Despite
the results of half-a-dozen opinion polls, and largely because of the
Tyranny of Numbers hypothesis, Kenyans are in the grip of a political
crisis. Whatever else we may discuss or decide in the future, it is time
that we admitted that we are yet to mature as a democratic polity; our
immaturity is starkly demonstrated by the absence of strong
institutions, nuanced political debate, and an atavistic selfishness
that refuses to acknowledge nationhood or nationalism of any sort.
We have blamed colonialism for many of our present challenges; without the divide-and-conquer strategy of the colonial administration, Kenya would not have had to identify its peoples by tribe. But it is time to admit that the colonial bugbear has not been responsible for the past 40 years of discord and animosity. It is us, and our blind veneration of our political leaders, who are to blame for the deep schisms experienced amongst Kenya's forty-two peoples. That is not all. The battle between Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga for the soul of the nation, whether it would take care of the least of its peoples or whether it would make the fatcats fatter, defined the period between 1969 and 1978 as nothing else ever will.
We might be the beneficiaries of the legacies left behind by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kung'u Karumba, Bildad Kaggia, Kenneth Matiba, George Anyona or even Masinde Muliro, but in our hearts of hearts, we espouse the poisonous legacy of the Kenyatta Era. We place loyalty to an individual - flaws notwithstanding - and to the tribal collective - whether we benefit personally or not - above all else. The chatteratti in Nairobi are free to declaim to the waiting ears of western development partners about our nationhood and to use the Safari 7s team as proof of our nationalism, but we all know the awful truth: in the hierarchy of loyalties, we pay fealty to self, family, clan, tribe and tribal chief before we even consider nation. Even those of us who have the benefit of a cosmopolitan heritage fond it very difficult to buch traditions that have defined the nation for the past half-century. We are all victims of a poison that was spread by a man whose been dead this past thirty-five years.
In the here and now, we all fear that despite the efforts of the past six months at promoting peace and reconciliation, despite the apparent bonhomie between The Hague Alliance, the post-election scenario will be determined by which ethnic combination is determined to "measure its strength" against the dominant one. We have a sorry record of post-poll calm; even the much-celebrated 2002 election was not without acts of violence and prolonged post-poll tension. It is only Mwai Kibaki's magnanimous decision to let Moi be that allowed the nation to move on to...Anglo-Leasing, Triton, KKV and FPE scams.
Indeed, if Kenyans are looking for an ideology to rally behind, corruption makes the most sense. As a nation, as tribes, as clans, as families and as individuals, not one can claim not to be divorced from the reality of the relationship between the State and the people and amongst the peoples of Kenya. Corruption is the glue that holds this nation together. It is the raison d'être of the State and our government. It is the reason why we are willing to murder and maim at political contests: if we know that a particular group has spent too long a time at the trough of public truffles, and they seem prepared to perpetuate their stay, we will demonstrate our displeasure in creatively violent ways.
So perhaps it is time we debunked the argument that we are hobbled by tribalism; we are not. It is corruption that hobbles our forward movement as a nation and the sooner we find a way of ensuring that every body gets an opportunity at the trough, violence is all but guaranteed before, during and after the polls. Of course, ordinary Kenyans may have already decided that they have paid too high a price for corruption. In that case, the polls offer them the best chance to demonstrate their new found resolve. If they can elect men and women who live for the peoples of Kenya - all forty-two tribes - perhaps we can steal a march on the Asian Tigers and the up-and-coming BRICS.
We have blamed colonialism for many of our present challenges; without the divide-and-conquer strategy of the colonial administration, Kenya would not have had to identify its peoples by tribe. But it is time to admit that the colonial bugbear has not been responsible for the past 40 years of discord and animosity. It is us, and our blind veneration of our political leaders, who are to blame for the deep schisms experienced amongst Kenya's forty-two peoples. That is not all. The battle between Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga for the soul of the nation, whether it would take care of the least of its peoples or whether it would make the fatcats fatter, defined the period between 1969 and 1978 as nothing else ever will.
We might be the beneficiaries of the legacies left behind by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kung'u Karumba, Bildad Kaggia, Kenneth Matiba, George Anyona or even Masinde Muliro, but in our hearts of hearts, we espouse the poisonous legacy of the Kenyatta Era. We place loyalty to an individual - flaws notwithstanding - and to the tribal collective - whether we benefit personally or not - above all else. The chatteratti in Nairobi are free to declaim to the waiting ears of western development partners about our nationhood and to use the Safari 7s team as proof of our nationalism, but we all know the awful truth: in the hierarchy of loyalties, we pay fealty to self, family, clan, tribe and tribal chief before we even consider nation. Even those of us who have the benefit of a cosmopolitan heritage fond it very difficult to buch traditions that have defined the nation for the past half-century. We are all victims of a poison that was spread by a man whose been dead this past thirty-five years.
In the here and now, we all fear that despite the efforts of the past six months at promoting peace and reconciliation, despite the apparent bonhomie between The Hague Alliance, the post-election scenario will be determined by which ethnic combination is determined to "measure its strength" against the dominant one. We have a sorry record of post-poll calm; even the much-celebrated 2002 election was not without acts of violence and prolonged post-poll tension. It is only Mwai Kibaki's magnanimous decision to let Moi be that allowed the nation to move on to...Anglo-Leasing, Triton, KKV and FPE scams.
Indeed, if Kenyans are looking for an ideology to rally behind, corruption makes the most sense. As a nation, as tribes, as clans, as families and as individuals, not one can claim not to be divorced from the reality of the relationship between the State and the people and amongst the peoples of Kenya. Corruption is the glue that holds this nation together. It is the raison d'être of the State and our government. It is the reason why we are willing to murder and maim at political contests: if we know that a particular group has spent too long a time at the trough of public truffles, and they seem prepared to perpetuate their stay, we will demonstrate our displeasure in creatively violent ways.
So perhaps it is time we debunked the argument that we are hobbled by tribalism; we are not. It is corruption that hobbles our forward movement as a nation and the sooner we find a way of ensuring that every body gets an opportunity at the trough, violence is all but guaranteed before, during and after the polls. Of course, ordinary Kenyans may have already decided that they have paid too high a price for corruption. In that case, the polls offer them the best chance to demonstrate their new found resolve. If they can elect men and women who live for the peoples of Kenya - all forty-two tribes - perhaps we can steal a march on the Asian Tigers and the up-and-coming BRICS.
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