Many predicted Kenyans would vote down tribal lines during the recent Boxing Day elections. However, few would have believed a close race and electoral fraud would fuel ethnic tension and set off waves of violence and across the country. Afterall this is Kenya, a nation that has enjoyed relative peace since independence.
More than 600 men, women and children have been murdered, the majority a result of one’s tribal affiliation. Horror stories of woman and children fleeing villages from angry mobs, men and women subjected to the most horrifying deaths by machete, people burnt alive in churches, police and military dispersing crowds based on the order “shoot to kill” and tens of thousands of Kenyans fleeing across the border into neighbouring countries.
I was finishing an internship at the UN Environment Program in Kenya towards the end of 2002, a time of real promise about the future of the country. The excitement for change in leadership was apparent in every district across the country. The Kikuyu’s, Kenya’s most populous tribe and the Luo’s, Kenya’s second most populous tribe put aside long-standing differences to form the Rainbow Coalition prior to the December 2002 Presidential election. This ensured neither the President, Daniel Arap Moi, nor his appointed successor could take office. Two decades of deceit, greed and rigged elections were highly motivating factors for this unlikely alliance.
Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu, was Rainbow’s chosen candidate. The Luo’s supported Kibaki’s run for President on the condition he would act quickly to amend the country’s constitution. These amendments would limit presidential powers and significantly increase the voice of Luo’s and other tribes in the country’s political affairs. Barely two years in office, Kibaki and his Kikuyu circle reneged on the commitment. The alliance crumbled. Luo’s, led by Raila Odinga, were rightly angered at this hypocrisy. Mr. Odinga, a Luo who helped broker the alliance, ran against Kibaki in the recent disputed election.
The Kenyan Electoral Commission (KEC) indicated Mr. Kibaki won by less than 1% of the total vote, but local and international observers (including Canada) claimed irregularities in the voting process. Kibaki quickly swore himself in only to have the Head of the KEC claim the electoral process was flawed. The KEC’s back and forth positioning lost it much needed credibility, but foreign embassies have not yet recognized Kibaki as President. The country is in paralysis.
With the exception of the reign of Daniel Arap Moi, a Kalenjin, the highest office has consistently been held by a Kikuyu, who controls the appointments of advisors, Ministers, Ambassadors and bureaucratic heads. Luo’s have long sought a greater role in the country’s economic fortunes and political processes. When asking non-Kikuyu’s, particularly Luo’s, to explain the deep-rooted mistrust comments typically focus on Kikuyu’s strong desire for economic and political control. These statements are of course over-simplified, and in many cases incorrect. But there is an element of truth.
Since the early days of Jomo Kenyatta, the country’s Kikuyu founder and independence hero, and even during Moi’s time in office, Kikuyu’s have enjoyed economic and political success unmatched by other tribes. The current atmosphere of mistrust, deception and hatred exists because other tribes perceive the Kikuyu dominance having come at their expense.
What is occurring in Kenya is catastrophic, but comparison to Rwanda by a number of journalists is unwarranted. To label the current unrest in Kenya genocide is to display ignorance of the historical relationship between Kenya’s two most populous tribes. That is not to undermine the terrible reality of what many Kenyans are experiencing. Citizens are targeted and massacred based on ethnicity, but anger and frustration unleashed is a direct result of the refusal of Kenya’s political and economic elite to yield ground, and a perceived indifference from Kenyan’s most populous tribe.
Sadly, Mr. Odinga and (President) Kibaki have taken to finger pointing and grandstanding. Ordinary Kenyans are living with the constant fear of violence. Ongoing Opposition rallies held across the country provoke further animosity. The AU President failed to reach agreement with both sides, but hope remains that Kofi Annan can bridge the deep divisions.
Much is at stake as Mr. Annan attempts to mediate a solution to the impasse. His record of finding compromise in the most challenging environments should provide some comfort to those concerned about the future of this East African nation.
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