Tribalism Revisited

One of the things I have to do for my AU Abroad Kenya class while being here is to write critical incident papers throughout the semester, about a specific instant or theme that I have experienced and what I have learned from it. I have had to do three of them, all have had to have a different style of writing to them. I wanted to share with you the third one that I had to write, which I did on Tribalism. It is very similar to a previous post I put on here. The style this time called for me to write a newspaper article:

“Tribal Politics Hinders Kenyan Progression”

It can be heard talked about everywhere worldwide; in barbershops and bars, on street corners and in the office. Politics dominates the conversation in every setting, including the Eastern African country of Kenya. The Kenyan political flame simultaneously gave off its most intense heat and had its darkest hour during the December 2007 presidential election between the incumbent NARC candidate Mwai Kibaki (a Kikuyu), and the opposition ODM challenger Ralia Odinga (a Luo). The results of this election have never been released but concluded with a joint ruling coalition after massive reports of corruption and the violence that swept through the country for more than a month post-election and caught world attention.

“If I were to go into parts of Kibera (the largest informal settlement in Nairobi and one of the worst affected areas of the violence) after the election last year, I could not have come out alive. I could have been killed.” Francis, a Nairobi taxi driver who is Kikuyu remembers. The post-election violence was largely fueled by tribalism between the Luos and allies and the Kikuyu and their allies, and when mixed together with the political fervor of passion and hope for certain political candidates that occurs every election cycle, proved to be an explosive, violent, and deadly combination.

Kenya’s political history is covered with the blanket of tribalism, which makes Kenyan politics equally as frustrating as it is fascinating. It stands in complete opposition of the Western notion of a political landscape, and thus makes it nearly incomprehensible to an outsider who is not born and brought up in Kenya. For an American attempting to follow Kenyan politics, it is extremely difficult due to the added layer of tribalism. American politics not only do not have tribalism, but have nothing even remotely related to draw upon to understand the situation. The closest issues in American politics are race and potentially ethnic/pride of heritage, but these do not come close to touching upon the issue of tribalism in Kenya. The difference between American ethnic pride and Kenyan tribalism is distance. An contemporary American has immigrated to the United States from another country, and thus parted with some of their culture, customs, and traditions from their home country to assimilate to the mixing bowl that is the United States, whereas the Kenyan tribes still have their proud traditions and customs and language that have not gone anywhere and, to an extent, are still passed on and carried out today.

These proud cultures and histories transcend just normal custom rites and have their place marked out in the political arena as well. This causes people to support politicians and have differing views on historical and political events. At a dinner recently in which a discussion of Kenyan history and politics occurred with a family of Kalenjin, the Moi era (referring to the dictatorial twenty-year rule of Kenya’s second president Moi, who is a Kalenjin) was glossed over.
The Kalenjin family offered “it had its ups and downs.”
What should have been discussed is the severe limiting of civil and political liberties and freedoms, and the sometimes violent oppression that occurred during this time period, but that would not have gone over well so it was let lie.

Kenyan politicians understand the Kenyan political system and how tribalism can be exploited and perpetuated within the current system. This system’s main flaw is with the Kenyan ID cards, which have not only personal information such as name and address, but it also includes tribe and province originated from.
“They divide us based on our tribe and region because it is easier to govern that way”, believes Collins, a Nairobi youth and activist who grew up in the coastal city of Mombasa (Kenya’s second largest city).

In order to vote the Kenyan must cast their ballot in the province or region originated from as identified on the ID card. This system has an egregious error however as pointed out by Iddi, a Nairobi youth.
[When signing up for an ID card] “They asked for the area that I am from, so I said Nairobi. They said that I could not be from Nairobi, and so they looked at my name and said that I must be from this certain area and told me I had to this province and register and vote there. I have no connection with that area, no relatives or family there because I have grown up in Nairobi and they are telling me I must go here to vote. So I didn’t vote. I know many people who have gone through the same process”.

This process contributes to tribalism in politics because certain areas in Kenya are known as the homelands for their certain tribes, thus the politicians from that area are from the tribes and particular areas almost certainly will go towards specific people. This process only fuels tribalism and increases the potential for violence amongst the tribes like that which occurred after the last election.
Sometimes rebirth and regeneration can grow out of chaos, however, movements and beliefs in a united Kenya have grown out of the violence. Unfortunately this movement has not caught on among the politicians yet as at a conference for ideas about the future of Kenya held within the last few months talks turned tribal. Francis shows his contempt for these politicians at this conference:
“These people [politicians] who talk about the future of Kenya think [only] about themselves first, their tribes first. [They think] What can the government do for me, what can my people, my tribe get out of it? Kenya will never move forward this way. We need to identify ourselves first as Kenyans.

Collins agrees, adding “we need to think of ourselves as Kenyans first, think of what is best for us as a whole, and then make decisions based on that.”
This unity movement is popular among the youth in Kenya, and when asked what is his tribe Ojay, a youth activist in Kibera responds “I am a Kenyan”. He does not identify himself any other way even after being asked this question multiple times. The vision of unity also is popular with some of the older generations as well. When Francis is asked what tribe he is, he responds “I identify myself as a Kenyan. I am not a Kikuyu, I am a Kenyan. I identify myself first as Kenyan.”

As the country is and has been rebuilt after the political violence caused by the tribally-fueled post election last year, slogans have emerged such as “Never Forget, Never Again”, which was used by a recent photo exhibit of the violence. This slogan is an interesting choice and reflects the compromise that the must occur for Kenya’s future to progress. Perhaps this slogan should read Never forget your past, your heritage, and Never again shall we have political tribal violence.