Talk of tribal alliances parochial and reckless

Posted Monday, January 24 2011 at 19:20

There is no doubt that the much-ballyhooed but not really actualised ‘‘alliance’’ of three ethnic communities for the purposes of the 2012 presidential succession has aroused the barely dozing monster of ethnic distrust.

For the record, a number of senior politicians, ranging from former President Moi to ministers George Saitoti and Kiraitu Murungi and legislator Gitobu Imanyara have warned against this type of alliance which reeks of tribalism.

Even some who were seen as the beneficiaries of the so-called KKK alliance have seen it fit to distance themselves from the ‘‘alliance’’, saying they were only interested in the youthful generation taking over power from the old guard.

In short, talk about an alliance among three ethnic groups has been seen as what it is – a cynical attempt to organise tribal support for purely selfish political motives.

It is incredible that anyone could have conceived that ogre at a time when the nation is so badly in need of national healing and reconciliation.

It is a fact that we all belong to a tribe. That is not a crime. What is criminally negligent is for tribal chieftains to even consider banding together with the sole aim of shutting out one of their political rivals in the succession battle next year.

Even that would not be so bad were it not for the fact that these same leaders seem to have a very short memory.

The reason why 1,133 people died and hundreds of thousands were rendered homeless three years ago was because a few ethnic communities felt their leaders had been cheated of the presidency. They turned on their innocent brothers and sisters in a mad fury.

Do these leaders ever think of the effect their words may have on their followers?

It has become commonplace for some Kenyan leaders to try and depict themselves as indispensable to the survival of their tribes. Such people are utterly deluded and should be given a wide berth.