The season of political intrigues is here again. Any keen observer of Kenyan politics and especially its electioneering cycle will notice the signs. The temperatures on the political front have been raised. Politicians are crisscrossing the country holding all manner of meetings—from those baptised ‘prayers’ meetings, tours to inspect development projects and simply meeting delegates. The overall aim is clear— it is campaign time in Kenya.
Intrigues are however a pastime for Kenyan politicians, issues are always at the bottom of their agenda. Intrigue is as much about conspiracies and deception as they are about strategy and manoeuvres. They captivate the crowds, animate them to do things that would be impossible in a rationale society. And often, I wonder how easily we throw away our capacity to reason and ululate for politicians when what they do is often contradictory and against the best interests of our ethnic communities, our youths, women, men and children.
The season of intrigue in Kenya is characterised by pronouncements that are the harbinger of ethnic-based conflicts. The recent spate of violence in Moyale and Chemase are no accidental follow-on to the crisscrossing of politicians. And if they are not, they will not remain independent of the politics of the time for too long. The merchants of violence are among us. The time for their trade is here and we must trust that they will not be disappointed if we keep quiet for too long.
The pronouncements that our politicians make as they rally their supporters have historically been the stuff that sales propaganda. Yet, as David Makali pointed out last week, the media has kept silent on the incitement and false statements politicians utter during their forays into our villages. The post-election violence started in villages and, while many of us did not know how dangerous the incitements were on the ground, we all experienced the negative consequences of the violence as a surprise.
In other words, the statements that incited populations against each others did not have to be reported for them to effective. But reporting the incitement has a deterrent effect. It exposes the actions of the inciters and piles pressure on them to quit positions of responsibility in society. Quitting denies them the right to speak at the same level with other responsible leaders because it takes away the elevated pedestal from which to speak and incite. I therefore agree with Pheroze Nowrojee and Makali that silence is complicity.
It needs repeating that silence is complicity. After the 2007 elections and the post-election violence that resulted, we all promised ourselves and anyone else who cared to listen that never again are we going to be mere spectators as politicians prepare the stew for future election related violence. The media in particular promised not to play into the intrigues cooked by our politicians. Indeed, some politicians made similar promises.
But trust Kenyan politicians to forget their promises soon after making them. Not only have most of our politicians joined into the trickery and plotting that is recreating old political intrigues, they have done so without hindrance from the institutions we created to check any such excesses. In other words, Kenyans risk remaining mere spectators as our politicians start a new round of mobilising based on ethnic or related hatreds.
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission will be holding a national conference next month. Dubbed the People’s Conference, it will focus on ‘National Diversity, Ethnicity and Race.’ I am fortunate to have participated as a speaker and as an ordinary participant at two of the forums leading up to the People’s Conference. I respect the intellectual content of many of the presentations and believe that these forums have set the basis for a national dialogue. There is no doubt that we need a national dialogue.
I believe that the forums leading up to the People’s Conference have highlighted important issues. I noticed that at these forums, the Commission invited opinion leaders some of whom are politicians. Many of these leaders/politicians made intelligent and illuminating contributions. But a good many of them do not believe in what they contribute.
Harsh as it may sound, these conferences quite often preach to the converted and lack the punch we need to stop merchants of division and violence. They have a captive audience and they are restricted in their reach. In fact, they are a forum for ‘gentlemen’ and ‘women’ to parade their hypocrisy and disguise the incitement they peddle every weekend at political rallies. After all, how many times have we seen politicians pontificate about peace at conferences and proceed directly to rallies where everything they say is contrary to what they preached about?
If we have to make sense to communities whose antenna is closely wired to the propaganda of politicians, we have to disrupt the source of the propaganda and the wiring that connect the politicians to the people. The NCIC certainly knows that politicians are becoming bold as elections come closer. For the NCIC to make sense, Kenyans are expecting bolder action against these politicians. Lets have a conference, but the one question that is sure to come is what bold action the NCIC has taken against politicians who incite.
Godwin R. Murunga is a lecturer at the Kenyatta University.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment