoret, Mt. Elgon, Mombasa, and
Nakuru among other towns, the schools were vandalized or the families of the children
were displaced. This situation caused many schools not to reopen on time.
The school teaching staff decided to go a head with the opening. Besides, it was already
late to postpone the reopening because information had not been posted to parents. Going
against the government's directive to open the school was another impediment. We were
aware of the consequences of going ahead with the opening and therefore made special
arrangements to meet it. Maseno police station was called to beef up security in the
school during the day and night. We did not tell anybody about the security arrangement
of the school; however the infonnation still got leaked out to the public, that Maseno
School had employed police officers to man the school. I thank those police officers so
much for standing up for their country. The school security team was also beefed up and
supplied with necessary resources in readiness for any eventuality. However, one thing
happened that changed the entire atmosphere of education in western Kenya; the
opposition leader visited the region and advised the people to let children go to school.
From that dayan, there was no ugly incident reported about schools. All schools
reopened a day after his visit without a single drama.
The school chaplain, asked the teachers to rise and hold their hands. While holding our
hands, w.e sang this song:
Bind us together Lord
Bind us together Lord
Bind us together with cords that can not be broken
Bind us together Lord.
Bind us together Lord, bind us together with love.
The chorus ended and the reverend motioned me to crown the meeting with a word of
prayer. The meeting ended at 4.13p.m.
17
Chapter 6
" ... regardless of race, religion or station in life, all of us share common aspirations to
live in peace and security; to get an education and to work in dignity, to love our
families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all
humanity .... j'Barrack Dbama.
After the meeting, I went to the gate of the school. I thought that the security officers at
the gate were overwhelmed with work of frisking the students and registering those who
had reported, It was a policy of the school that mobile phones, entertainment magazines,
and CDs among other things were considered contraband. It was therefore very necessary
to assist the watchmen do this work. However, the kind of work I anticipated at the gate
never materialized. Except for abput ten students, the rest of the students did not tum up
on the first day of opening. Being a national school, Maseno admit students from all over
the country. This means even students from certain tribes that were perceived to be
politically unfriendly to the region where Maseno is, get admitted. Some of these students
transferred to other schools in their regions even though others came back a year later
after the contention between the government and the opposition had been settled by the
united nation delegation. The delegation team was headed by Dr. Koffi Annan, the
fonner secretary general of the United Nations.
In as much as there was now relative calm in western Kenya, the people focused their
attention to Serena hotel with unblinking eyes. It was the centre of hope for all the people
all over the country and the team of eminent persons at the Serena hotel knew this very
well. Any wrong move from Serena would plunge the country into a more devastating
bloodshed. Meanwhile, something totally different was taking place in the Rift valley.
The post election violence had given birth to a new war front; land reclamation from the
enemy tribe. It opened wounds so old that date back to Kenya. This war
engaged two tribes who both believed that they had rights to utilize the scarce land
resource. They barricaded the roads and demanded to know the tribe of every passenger
that was on the road. In some places, for one to be allowed to pass, he or she had to shout
the name of his or her party to the arrow wielding youths. If one was found to belong to
the 'wrong party, he or she was short by poisoned arrows or just cut using machetes
before setting their bodies ablaze. The lwrong party' was merely a cover up. The issue
was the tribe. There are people who might have said their favorite party, but their
language accent and the complexion of their skin betrayed them. In Kenya, tribe defines
one's political affiliation. If a Kenyan says his name, ninety percent chance that you can
correctly predict their political party affiliation; the political parties are largely tribal
outfits. The media reported the death of a catholic priest, who had just arrived in the
country from Vatican. This is a man who did not even participate in the polls, but he had
to pay with his life on behalf of his community who had voted against his neighbor's
wishes. He was burnt inside his car on his way to the seminary.
18
Like I h,ave. already belonging t? the wrong tribe was determined by the pattern
one s tn?e voted In the polls, ,especIally for the presidential candidates. For example,
If my name IS Kamau, I was conSIdered belonging to the wrong tribe by the communities
largely voted for the opposition. Like wise if my name is Onyango, I was considered
a tnbal enemy of !he communities. that ,voted for the government. Both Onyango and
Kamau survive the post electIOn VIOlence depending on which part of the country
they were dunng the post election violence.
It is now quite obvious why all the students could not travel to school on the opening day;
the were. death traps. Others could not come because they lost everything, from
family properties to personal educational resources such as books, school uniforms
amongst other things., Some of their had to s:art all over again. For the unlucky
students who lost their parents, guardIans, brothers, sisters or cousins, it was so hard for
teachers to counsel them. They were much traumatized. Some narrated stories that to me
sounded like horror stories; how they spent days and nights hiding in the forests and
plantations, bitten by mosquitoes, drenched by heavy down pour and went without food
for several days.
The chaplaincy and the department of guidance and counseling worked round the clock
and ensured that these young boys returned to their nonna! state of mind and ready to
learn.
The discussions in this book are not everything about the post election violence in our
The story may depending on where one was during the time of
I know that thIS IS Just a mere part of the bigger picture of the post election
In Kenya. There. are people out there who severely suffered beyond any
I saw people, displaced from other parts of the country arrive in Kisumu with
their dead loved ones. They narrated their ordeal that left everyone, both young and old in
tears. I can not put all their ordeals in writing or otherwise I'll run out of paper. I
remember a young arrived in Kisumu from Thika. She narrated to the people
about a gang who kIlled her neighbours and looted their properties. The same went to her
and promised her that they will come for her life the following day. To justify their
promise, they grabbed her suckling child and cut her in to pieces before her very own
eyes, She does not understand why they killed her child but spared her for the following
day. To her, she woul? have preferred dying with her baby than seeing what will haunt
her the of her life. She braved the hostility of her neighbors and managed to reach
a polIce station and later .found her way to Kisumu. The assailants were people she very
well knew from the neighborhood. They were her friends who turned her enemies
because of the political feud between the political leaders of their various communities.
One day a convoy of Lorries arrived in Kisumu town with the internally displaced
peopl.e, The whole town became so emotional and wept at what they so; their brothers
an? uprooted from their own country because they did not belong. Out of a purely
COInCidental occurrence, one of the lOPs who were attached to Mamboleo IDP camp,
19
Kisumu roamed wide into the town to buy some food stuff for his family. People who
knew him as a n o n ~ 1 0 c a 1 began to boo him in that emotional mood of the town. They;
descended on him with beatings and by the time the police reached the scene he had
passed out.
20
Chapter 7
In April 2008, I went for an excursion visit to the Coastal city of Mombasa. I took the
opportunity to use the old ferry to cross over to Likoni from Mombasa town. I wanted to
have a walk through the slums before my friend told me that he knew a member of their
church who stays in Mathare.
It was my first time to use a ferry, and I got so nervous when M. V Nyayo detached from
the main land and launched into the water. I could not tell whether the ferry was moving
or not. I just stood there but finally,. we crossed over. I was surprised by the population
that uses the ferry on one journey across the ocean. There are very heavy trucks, Lorries,
and passenger vehicles that use the ferry to cross over to Likoni besides thousands of
people. I remembered that before I traveled from Kisumu, the small ship was on the news
having stuck in the middle of the ocean. I was terrified. Honestly, in the event that an
accident occurs, many lives would be lost besides millions of money and properties. The
ferry does not have life guards or floaters or small boats aside for any eventuality. In
1994, hundreds ofHves were lost on the same spot when a ferry sank.
There is one glaring stare that meets ones' eyes once one cross over and navigate into the
Mathare slums; the houses are labeled. On the walls of the houses, are names of political
parties that presumably the occupants identify with, Many of these houses are mud
walled with rusted iron roofs. We met this woman called Margaret, who gladly welcomed
us into her house; a one roomed house; living room with a bed room separated by a
curtain. She lives there with her two sons; John who wrote his high school exam the
previous year, and the last born, Kevin, who was then in fonn two. Margaret, after losing
her husband, decided to seek for an employment in a nearby kindergarten school, owned
by a local Church. She says that the job does not pay much, but at least she is doing
something. She chopped some mangoes and cheerfully placed before us,
"Karibuni maembe, ni tamu," (Welcome for mangoes, they are sweet) She said smiling as
she picked one piece from the plastic plate,
"Ahsante. (Thanks). Mmm, why did the people around here label their houses according
to the names of political parties in the country?" I asked Margaret.
She kept quiet for so long that I regretted asking the question. I could notice that she was
so bitter within her self; the bitterness of somebody looking for justice. She took a piece
of cloth used for covering the chair and wiped off her tears.
Margaret narrated for us a long story about how they, people of Mathare in Likoni,
suffered during the post election violence. It is a long emotional story which I can not
write here. But she says that some hired youths terrorized them and if one did not write
the name of the party he or she identify with, the rabid youths would come and write it on
21
one's door or gate. However such a person could pay for the 'offence' by his property
being looted or if they found out that you belonged to the 'wrong tribe,' then the price
was paid by one's life. They had no choice but to write the name of the party of the region
on their door to simply comply with the insecurity. People did not want to be accused of
being supporters of the 'enemy.'
Back there at home in Kisumu, there were thousands of such stories. Some of the
displaced people arrived with dead bodies of their loved ones who succumbed to death
due to the injuries or due to lack of food as they escaped from the siege of death. The
latter affected especially the children who could not go without food for some days.
Many of these secondary deaths went unaccounted for and unreported.
Kenyans esteem His Excellency Dr. Koff! Annan and his team of eminent persons. They
managed to seduce the two protagonists to agree on a power sharing deal. The other
leaders were briefed in the Kenya's national assembly on the power arrangement and it's
significant to Kenya especially at that time of crisis. Kenyans watched every step they
made with bated breath. When one afternoon on February 28, 2008, Dr. Koffi Annan
came out of Serena and announced that, "we have a deal" the National Peace Accord, the
whole country bust into song and dance. There was celebration and excitement
everywhere. From the coastal city of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, from Kisumu to
Eldoret and everywhere, people pour out into the streets. This time, they did not bum
properties but just danced and celebrated the peace deal. Everybody was thirsting for
peace.
22

Great
Rift
Valley
Eldoret

Nakuru
.Meru
.i.Cemral
KeJ'l}11l
Some of the 2008 post election violence hot spots in Kenya
23
The police charging at protestors in Kibera slums.
24
Protestors wielding some of the weapons they used to kill members of other
communities
Internally displaced people at Eldoret police station.
25
School children caught up in the post election violence fracas.
A looter carries away a SOkg bag of cement from a local hardware during the 2008
post election violence in Kenya
26
POLITICS AND PEACE
27
Chapter 8
The thread of peace that binds up our country, Kenya is very thin. Any slight provocation
would break it and plunge the country into war against itself. But the prime question is;
why do Kenyans slaughter each other for politics? There are many underlying issues that
interplay to bring about this situation; however the main issue is negative ethnicity for
political dominance.
Negative ethnicity is the cancer in this generation's society. I am certain that cancer is
never treated by wishing it a way. It has to be tackled right from its root fibers. This is the
main course for which I wrote this book. I know there could be people who have been
turned down on a job because the interviewers felt that they don't speak the 'right
language' or they don't come from the 'right part of the country.' Everyday day we stare in
the face negative ethnic stereotypes; people who still believe that certain ethnic groupings
can not be entrusted with certain tasks. [t's kind of saying that professional skills are
dependent on the language or ethnicity of an individual. I don't know. But I know that it
has been a carefully crafted idea to dwarf developments in certain regions that are
perceived to be political rivals of certain unscrupulous. selfish leaders. Certain political
leaders have mastered the game of tribal politics, which they use to advance their
political careers. In Kenya today, one is considered a political giant if he is able to rally
his community behind him. It is not what the person stands for or the political principles
he or she subscribes to; it is his or her ability to excite tribal emotions which makes such
people the tribal spokesmen and chief leaders. The tribal leaders have all these years been
busy inciting their people that other communities are responsible for their sufferings. The
communities who appear to be satisfied with the politics of the day are equally incited
that ce11ain ethnic groups are jealous of their political achievements. These tribal chiefs
ensure that they intertwine their political positions with their ethnic communities so that
they can manipulate them easily. In Kenya, if a government minister is caught up in
corruption scandals, he or she will run back to his ethnic community to organize a
demonstration. He would incite them to protest that their community is targeted unfairly
yet he acted alone without involving his community. It is very common to hear such
statements like do you want the flag taken away from your commuJ1ity? Actually, politics
in Kenya like many other African countries remain largely an ethnic affair. This trend has
killed governing institutions because power is vested on individuals who unfortunately
are not so keen to strengthen these institutions but rather seek to weaken them further so
that past injustices remain uncovered. It is carefully done by appointing friends or distant
cousins who can not betray them. It is time we understand that united we stand, divided
we fall. The country is ours together. All of us have a duty to leave a mark of peace, love
and unity; these are the greatest inheritance that we should let our children and of course
our great grand children inherit from us. They must never inherit tribal wars, inter-ethnic
hatred and political impunity.
For a long time in Kenya, the nation woke up to slogans like siasa mbaya maisha mbaya.
28
(Bad polilics, poor life). This was a slogan that entrenched impunity, corruption and
tribalism. From an ideal point of view, it is indeed true that bad politics automatically
leads to poor conditions of living. However, this was a deliberate attempt to coerce
various ethnic groups in the country to support a political system that they found so brutal
and dictatorial. The consequence of not supporting it was met with the withdrawal from
the development agenda. Poor roads, lack of hospitals and schools, and closure of
factories characterized such regions, hence they slogan siasa mbaya maisha mbaya. To
the regions that welcomed the system, every form of support was extended to them; huge
chunks of money in form of bursary allocation, well equipped hospitals and schools,
good road networks, et cetera.
These acts of impunity have created ethnic tensions, conflicts and unhealthy competitions
between different communities. It has created the politics that believes it's our time 10 eat.
'It is our time to eat' implies that every ethnic community must compete to have one of
their own become the president and repatriates the favors that comes with that office back
to his fellow tribes men. The favors are in form of posh government job appointments
such as ambassadorial appointments, parastatal heads, military recruitment and control
among others. Such acts have a ripple down effect on the face of such institutions. This is
because the appointed individuals will in tum recruit people mainly from his friends and
family who unfortunately happen to be from the same tribe. The cycle is repeated
downwards such that it is very possible to walk into a department of a parastatal,
company. or ministry and be addressed by a language you don't understand. It's almost
assumed that every person there is one of their own. These are some of the reasons why
different communities in Kenya are willing to shed blood in order to have a president
who speak their language and identifies with them. it is some sort of security for the
community who produce the president.
Before our independence from the British rule, we had national heroes. These are people
who fought so hard to secure our independence in the year 1963. Tribal chiefs came after
we attained independence. They came, first in the name of human rights activists. then
mutated into crusaders for multi party democracy. The above qualities endeared them so
much to the public to the extent that their word became the gospel truth. I am convinced
that the push for multiparty democracy was a war worth fighting for. The war against
single party state was won in 1991 however the crusaders for multiparty democracy
retreated to their ethnic bases to marshal support that will catapult them into the highest
office on the land. Some of these people may be at their final resting place; the grave, but
they passed on these traits to their kinsmen and political friends who have been so keen to
perpetuate it. In Kenya, There is a close link between kinsman-ship and politics. As a
matter of fact, serious political dynasties are in the making today, which threaten to rule
the country for many decades in the future.
Tribal mistrust though begun a while ago before the introduction of mUltiparty
democracy, it was heightened with the introduction of multiparty democracy in order to
29
influence the voting patterns of various communities. Tribal politics ensued; different
major communities fronted one of their own to vie for the presidency as this was the only
sure route to solve their problems as a community. That is what they were told by these
leaders. Other communities were the stumbling blocks and they were not to be allowed to
live in their midst, hence the tribal clashes just fell in to place. There has been post
election violence since multiparty was introduced in Kenya. The post election violence of
200712008 was merely an accumulation of the previous violence that had gone
unresolved.
There is immense potential in politics to diffuse inter-ethnic conflicts; however it has
been shamelessly abused by politicians who want to rule without leadership. I implore
our political leaders to embrace our commonness. I entreat them to talk about what makes
us Kenyans and not, what makes us Luos, Kikuyus, Kalenjins or Kambas et cetera.
This will go along way in ensuring that we have a diversified, cohesive, nation and give
much dividends of peace in our country. We may hold differences of opinions, speak in
different languages, practice different cultures and or religions but we still remain to be
Kenyans.
30
Chapter 9
It was December 27, 2002 when Kenyans went to the poils. Having grown so tired of the
mbaya, maisha mbaya slogan, they all united to democratically over through the
tndependence party that had ruled for over forty years. Then, the country was in really
bad shape; international image was tainted by acts of corruption, police brutality,
impunity and tribalism. The youths had become so hopeless, desperate and education
made no meaning to anybody. Jobs were scarce and securing one was a question of who
one knew or how much money one was willing to part with. Besides this, state COM
operations were busy retrenching their staff to keep up with the harsh economic
environment that prevailed. Kenyans were merely very thirsty for a change of how things
were to be run in their country. With one voice they spoke; they resolved to
enthusiastically vote in a new political leadership. The new government was inaugurated
on December 31, 2002 at the famous Uhuru Park. It was a moment of glory and pride as
Kenyans ushered in a new political dispensation. Bodies of people, who had come to
witness the swearing in of their new president, stuck side by side. There was not even a
place to turn one's head or to place one's hand. People climbed up to the tall buildings of
Nairobi to catch a glimpse of the inauguration ceremony. They had traveled from allover
the Those who did not have relatives in the city spent the night in the park. It
was a glonous moment that today if I look back, I think that it was a false hope that
Kenyans had risen beyond their tribal inclinations. It was also a new leadership in the
sense that the name of the party which was popularized by the leaders was new but
unfortunately, they were the very politicians who had been in the ruling party for years.
They talked of a new change, new governance. new way of doing things which
unfortunately, they had failed to do while they were in the ruling party. I can not explain
why peopl.e always love to hear the word change without really interrogating the kind of
change bemg hawked to them by these proponents of imaginary change. But I think the
human nature simply loves to tryout new things to see how they taste or feel. Actually a
survey conducted by research finns indicated that Kenyans were the most optimistic
people in the face of this planet. They expected an end to impunity, an end to tribalism,
and an end to corruption by bringing together the main political protagonists to work
together in a coalition government which was knit together by weak threads of
of understanding. They enthusiastically welcomed the new government
wtth hopes that finally change had arrived. May be one day it will go down in the history
books the unconstitutional memorandum of understanding was not honored, political
grumblmg ensued and the fragile coalition fell apart dividing the country into tribal
groupings. Corruption and tribalism multiplied as was reflected in the mega scandals of
Anglo leasing and Goldenberg scandals. The country's economy nose dived barely three
years after the new government was democratically elected. For the following two years
before. the next general election, Kenyans would be treated to political bickering, blame
the government and tribal regrouping. Unknown to many people, Kenya was
dnvmg mto the worst crisis ever, the post election violence of 2008.
31
It is quite unfortunate that Kenyans see themselves, especially in their leaders, in the light
of their ethnicity. When a president is elected, they see a kikuyu president, a Kalenjin
president and not the president of the republic of Kenya. When ministers are appointed,
they see Luo, Luhya or Kalenjin ministers and not members of cabinet of the republic of
Kenya. It is true that negative ethnicity run deep in the minds of Kenyans and unless the
problem is addressed now, it will continue to wreck havoc in this country for decades to
come. Actually, this is what makes it easier for certain insincere leaders to divide them
and cause them to fight each other.
Kenya got freedom but half a century later, her people are still not free. The problems of
the Kenyan society have over the years become the very bait that the political class uses
in order to advance their parochial interests. For example, any presidential hopeful must
talk about a new constitution which has eluded Kenyans for over two decades. They talk
of tackling hunger, good healthcare and well equipped education system among many
other good things. Once they ascend into parliament, everything is forgotten until after
another five years, the entire life of parliament for a government.
Personally, I am still waiting to see the peoples' leader who is motivated by the needs of
his country; a leader who will unite the nation into one cohesive country; a leader who
will not be a Luo, Kikuyu, Kamba, Luhya or any other, but a true Kenyan patriot.
Kenyans, must all come together and resolve that the tribal clashes we all did during the
post election violence, was the climax of everything. Never again shall one tribe rise
against the other. The choice lies right in our hands.
I would want to remind everybody, that unless we get united and remain knit together
even though the political class differ in their bickering for more power and wealth, we
will never wrestle successfully the ever increasing challenges of our time; hunger and
starvation, insecurity, joblessness, environmental degradation, deteriorating health
conditions and the ever falling standards of our education system.
When I first shared with some people about the intention of writing this book, some of
them were very cynical. But Kenyans can not afford to despair. They can once again
dream of peace, love and unity because this is where we all began in 1963, when the
white men bowed out due to our collective strength. We can achieve it. It is possible.
32
Education
33
Chapter 10
Besides politics, education is one of the key means through which positive ethnicity can
be disseminated into the country. Education goes a head of us and secures a future free of
ethnic chauvinism because it is able to penetrate deep into the minds of young ones and
the youth.
I know that the modem life has created so much financial and economic pressure on
parents, to the extent that parents delegate their parental duties to house helps, who may
not be so keen on the social growth of these children. However allow me to ask this of
you; one can delegate the duty of child care, but one should not delegate the
responsibility of bringing up the children. This must just come from you, the parent
through careful instruction as they transfonn from babies to adults, It is better to let go of
some pleasures for the greater joy of the nation,
One day, I walked in to a barber shop and found a queue of people waiting to have a
shave, In the process I met this young, talkative girl of about four years old. Her name is
Grace.
Grace amazed me so much by her intelligence despite her young age, [ did not expect
sllch a young girl to be so much interested in the newspaper that I was reading, She could
very well distinguish between the prime minister of the republic of Kenya and the
president of Kenya by a mere look at their photographs on the newspaper. She startled me
when she saw a picture of a police man holding a gun next to another man who was
holding a machete in his hands; Grace knows that when a gun is fired, it produces smoke
and a loud sound, and then somebody dies,
She knows that a machete (she calls it panga) is used for cutting trees and people who are
enemies,
I was surprised by this young angel when she told me that, "Kwa T, V yelu tuliona watu
waki chomana nyumba, halafu mom akaluambia eli hiyo nl mbaya. " (In our television,
we saw people burning each other's houses and mum told us that it is bad). Her elder
sister was not comfortable and she came and took young Grace away from me, Would
you believe that your four year old baby knows all these; that a machete is used to cut
people who are perceived to be enemies!
These are young minds that should be led in to right paths; paths that are without ethnic
stereotypes that say that Kikuyus are thieves and love money, Luos are proud and
arrogant, Maasais are ignorant and uncivilized and that the kisiis are of loose temper and
love witchcraft, Like a mother ostrich watches over her precious egg with bravery and
aggression, parents must also jealously guard the minds of their children from such
negative stereotypes, as these are the beginnings of a divided society,
34
Otieno lives in our neighbor hood with his family. He works far away past Kisumu town
from Maseno, while his wife works in Maseno University as a lecturer. The nature of
their jobs makes them rise early for work and come back so late to their house, By
5.30am Otieno must be on the road driving to work while his wife should be in her work
place by 7.00am on most occasions, Actually my neighbor has a very busy schedule
through out the week. This means that his daughter Mitchell and his son Steve must be
left under the care of a house help for most part of the week,
One Saturday afternoon, we happened to have met at the university gate and we casually
began to talk about various issues. One thing made me laugh but also got me thinking
over and over. Otieno was complaining why his children could speak in Luhya language
so fluently but could only mumble a few words in dholuo (Luo language),
"So where did you get your house help?" I asked him in anticipation.
"My sister who works in Mbale town hooked me up with her." He answered back.
My neighbor can not imagine that a house help could influence the language
development of his children. He can not imagine his children speaking another language
other than his mother tongue,
I don't want you to miss the point here. It is not wrong for a child born to Luo parents to
speak in ~ n o t h e r language. It is wrong to neglect your duty as a parent to the extent that
your house help influences the behavior of your child, The house help can clean the
nappies, wash the child, prepare her food, et cetera but your child should still see you as
the ultimate model for emulation, We as parents must therefore present our best attitudes
about others because this is what our children will emulate, If our minds are filled with
ethnic hate, we are bound to raise a society filled with ethnic hate. Children are very
innocent and honest beings. They use the words they hear people around them use, If you
love calling your son or daughter stupid, she'll call people stupid! A child reflects the true
character of the family,
I remember one day we went to work on the rice fann with my father. I was in form two
in a local secondary schooL In the process, we got arguing over school punishment
because I had complained to him, that our math teacher was very torturous; He could beat
one with anything! I remember one episode when I had been sent home for school fees. I
stayed at home for about one week. When I returned, the class had done graphs of
straight lines and solving simultaneous equations, The teacher walked in to the class
room and asked me to solve a problem he had written on the blackboard. Obviously, I
could not. He got so angry and descended on me with slaps before sending for a cane to
work on me. I became a serious truant and absconded math lessons, I told all these to my
35
father except the part of playing truancy at school; I left home for school but I never
reached school until another intern teacher was posted by Moi University.
My father then took the opportunity to narrate for me a long story of how they grew up.
The discipline of a child was a communal matter. A stranger could easily pick up a cane
and scold one if he found him doing wrong. It was not a big issue then and in the event
that one reported him to his father, such a person risked double punishment. Respect for
people was core in their training. This was done for the general good of the community.
An adult was like a parent to all the children in the community. I am aware that the
society has greatly changed from the one of my father to the one we have today. Today
we can not trust our children in the hands of strangers or even in the hands of some of our
relatives, however the moral values that are necessary for a healthy society still remains
the same. As a teacher, I have corne across parents wh6 protect their children even in the
face of sheer misconduct. Some of them would rather sue a teacher in a court of law, than
have the child punished for the wrong. They believe that their children have a right to be
wrong even when their children consume alcohol in school or threaten to bum other
students in the hostels.
I want to urge all parents not to be in haste in copying what the west does, but rather to
approach issues as befitting to our circumstances as Africans, Kenyans. There is a serious
social decadence in the west and we would not wish that the same is reflected in Kenya.
It is your duty as a parent to impart virtue into your children. Negative ethnicity may be
present in our society today but if we don't a rise and condemn it before our children. then
they might perfect the art and destroy themselves even more than we have done to us.
It should be every parent's vision to raise his or her child as a Kenyan and not as a
Kikuyu, Luo, Kamba, or as any other tribe. It is very important for children to understand
how Kenya was birthed; Kenya was not birthed through ethnic chauvinism. It was 'not
birthed by political animosity amongst our pioneer African leaders. Kenya was given
birth through blood and through unity of all Kenyan tribes from western Kenya to central,
from Eastern part of the country to the coastal part of this beautiful country. These, must
never be erased from the print of the history of our nation. Let them know about the true
heroes of our nation who put their lives on edge for our sake; Tom Mboya, a young,
intelligent, son of a servant of the colonial masters and a Luo by descent. He embraced all
tribes in Kenya as equal and endeared himself to all Kenyans by standing out for what he
believed was right. Dedan Kimathi, a true patriot of Kenya from the Kikuyu community
who remained loyal to his country, even in death. He died on February 18, 1957 fighting
for independence for his fe1low country men. He saw death as an option than to see
Kenyans oppressed in their native land by the British colonial government. Bildad Kagia,
a true citizen in deed and a leader by works; he refused the pleasures and corruptions of
political life and chose to dwell with the common man he fought for. This celebrated
freedom fighter chose to share with wanjiku (ordinary citizen) her humbJe neighborhood
36
and sufferings in the Eastland, a slum in the city of Nairobi, up to the time of his death.
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, a soft spoken leader from Bondo around Lake Victoria; He was
a brave leader by deed, a good organizer of people to press for freedom and who refused
to yield to the threats of colonialists or of anybody who stood in the path of Kenyans. He
refused to assume leadership of the country unless and until his brother and friend Jomo
Kenyatta was released from prison in Kapenguria.
These sons of Kenya must remain immortalized in our lives and in our thoughts. They are
the true standard measurement of patriotic leadership. Leadership that is ready to kill for
the love of the country. They are the true sons of Kenya after whose footsteps we should
direct those of our selves, and those of our children. As a matter of fact, though they are
dead, what they stood for should continue to echo in us and in our children. I still hear
them shouting for freedom, even more clearly today than they did half a century a go. In
their distant voices of the past, they call on all of us, especially the young men and
women to rise and proclaim, 'freedom Kenya, freedom Kenya.' The voice of Jaramogi is
more clear today than he did in 1966 assertion of 'not yet uhuru.' The voice of lM
Kariuki is still clearer and assertive than ever, 'unite Kenya and unite. '
Peace is the destination towards which our thoughts and those of OUf children should be
navigated to. Tolerance, acceptance and perseverance are the means to preserve this
precious gift from God. Like a compass needle is true and loyal to the North Pole, parents
should take the lead in training their children to be true and loyal to their country. For
example, parents should support and encourage activities that foster intercultural
understanding. You may be reserved about this but take a moment and imagine a society
where inter -ethnic understanding is so real. How far can they go in such a society? What
can stop them from achieving what they want? Who, in the name of a tribal politician can
put a wedge between them when they already know that they are but part of one another
in the larger society? All of us must come out of the negative ethnic dogmas for the sake
of peace of our nation,
Kindly, be patient as you read the story below:
There is a widow who comes from my village. She struggled to educate his son, Fred, up
to the university through harambees, (fund raising) bursary and well wishers. Being an
e x t r e m e ~ y gifted person, Fred managed to graduate with a first class honors degree in
economIcs from the University of Nairobi. Besides this, Fred was socially engaged to a
young beautiful lady from Murang'a. By extension it implies that Fred is a Luo and his
fiancee is a Kikuyu. When Fred took her fiance home to seek the approval of her mother,
the whole event turned out to be unnecessary free drama for the whole village. Fred's
mother on realizing that her daughter in law to be is a kikuyu, she started screaming and
accusing his son of plotting to kill her by manying a kikuyu lady.
This was an allegation she had heard from people; that Kikuyu ladies don't stay in their
37
matrimonial homes and they so much love money to the extent that all of them can easily
kill to get that money. It is obvious that she had been a student of an ethnic chauvinist.
These are the kinds of ethnic dogmas that a time has now corne for the societies in our
nation to erase off their minds; that a kikuyu can not marry a Jaluo, a Luo is proud and
arrogant, Kikuyus love money, Kisiis love witchcraft, et cetera. These statements may
sound harmless but to a great extent they drive societies away from each other.
It may be true that there are such previous marriages that probably failed for one reason
or the other, however we can not generalize and say all such relationships are doomed to
fail.
Inter-ethnic marriages are a means through which different communities learn each
others culture. I am persuaded that through this, if deliberately encouraged by all of us, it
will create and promote understanding between different ethnic groups in our country. [
am prompted by my conscience to suggest that the ministry of culture should look in to
away through which it can partner with the public to encourage and popularize inter
If some incentives would work, then so be it. After all, who will ever
go to war with his in laws in his right state of mind?
During the Rwanda genocide in1994, Tutsis and moderate Hutus close to a million were
killed in cold blood. Here at home in Kenya, people were flushed out of their houses or
from their vehicles during the post election violence and also killed in cold blood. The
reasons for their killings were simply because they 'bared the wrong names' or they were
born from the 'wrong parts of the country. ' marriages will automatically kill
the stereotype that if I am a Luo, then my name must just be Otieno, Onyango and not
Mogaka, Kazungu or Kamau.
It will also erase the belief that if one's name is Wafula, then his place of origin must just
be western province and not coast, Northeastern or from anywhere else within the
country.
We can all envisage a Kenya where a name will not automatically depict one's ethnic
extraction.
This is only possible if the societies across the country resolve to bridge the ethnic
divides which threatens to tear a part our country.
38
Chapter 11
"Education means more than just a certain course of stlldy. It is the harmonious
development 0/ the intellectual, physical and spiritual powers... "Ellen G White. -
Author and spiritual leader.
A major part of the solution to negative ethnicity in Kenya lies with education. The
educational system is a whole mess and therefore produces youths who are not anned
with the right knowledge to pour out into the society. We watch and complain when
students bum institutions of learning as have been witnessed in our public universities
and in high schools, yet we still insist that expulsion of rogue students, who can even kill
their colleagues in the donnitories, is outlawed! This illustration show that there is a
serious disconnect between what is taught in classrooms and what is practiced outside
these classrooms, Our students do not associate learning process with real life. They
associate the learning process with only exams. The learners see institutions of learning
as certificate awarding machineries. They do not care whether the learning process
provokes the desired behavioral changes expected from them so long as they are able to
pass their exams and receive their certificates at the end of the course. This is part of the
reason there is increased cases of exam cheating; success in life is pegged on passing the
exams and not on education. It is not my intention to propose a curriculum for our
educational system, but I think to a greater extent the system of education in Kenya is
irrelevant to the immediate needs in the society besides being impractical.
The children of Kenya are still being bombarded with the European history half a century
after attaining independence. They are still being told what goes on in the European
countries and America rather than being told of what goes on here in Africa and in
Kenya. Many at times, this kind of learning involves a lot of imagination because it
involves things they have never seen.
Imaginative learning can not produce any significant change within the learner because
they merely memorize other people's thoughts.
True education does not produce people who just memorize other peoples' thoughts, but
people who are able to think for themselves' and are prompted to act by their own
conscience and not of others. It is time the curriculum gets optimized for total learning.
Let our education address our issues; Issues that affect our continent, our country, Let our
children learn about our history and how it affects our present and how they can take
advantage of the present to affect our future.
What is the need for a child to score straight A's for describing the causes and effects of
World War I a:nd II for instance, and yet fail to know the cause and effects of the civil
war in Angola, Sierra Leone, Rwanda or the post election violence in Kenya in the year
2008?
39
These are some of the missing links in our education: We produce academically bright
students who can not help fix our problems! There is a pressing need to shift the focus
of our educational curriculum not only to science and technology but also towards
African and of course Kenyan history in order to create a society that is more aware of
her self and her ailments.
It is disappointing to see young men and women in Africa and Kenya in particular who
are so keen to go and live in the European countries because they have nothing to be
proud of at home. They can only talk about corruption, poor governance, wars and poor
state of roads and hospitals, etc.
These youths read in books and papers, watch in TV s and in movies how the west is
beautiful, advanced, peaceful and full of economic opportunities. Who can never covet
such a paradise on earth? The problem here comes as a result of too much appraisal of the
west hence leaving everyone with the desire to go and settle there. However, they never
think of how Africa and their countries of origin can be transformed to be the beautiful
and peaceful states like the beautiful European and American cities they covet. It is not
their fault not to think in this line; it is the fault of poor educational policies and the
curriculum they are exposed to. Besides this the media has done more than enough
negative coverage on Africa. This has over the years produced a society which is not
patriotic to her self. It is about time we stress the pride of being African and of being
Kenyan. The future society will not be less corrupt, more patriotic to herself unless this is
done.
There is a great need now to intensify the teaching of tolerance and positive ethnicity in
our schools and colleges. The youths are the labor force of tomorrow's Africa and the
future of Kenya; we must never allow them to perpetuate tribalism as is the case today.
Their minds must be secured of any ethnic prejudice. They should be taught in
classrooms, without censor, the damages that negative ethnicity has caused in our
country, the pain and retrogress that corruption has done to the nation and her
development.
These young ones need to know now that though people may be different in the color of
their skin, the manner of their speech or in the orientation of their thought processes, but
we are all the same. Tolerance is now a basic ingredient for any progress in our nation
and in our continent.
The children will only learn these through the adults; their parents and teachers who share
in my dream for united, cohesive societies.
You should now be aware of the fact that negative ethnicity runs so deep in our present
society. It's very unfortunate that even the very agents of education could be victims of
this social cancer. Recently I got arguing with a colleague about the Successes and
40
failures ofthe government of Kenya. I was very shocked to learn how he takes on some
of the failures of the government. To him the government is failing because of a
particular ethnic group within the country. He hates them without remorse and without
hiding anything to the extent that he swears that in the event that he falls sick, and needs
a blood transfusion; he'd rather die than receive a blood donation from any member of
that community.
This reflects how deep negative ethnicity runs in the blood of Kenyans. I believe that this
friend of mine represents hundreds of thousands of people out there who still believe that
people who do not speak their language are not worthy of respect 01 honor. They believe
that the blood that flows in a 1aluo is different from that which flows in a kikuyu, or in a
Luhya or Kamba.
If such statements can come out from an educator who is entrusted with youths and
children so that he can transform their minds and impart knowledge and a change of
attitude in them, do you think we can expect any significant improvement in our society?
Obviously not!
Everybody must now realize that as we speak to the children and the youth, we speak to
hundreds of generations in the future. When one misleads a child, a whole generation of
people suffers. It is possible that some educators' minds out there could be dotted with
ethnic chauvinism, it is profitable to our country that we deny the youths' minds such
statements that will provoke ethnic hatred in them. Tell them the truth, even when you
don't believe in that truth. The truth that all people, irrespective of their color, race,
religion or language are all the same and are worthy of respect and honor. This will go
along way in bridging the ethnic divide in our diverse society.
When I was in secondary school, our teachers did something that transformed me and
stuck in my mind to date, Lela secondary school, where I attended my secondary
education is a mixed district day school situated about 15 kilometers from Kisumu town.
99% of Lela's population is Luo, however due to political differences in the political
class, the Luos were perceived to be fierce enemies of the Kalenjin community, a tribe in
Kenya. There were thousands of propaganda which discredited one community before the
other besides tribal clashes along the border between these two communities, especially
around Awasi and Sondu borders. Personally, I confess that before I joined Lela, I hated
and dreaded meeting a Kalenjin owing to what I heard being told about them, They were
very foreign and wild to my imagination. However something happened in our school
that totally changed my perspective and attitude towards this beautiful and loving
community. Our teachers forged partnership between our school and another schoo! from
the rift valley, the home province of the Kalenjins. The schools' name was Meteitei
secondary school. Then, Meteitei was a mixed school just like our school. [t composed of
students from mainly the Kalenjin community. These two sister schools kind of brought
together two communities whom to the eyes of politicians and the public, could never
41
share anything in common. But to us, the students, it was an opportunity to exchange
knowledge and learn each others culture. The teachers of our schools set us so free that
they allowed us to have healthy relations. In our school during those days, it was
fashionable to utter a few words in KaJenjin even though mother tongue was strictly
prohibited. Meteitei visited our school on several occasions and we too visited their
school, not once or twice but it was like a tradition every term. We were part of each
other.
I remember one Saturday morning our sister school came for a math discussion when
Lela school was hosting the district ball games. I could not resist the ecstasy that ran
through me when I saw teachers and students from both Meteitei and Lela came out
together as one united force to cheer our soccer team. It was a glorious site to behold.
Then, in my young adolescent mind, I did not know that one day I will ever write
anything about it, but I remember telling my father about it.
There are many students and young people in central province who probably carry that
burden of fear of the Luo or Luhya communities probably because they have neither seen
them nor interacted with them. They have only chosen to believe the report of other
people; that these are bad, insignificant or uncircumcised people. There could be children
in the Northeastern and eastern provinces of our country who probably have never seen a
Maasai or a Turkana and many others from different parts of our country. In order to
erase the ethnic stereotypical kind of thinking off their minds, they should be given a
chance to visit, talk, interact and make friends with these kinds of people who they think
are so much different from them. I am certain that out of such simple ventures, they will
learn to appreciate other people the way they are besides learning a lesson; people are all
the same, it's the way we think that makes all the differences.
42
Chapter 12
The in. Kenya are categorized in to national, provincial, district and private
ThIS kmd of classification of schools in one way or the other has contributed
mdtrectly to the problem of negative ethnicity in Kenya. This is because this system does
not allow any for our to exposed to the rest of other Kenyans from
an age. It kmd of restnct them to theIr ethnic boundaries, except for may be the
natlOnai schools which admit students from all over the country, but which again majority
of students do not also qualify to join.
Majority of children do not qualify to join national
schools because ofthetr pre-dISposItion to dIsmal performance. It is unfortunate that they
are the majority group in Kenya.
Due to poor economic situations. that they face at home; they lack good study materials
such as books and other academiC t?ols, attend the poorly equipped public primary
schools,. and they lack kerosene to lIght theIr lantern lamps for studying during the night.
These kmds of lamps also pose a great danger because they produce smoke which these
poor and this adversely affects their health. Majority have no access to
espeCIally those the rural up and the urban slums. Many at times, they
go Without proper food and thiS affects their concentration in class. Can you learn in an
empty stomach?
All the factors above work the success of these children. Many of them drop out
of due to of motivation to move on. Some drop out and get married at an
under Jom bad company and end up in the streets or join gangs that commit
the SOCial eVIls.
F the ones. that persevere to the end, many of them manage meager average scores
which no school can admit. This category of students ends up in district day
schools and VIllage C.O.F schools where the only new thing they are getting exposed to is
probably the new secondary syllabus.
In Kenya today, it is so hard to find more than one ethnic group within a district. I mean
more than one ethnic group that pennanently lives within the same district. This is
districts have been split up into very tiny regions for political and
admm?stratlv.e purposes. At this rate [ think there will come a time when a district will be
occupied by Just a mere single clan!
In the term, our institutions of learning manage to successfully process individuals
mm.ds are n?t open national issues .. They send out youths back to the society
wah httle mfonnatlOn that IS not enough to Insulate them from ethnic manipulation of
politicians. They kind of become what I call educated fools. An educated fool is a very
43
-< -
dan{Jerous person because he seems to follow slogans more than the voice of reason, I
wish the political leaders would see the negative impact that this trend of dividing regions
is causing on education!
Besides this it is the rich and the ruling class who continue to enjoy the best of
everything. As a matter of fact, most students who join . schools and
provincial schools are from economically stable backgrounds. ThIS IS because of.their
pre.disposition to excellent performance in primary they attend well
academies and schools, they have access to almost everythmg they need for their studIes;
books, pens, internet, electricity, good diet, etc. These, gives them an edge over their poor
colleagues. This system of education in Kenya has got no provision for the poor, because
it only seeks to retain the status quo within the society. Leaders may be opposed to the
scraping of the quarter system because they are aware that if it is it
the status quo in the society. They refuse to see it as away through WhICh positive socml
growth can be attained towards the healing of the nation by bridging the gap between
different ethnic groups in Kenya. However, there is a dire need to change the way our
schools are classified. The government needs to ensure that any student can learn
anywhere in the country as long as he or she has met the minimal requirements for
admission in to a secondary schooL This can not happen unless all schools are improved
in terms of facility acquisition and student teacher ratio. The current project by the
government to build a centre of excellence in every constituency in Kenya is a laudable
project. However, if such centers of excellence would be built to admit students all
over the country, it would be the best project the government has ever done on educatIOn.
The cost and the energy involved here may be very enonnous, but the impact it will have
on the social health and on the economy of this nation is worth the effort.
Institutions of higher learning should also take lead in the war against negative ethnicity.
Today, one of the places where nepotism, corruption and tribalism, and negative ethnicity
are very much a live is in the universities and colleges in this country. This is witnessed
in the students' lives and the staff recruitments and promotions among
other indicators.
If you will today walk in to the universities' halls of residence, it is rare to find students
from different ethnic backgrounds staying together in the same room. They tend to feel
more comfortable around other students who speak their language. The few who happen
to be co-habiting together are merely forced by circumstances for lack of accommodation
else where. This kind of fear exhibited by these students is a carryover effect from high
schools because these are two very different people meeting for the first time in campus
with a person who speaks a language he or she does not understand. On many occasions
these students make their own special arrangement and swap their roommates as they
proceed to proceeding years of study or research.
Lately, there has been a rush by the universities taking the education to the grass roots.
44
This is a bold and commendable move; however it should not just be a means of making
extra money; they should have the content deliberately biased towards solving the
immediate societal issues. In my personal opinion negative ethnicity is a national disaster
in Kenya and it is about time programs are developed and intensified to counter it. Like
AIDS education which is compulsory in most universities and colleges, cultural studies
and positive ethnicity should be included amongst the core courses irrespective of the
faculty a student may belong to. This will promote intercultural awareness besides
creating national pride in these young Kenyans. Kenyatta University has so far tried to
create inter- cultural awareness amongst the students. The University has yearly program
dubbed 'the culture week festival,' during which all sectors of the university meet to
celebnite our culture and heritage. The festival is opened by inter-denominational
worship where all faiths in the university congregate to worship God.
This has helped Christians and the Muslims communities in the university to understand
each other. The effect has been a wann, cordial relation between the Muslims and
Christians within the university. I remember that despite my extreme Christian leaning, I
was able to stay very comfortably with a very committed Muslim in one room during my
third year at the university. It is not only me, [ saw many other committed Christians
living peacefully with Muslims in the same halls of residence. Abdi, my roommate in
campus, is a Muslim from Mandera, in North Eastern Kenya. He rarely did refer to me
with my name, Charles. He was more comfortable calling me, brother I up to the time we
graduated, We rarely meet of late, but when we do, we are very comfortable with each
others' presence. We joke and remind ourselves of the life we shared in the university. I
remember one day I bumped on him in Nairobi, and I reminded him of one time, how he
provoked. me to be waking up early before day break to worship, We laughed over it and
parted.
This is the kind of love and respect that we must all dream of; that one day, people from
various ethnic communities and religions will coexist in peace, love and unity within the
estates of our towns and in the villages of our country.
Besides the inter-denominational worship during the culture week, there is a show case of
various cultures from different ethnic groups in our country. This is done through
traditional songs and dance, through drama amongst other cultural practices. During such
occasions, students get a chance to see how different communities are socially structured.
For example, what the kikuyu community value, how they give their daughters and sons
in marriage amongst other cultural practices, and a sample of some of their traditional
food.
Out of such simple initiatives, students have been able to understand each other deeply. I
recall an event on one evening, my first year roommate; Patrick Mwende, a Mcru by
ethnic extraction bought a bowl of omena, a type of fish very popular with the Luo
community. He asked me to fry the omena for our supper that evening. Mwende did not
45
just wake up and started loving omena, no. He had an opportunity to taste some of the
Luo delicacies during the culture week celebrations and he loved it.
I encourage colleges and universities to follow suit in following after such noble ventures
that would enhance understanding between different communities that live in this
beautiful country.
I also ask the political class to esteem unity and understanding besides
transparency in their dealings with the public affairs. Many youths and students who
aspire to become politicians derive their motivation and inspiration from the way these
politicians conduct themselves. The youths want to behave and act like they do. It's kind
of an induced modeling where a prominent person influences somebody's character
without deliberate actual mentorship.
This has adversely affected the students' socio- political lives in the colleges and
universities where we expect to have ideal political students' organization. For instance,
durino- the constitutional referendum in Kenya in the year 2005, the country's politics was
very polarized along ethnic lines. The politicians ethnicised the constitution and
encouraged their tribes men and women to vote for or against the proposed draft, not
because it was good or bad respectively, but because they felt their ethnic interests were
represented or not.
The same ethnic, political alignment in the national politics is reflected in the students'
political alignment The students form political camps as shown by the
by their political leaders. If political leaders from western Kenya merge with
leaders from Eastern Kenya, then this is what is reflected in the student's political
arrangement. This is not healthy.
The vision to have an issue based politics which is accountable to the public should npt
just be a mere dream to achieve by 2030, it should remain our every day's endeavor to
address issues that affect us as a nation more than issues that affect us as an ethnic group.
When an ethnic group suffers, the whole nation suffers with them. Martin Luther king
junior would put it like this; an injustice to any community is all injustice to all
communities.
I also urge the young men and women of this generation who have the urge to
serve this country, Kenya and the entire continent of Africa, that they should look outsIde
the country for role models until our own leaders will be able to exhibit any trait worthy
of praise. This is because the current leadership has failed to provoke interests worthy of
emulation. No one can emulate a failure and expect to succeed. It has never happened.
One becomes what he does.
F or a long time, student leaders have been seen as radicals who are bent towards inciting
46
the students to riots and destruction of properties in campus. This kind of perception on
student leadership should also change alongside the politics of radicalism exhibited by
some of these student leaders. This can be an opportunity by the university to deliberately
nurture them for a future healthy leadership. These are young men and women who
should be motivated to represent the feelings and thoughts of their peers to the governing
authority of the college or university.
In Maseno School, the student leadership goes through a very rigorous interview. After
their selection, the school organizes seminars where they are trained in leadership skills.
Besides this, they have the constant weekly meeting with teachers and the principal who
deliberately goes out of their way to guide them. The Principal of Maseno School is a
guru in school management and leadership and he believes that these are children, and
should therefore not be delegated to, the entire duty of policing their colleagues; they
must be guided. I recommend this for other schools and colleges across Kenya and
beyond.
47
...
RELIGION AND PEACE BUILDING
48
Chapter 13
"Every hlllllan being can be made to change his or her violent behavior into a peace/ul
one, by virtue of human natllre itself which possesses an inherent partiality jor peace"
Mahatma Gandhi.
Pastor Andrew of the redeemed gospel Church, Maseno, defines negative ethnicity as
'failure to live a patriotic life; failure to recognize and appreciate other ethnic groups or
people who may be different from us in one way or two. '
Look at how the Oxford dictionary defines a patriot: A person who loves his or her
country especially if he or she is ready to defend it against an enemy.
It is undisputed fact that different persuasions of faith lack the ability to militarily defend
the country from the physical enemy. However, it should be the business of Christians,
Muslims, Buddhists or any other religious group to send out patriotic and faithful
followers who will defend this country from the enemy, tribalism. This is the arch enemy
which has dismantled all physical and spiritual weapons of our nation. It has permeated
all sectors of the nation; from politics, business and even to the church. It has claimed
lives of innocent people and negated our economic and social growth as one nation.
Actually. negative ethnicity. nepotism, and corruption are the contemporary social
cancers of our time that plague any ordinary Kenyan today. Many Kenyans suffer daily in
their pursuits for jobs, careers, business opportunities, and even in their services to God
in their ~ l a c e s of worship!
Like I have already stated above, there was some ray hope in the 1990's and slightly
before. when a few leaders, human rights activists both young and old, rose boldly to
condemn some of these in justices. However, when the same leaders were given the
mandate by Kenyans to change the country for the better. they only managed to perfect
the very act they once condemned. Kenyans were united and fronted one candidate to
overthrow the forty year rule of the independence party, Kenya African National Union
(K.A.N.U), The goal to dethrone the party from power was achieved; but the war against
the social injustices was never won. The expectations of Kenyans still remain unmet even
after the independence party was democratically over thrown. Certain section of the
leaders are quoted in the media when they say that, so long as one of their own is in
power i.e, one from their tribe of origin, they don't mind any other thing; they wanted a
change of guard at the state house, not a change of reforms. Such statements from the
higher echelon of leadership are irresponsible. They only serve to entrench impunity and
negative ethnicity. This has made the corrupt to continue being more corrupt. The poor
have continued to be poorer and the landless have continued to be more landless. Kenya
is still capable of unity; unity that will enable even the vulnerable in Turkana and
Northeastern to proclaim Uhuru, freedom. The problems that the ordinary citizen faces
49
are all the same, there is therefore nO room to harbor feelings of hate towards other
communities that do not speak one's language. There are only more rooms of love and
cooperation with other communities all over the country to press the leadership in order
that they perfonn better.
Religion transcends ethnicity or race. It is therefore a very important tool that should be
used to unite the society. Religion that is only motivated by the need to gain more
converts but which can hardly influence the society with the message of peace, love and
unity is no religion at all.
I am persuaded that all religions of the earth are for the general good of man kind. The
problem comes when it is interpreted by someone who is interested in achieving selfish
end. Religion, when misinterpreted is capable of entrenching hate and division within the
society. The 'men of God' should therefore aspire to remain true to their calling. They
must never compromise the scripture for some selfish ethnic or political gain. From my
Christian faith I learn from the Bible that Jesus is the prince of peace. He is love. In other
words, love i; His nature. I learn that Christians are ambassadors of Jesus Christ, the
begotten son of God. If Christians are ambassadors of Christ, then Christians should be
ambassadors of peace and love.
Galatians 5: 19,20
... The acts of sinflll natllre are obviolls: sexual immorality, impurity ami debauchery,
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred. discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish.
(lissentions,/actions and envy .... (N.1. V).l have Bolden the words to emphasize my pomt
here. The church has the responsibility to rise against forces that plant seeds of hatred,
discord, dissensions and factions among the society. It's unfortunate that certain sections
of the church allow politicians who are bent towards perpetuating ethnic hatred and
discord to address their congregation with such sentiments. I urge all church leaders to
shun such people who incite communities to hate each other. They may lavish the church
with wealth, but the peace, love and the unity of the entire society is more worth than the
wealth of a single denomination or religion.
During the campaign in 2007 general election in Kenya, Distinguished, and
respected servants of God openly took sides in politics. The most amazing fact IS
they took sides with politicians based on their ethnic backgrounds and not the pohcles
they stood for. Church leaders from central Kenya supported the candidate from that
region and openly campaigned for him. The same was observed from Nyanza
church leaders openly supported the candidate from that region and campaigned for him.
For example, the debate on majimbo (federal system of government) divided the church
in to ethnic camps; the church leaders from central province were openly opposed to the
idea because the politicians from their region were opposed to it. Like wise the church
leaders from Nyanza province were pro the idea because the political leaders from
50
Nyanza province were for the federal system of government. The question is that, how
can one church speak with divided tongue if not for guarding their ethnic interests?
Probably there is something our spiritual leaders have never come to understand; that
they are opinion shapers in the society. People look up to what they have to say and
assume that it is the will of God. They should therefore be very careful and reserved with
their sentiments. Politicians know this fact and they would therefore do anything to win
the favor of such spiritual leaders. Kenya is approaching another general election, and it's
not long before we start seeing political contenders mutating their spiritual faith like
chameleons. They would want to be Christians to those who are Christians and Muslims
to those who are Muslims. This is done with the sheer selfish desire to swing the voting
pattern to their favor. I usually find it very comical seeing somebody who has never been
a Muslim, dressed in the long white robe, and bowing down in worship for the mere
desire for power. Or, a person who does not know a single doctrine of Buddhism dressed
in those kilembas (headgear) to only appear in cameras that he identifies with such people
who practice the faith. When it comes to deception, politicians in Kenya are masters of
the art. I don't know, it could be a principle in politics or power.
Religious organizations should rise in order to unite the nation. Religion should be the
umbrella under which everybody finds solace and acceptance. The time has now come
that the people who propagate negative ethnicity and conflicts in the places of worship
must be rejected and ostracized by the people. They should never be allowed to advance
their destructive interpretation of the holy books of worship .
It is very appalling when one walks into a church building or into a mosque located in a
town or any other cosmopolitan setting and find that the service is run by a particular
mother tongue instead of Swahili or even English. When a service is run in mother
tongue in such a demographic setting. it implies that the membership of that church or
mosque is strictly restricted to one ethnic community and not from any other. This is a
tribal grouping and not a religious congregation and it poses a very great danger of
sending out tribal messages which are very detrimental to the social health of the nation.
Such, should be scrutinized and regulated by the state. It is not wrong to conduct spiritual
services in onels mother tongue. It is wrong to conduct spiritual services in one's mother
tongue when it is intended to lock out other people who do not understand such a
language.
There is also this symptom that has plagued the so called 'main stream churches' for far
too long. Their congregations are large which makes it difficult for the priest or pastor to
reach to individual needs. In order for these churches to cater for their large masses, they
split their members in to cell groups. This is good and very well in order. However, some
of these cell groupings tum out to be of tribal out fit that exist within the mainstream
congregation of the church. Such, should be checked and stopped before they tear the
church a part. When a church is tom a part based on ethnic interests, the negative impact
is felt in the wider society.
51
Pastor Rick Warren the author of the book titled 'Purpose driven Church' states in his
book that a church i ~ an organism and not an organization. This is a fact that I agree with;
an organism is a living being with parts working together, while an organization is simply
an organized group of people or system with parts not necessarily working together. A
church that is run like an organism works together because they see themselves as
members of the body of Christ. This will promote unity in the church and hence unity of
the society at large. I appeal to the religious leaders to take the front line in preaching
unity and peace to their congregations.
Read the book of Genesis II; 1-6 below:
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As the men moved
eastward, they found a plain ill Shinar and settled there. They said to each other;
{Come let's make bricks alld bake them thoroughly". They used bricks instead of stone,
alld tar for mortar. Theil they said, {come, let liS build ourselves a city with a tower that
reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a flame for ourselves amillot be scattered
over the sllrface of the whole the earth. Bllt the lord came dowfl to see the city alld the
tower that the men were bllilding.
The Lord saill, "If as one people speaking the same language, they have begu" to do
this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." (NI V)
I want you to understand from verse one that the whole world had one language and
common speech. This means that, all the present languages of the earth are merely
developments from the original language of man. All men belong to the same
community, the community of mankind, created after God!s image. Notice that God
created the earth and He put man in that earth to take care for it. God did not create
Africa, America, Europe or Asia, no. The bible says He created the earth. All these other
names are creations of men out of their evil heart to rule by fixings people where they
think they should belong to. The bible does not say he created white men, black or
Indians, no. The Bible documents that He created man in His own image; whether blac.k
or white, Indian or Arab we are all created in the image and likeness of God. There IS
therefore no point of segregating people based on their races and by extension their tribes
or based on the language they speak. It's interesting to note that religion does not come
from God. God never brought religion on earth. Religion is man made. God simply desire
that we worship him in the beauty of His holiness and not in the doctrine of our religions.
Doctrines of religions have brought divisions among the society; however it has not
changed the nature of God. He is still holy.
Genesis 1 :31:
God sawall that he had made, and it was very good and there was morning alld
evening- The sixth day. (NI V)
52
Everything God made was very good from Africa to America, from Europe to china and
even up to Australia. Absolutely everything He made was very good. This is why an
ethnic group or race should never esteem itself above others based on the language they
speak, the culture they practice or even by the color of their skin.
All languages and different races of people are equally good before the almighty God.
Genesis II (above), records that when there was one language, men planned to build a
city with a tower that reaches to heavens. It is worth noting that these men recognized the
power that unity can bring forth. It was such a wonderful power that even God came
down to see the city and wondered at the power of men when they speak in one language.
Notice how God wonders; 'that if as one people speaking the same language they have
begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible Jor them. 'Speaking the
same language' means a state of being of the same mind with one another and having a
unity of purpose; a purpose to do good and not evil. It is not a unity of purpose when an
ethnic group unite together to decimate another ethnic group for their own selfish interest.
When people from all religions, races, and languages will come together and be of the
same mind, then only God would stop what they set out to do. The motive of men at
Shinar was to build a city whose tower reaches to the heavens and to make a name for
them. This was selfish in the sight of God. Selfishness is evil before the Almighty God
and He confused their language. There is not a single nation in the whole world that can
develop, unless her people decide to unite and let go of their minute differences such as
cultural divide and language variation. They must be of the same mind one to another.
They must be united in their thoughts and in their mission in order to accomplish the
goals of their country. Kenya is not an exception. Kenya as a nation has a vision to be a
middle income earning country by the year 2030. This is according to the economic
strategy mapped to spear head this vision. Unless the people of Kenya will tell
themselves that 'let us all come together and build for ourselves a country with an
economy whose impact will be felt the whole world over,' then the economic vision for
2030 will continue to be a mere mirage.
This call for the unity of the people to come out and speak in one voice and one language
should be made, first from the pulpits of our churches and mosques, secondly, from the
political leaders and lastly from all of us, Kenyans.
We must now forget our ethnic backgrounds and come together to foster our unity and
integration as one nation! If the unity of the Kenyan people continues to be a thorn in the
flesh of the political leaders, then I am afraid; the vision 2030 is a mere rhetoric to woo
the electorate to return such politicians back to the seat of power. Like I said earlier, for a
nation to progress they must overlook minute differences such as ethnic affiliations of the
people and instead get united to be of the same mind. Can you imagine a football match
or even a basketball match where the players of one team are not united! One gets the
ball and because he thinks he is a star enough, he ignores the support of his colleagues.
That is the sure route to their defeat.
53
Like the unity of players in a match earns them victory, the unity of a nation earns them
progress.
Pastor Andrew argues that religion has erected the very tent of negative ethnicity in
Kenya. Due to lack of a vetting body, some individuals have lurked in to congregations in
the guise of spiritual leaders; pastors, evangelists and prophets. They have continued to
fill the minds of people with sentiments of hate and ethnic prejudice. Their worship
centers have become political tents where politicians go to incite one community against
the other. There is a solemn call on all spiritual leaders to embrace love as scripted in the
holy books. Kenyans, especially the ones I interviewed for the purpose of putting this
piece of work together, believe that such spiritual leaders should look for the ancient
paths and walk in it.
Religion has more influence and ability to forge and foster cross cultural social
relationships. Youths can be guided through healthy relationships and mentored to
combat challenges that corne with cross cultural marriages, The religious leaders should
let the youth of this generation to see themselves as part of one another though they may
speak in different tongues or practice different faiths. For instance, interfaith and inter-
denominational conferences in the country would bridge the ever widening gap between
Christians and Muslims in the country. This will cause the youth from all over the
country, irrespective of their religion, economic class or political affiliation, to
congregate and discuss together matters or issues that affect their coexistence. I believe
that this is a worthy course that will foster national integration and healing,
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Chapter 14
Revolution to save Kenya will one day come. However it will not corne from the
established ,Politicians who have unfortunately mastered their way back to the seat of
It come selfish leaders who are enticed by the love of money
to Jom politics III .the gUise of brmgmg a godly change, no, It will not come through
unlawful acts of Violence too. However, the absolute truth is that the country is in dire
need of a completely, fresh and youthful leadership.
It wH.1 come from young men and young women who love their country first before
anythtn? else. M:n women whose hearts are free from ethnic provincialism; men so
brave like blbhcal Moses. who did not fear the consequences of seeking a just
treatment of hiS people, and their freedom, and women so brave like Debora who offered
her self to be used of God to Judge Israel at a time when there was no law or king in
Israel. (Judges 4)
These can only be youths trained in the love and light of Christ. It is the duty of church
leaders, pastors, bishops, priests etc to groom them and to shape them so that they may
kn?,,:, what true is. I know there are a lot of people who could be thinking that
leadership IS from political leadership; well this is true to a very
hmlted Good spmtual leadership breeds a healthy political leadership. Political
leadershIp depends on spiritual leadership for guidance. This is the reason God
consecrated the tribe of Levi in Israel to be priests. They took care of spiritual matters
but also as king's advisors on political matters such as when to go to war or
an? on ,maJor that affected Israel. Actually, Israel provides a pure blend of
spmtual polttlcal. leadership. It is true that politics is dirty in Kenya and in many
other Afncan countnes; however people continue to kill one another as a result of
motivated, violence, This is why godly youths must now go out and shine the
and love of Chnst to change the whole political system in this country for a healthier
nation.
It should be the business of every religion to groom and inspire leaders who will go out to
the world affect. it with the message of peace in this war tom world, hope in this
desperate society, umty and reconciliation in times of mistrust and hatred among us.
Youths must never, give up on their future. Time is on their side and the future surely
belongs to them. It IS up to the youth of our country to choose for them the kind of future
they . N? ?ne is ever too young or too old to change something he or she dislikes,
espeCially If It IS for the good of the society. Look at the life of Moses; Moses a young
born at time of a king's decree to kill all Hebrew children of his age. He
survives the onslaught and instead gains favor from the king's daughter. He
gets raised m and becomes a likely successor after pharaoh and probably
expected to contmue With the oppression of the Hebrew society. (Get the story }rom
exodus land 2)
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The book of Hebrews 11 :24-27 states; "By faith Moses when he had grown lip, refused
to be known as the son of pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated a long with
the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. faith h.e
left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he perceived because he saw hlln who IS
invisible. (N/V)
Never before have had we needed such faithful, true and brave leaders like Moses as
much as now. Leaders who will call tribalism by its name and condemn it, leaders who
will refuse to share in the spoils of corruption but rather expose them though the heavens
fall down on them.
I make a call on all religions in this country to see in to it that they incubate coveted traits
that comprise good leadership and governance, into their faithful.
There is a story that gives me much inspiration:
Daniel; 3-4.
The king ordered ashpenaz, chiefofthe court officials to bring in some of the Israelites
from the royal family and the nobiUty- young men without any physical defect,
handsome, showing aptltude for any klnd of learning, well lnformed, quick to
understand and qualified to serve in the klng's palace. He was to teach them the
language and literature of the Babylonians. (N.LV)
These were a few ofthe captives of Judah. They included Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and
Azariah. They were to be trained for three years before they could join serving in the
king's palace.
I want you to understand that after the three year period of training, Daniel and
company from Judah was found to be ten times better than any of their youthful
They were not only able to serve in the king's palace, but were also able to become kmgs
in their land of captivity, Babylon.
. and Daniel was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. (NIV)- (Daniel 5;
29)
It is not the corrupt, ungodly, Babylonian training that made these handsome young men
from Judah to be knowledgeable in all kinds of wisdom, no. These youths did not even
for once, forgot the God centered, Hebrew training they had received in Judah .. They
were taught fidelity to the only true deity, Jehovah even in the face of death. The? dId
fear any consequence even if it meant going through the fire, God, seemg their
faithfulness, filled them with knowledge and wisdom to understand anything and to
interpret any language on earth and in heaven.
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The story of Daniel and company speaks not only to Christians but also to all religion of
the earth on the essence of bringing up righteous and faithful youths in accordance with
the word of God. Youths who will not only serve in their places of worship, put youths
who will serve the whole nation, because a people trained in the knowledge of God are
ten times better than the corrupt, tribal, non-believers.
See Daniel 6 below;
........ now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps
by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
At this the administrators and satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel
in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no
corruptlon in him, because he was trustworthy and nelther corrupt nor negligent ....
NIV)
The training that Daniel received in Judah changed his whole perspective on work and
leadership. As a worshiper of Jehovah, He knew that for one to serve effectively trust
among the people must be worked out, and for one to lead effectively, one must avoid
corrupt dealings.
Through these qualities, the destiny of Daniel was beckoning for kingship over Babylon.
Daniel sought a transparent government in Babylon. The welfare of all people in Babylon
was his desire but he also sought an opportunity to influence the kingdom of Babylon
with the message of his God. Nothing was going to stop Daniel because beside him, was
Christ w.ith his battalion of angels guiding him in every step he made. Though his
adversaries attempted to eliminate him, they could not. When one fights against the will
of God, he fights against himself
This is my appeal to all religious leaders; God has entrusted in your hands young men
and women without defect, handsome and beautiful, Showing aptitUde for any kind of
learning, well informed and quick to understand. Now is the time to make them ready and
well equipped to serve both in your church or mosque and even in the entire nation. As
their spiritual leader, it's your duty to encourage them to be part of the political voice in
the country. They need your encouragement, guidance and mentorship. Support them.
The country is crying for accountable and morally upright leadership. They can not afford
to sit back and watch things go from bad to worse.
As I put my pen down, I have to remind you of this; that it is good to love even when hate
seems to be the only option. It is good to make peace even when everybody says, "Let's
go to war."
We have got only one country, Kenya. We must all join our hands together and embrace
one to another in the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood. This is what is enshrined in our
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national anthem; peace, love and unity. It is time we shun war and embrace peace. War in
Somalia is like a war in Kenya. Lives lost in Darfur are losses to the whole continent of
Africa. War destroys any little development so far achieved; peace builds all bridges
needed for development. The time is now for Kenya and the entire Africa to rise up from
the valleys of war, corruption and poor governance to the mountains of peace, love and
unity.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charles Obiero is s graduate of Kenyaua University, a leading
University in educational research in Africa. He holds a
bachelors Degree in Education (Science).and currently he
teaches physics at Maseno national school (a leading national
school in Kenya).
Besides this Charles Obiero is a born again and practicing
Christian who believes that teaching goes beyond delivering the
curriculum to learners, but also molding their minds to fit well in
the society.
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