By JULIUS SIGEI
Posted Saturday, April 9 2011 at 22:00
Posted Saturday, April 9 2011 at 22:00
In Summary
- It is still uncertain whether the political union will calm anxieties
Their appearance before the International Criminal Court and the fledgling political union between Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto have elicited mixed and guarded responses in Rift Valley, which has borne the brunt of election-related violence since the return of multiparty politics in 1992.
But it is uncertain whether the political union will galvanise the communities, help calm anxieties and bring reconciliation to those who have periodically fought bloody, ethnic and political battles.
Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto have been working closely since ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo named them last December as suspected masterminds of the 2007-2008 post-election violence alongside four others.
Joint rallies
They have lately been holding emotional joint rallies at which they have vowed to work together in the run-up to next year’s elections.
“When I vied for the presidency in 2002, we did not fight, and now we want to come together and ensure there is peace,” Mr Kenyatta said at a recent prayer rally in Bomet.
Political analyst Samson Komen said the two leaders have created a bond among their supporters that will be difficult to break.
“Those pictures of the two being prayed for at their weakest moments create in their supporters an unforgettable comradeship,” Mr Komen said.
“That picture in which a tearful Mama Ngina Kenyatta is hugging Mr Ruto before he departed to ICC did more to cement relations between the two leaders’ supporters,” he said.
The Rift Valley was the epicentre of the post-election violence and more than 700 of the 1,133 recorded deaths occurred there.
“The main actors are on the ground, but the politicians will speed up the cohesion we have been building. Peace is fluid, but I don’t see any sign of violence now,” said Eldoret Catholic Bishop Cornelius Korir.
His sentiments were echoed by Bishop Abraham Gitu who chairs the Likia & Beyond Peace and Conflict Resolution Council.
“There is a very good chance for peace. Other politicians might fight the alliance, but here we feel it is going a long way to cement good neighbourliness among the villagers from the two communities,” said the Apostolic Faith Church bishop.
While praising the alliance for enhancing peace in the clash-prone areas, Kuresoi MP Zakayo Cheruiyot wants more to be done to ensure lasting peace.
“The coming together of Ruto and Uhuru is definitely a plus in our attempts to nurture peace, but ultimately peace in Nakuru is not dependent on individuals. It is the government’s determination to address the underlying issues which will ensure permanent peace,” he said.
Nakuru County Council chairman John Murigu Kamau is confident there will be peace.
“While we agree there are issues that remain unresolved, you cannot ignore the fact that the masses will follow what their community leaders will tell them,” he said.
Energy assistant minister Magerer Lang’at, whose constituency includes the cosmopolitan Londiani and Kipkelion areas, cautioned that peace built for political motives would not last. He said the route to genuine peace lies in the implementation of the Constitution.
“At the root of the 2007-2008 post-election violence were the electoral malpractices brought about by an improperly constituted electoral body,” he said, adding that peace in the region might only be achieved because of the deterrence of the international community in the form of the ICC.
But the chairman of the National Council of Non-Governmental Organisations Ken Wafula has warned people against revelling in “peace built on quicksand”.
“Political alliances have never brought about permanent peace. What will happen when the two leaders disagree?” he asked. “The solution is to have victims meet the perpetrators with the latter owning up to their wrongdoing; they are forgiven and only then can the wounds heal.”
Also sceptical about the potential of the alliance to bring about peace is Father Gabriel Dolan of the Justice and Peace Commission. He said the solution lay in the National Land Policy but regretted that politicians were not supporting it for selfish reasons.
“The key leaders in this alliance are not likely to make the reforms which are the foundation of the peace we desire for the region and country at large,” Fr Dolan said.
Kabianga University College lecturer Herbert Kerre also questioned the place of the other communities residing in the Rift Valley in the alliance, saying there was anxiety among some whose political leaders are seen to support The Hague trials.
“You don’t promote peace between certain communities while antagonising others. Those left out will develop a siege mentality,” he said.
Narok hotelier Daniel Taleng’o ole Kiptunen, who has been involved in agitating for Maasai land rights, agrees.
“Resettlement of IDPs should not be done in a manner that stokes conflict,” he said.
Suggesting that caution and mistrust could dog the new-found alliance, Joel Talai, an elder from Kipkelion in Kericho, said: “I fault Mr Ruto for joining hands with Mr Kenyatta before making a deal on getting back the land we lost in Kuresoi.”
Other residents have adopted a wait-and-see attitude.
“We have peace now, but we don’t know what will happen next year when we have elections,” said James Ngugi of Kondoo farm in Uasin Gishu.
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