Kenya: Will Democracy hold in Africa?
By Dominic Woja Maku
January 6, 2008 –The recent presidential election in Kenya was supposed to show how democracy can fix roots in Kenya and also to pave the way for a democratic transformation in that African country. Kenyans have spoken clearly throught the ballot box and the results indicated that Africans can deliver democracy to their citizens as well just like any other democratic country in the world. However, surprisingly the opposite took place instead (joy and celebration turned into human catastrohpy). Why? Profoundly, Kenya’s population has been stratified into tribes (ethinically travash and unique people lived together for centuries) but now the population has exploded. This is an indication that tribalism as racism is dangeruous. Kikuyus, Luos, Kalegins, ect. are all Kenyans and Africans, but why have these people curcumed to tribalism and all of a sudden they begin to gilotine each other?
The notion of tribalism in Kenya has been there for many centuries actually just like in the other African countries. But this time tribalism has turned out to be a deadly monster because it killed a lot of people, therefore, it means Kenyans do not like it. National identity should have been the number one choice (Kenyans ought to identify themselves as Kenyans first before identifying with their tribes). Identifying with one’s tribe first and then one’s nationality narrows down one’s political mind set to a modest political lanscape beyond which one can not reason.
Tribalism like racism is a social construct and idealistically it is dangerous to humanity. Racism and tribalism are used by other human beings to put other humans into distinct socio-economic, political and cultural groups for the purpose of awarding privileges (or not awarding privileges to others). Tribalism and racism are used as micropolitical strategies to sideline, stratify, marginalize, and discriminate other people against others for economic and political gains. Thus, some people in those economically, politically, and culturally racialized or tribalized societies recieve privileges and preferential opportunities (economic and political powers and benefits) in accrodance with their ethnic or tribal/racial backgrounds. This is not fair because tribalism as racialsm does not allow for equitable distribution of political power or economic benefits creating social cleavages and disparities (eventually physical confrontation) such as the 1994 genocide in Rwanda (although there were other factors associated with that genocide the notion of social injustice still can be used as an indicator). Now, unfortunately Kenya which has been a peaceful nation for decades is burning to ashes infront of all (Africans/International community).
Tribalism is everywhere in Africa in general and in the Sudan in particular. One wonders whether or not Sudan will not be next to be destroyed by it (tribalism) because there are many reasons to believe that tribalism is seriuosy fixing roots there. Will the Sudanese learn a lesson from what is happening in Kenya right now? It happened in Rwanda not many years ago, but it seems that many people have turned a blind eye or deaf ears to those incidences. How would the Sudanese have the capacity to prevent the Kenyan saga from happening in their country? How? The situation seems to be worsening every munite and this is scary not only to the people of Kenya but it threatens the whole region given that all the neighbouring countries are also tribalized.
The author can be reached at: [email protected]