Posted Thursday, November 22, 2012 | By MUTUMA MATHIU
IN SUMMARY
- The analysis of one man caught my attention and emphasised just how central tribe is in the perception of Kenyans, particularly with regard to politics.
- This man argues that Kenya’s big five nations — Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Luo, Luhya and Kamba — have each lent allegiance to the five leading parties: The National Alliance Party, the United Republican Party, the Orange Democratic Party and Wiper Democratic Movement.
- I am neither disgusted nor too worried about the tribal basis of our political discourse. My concern is the establishment, in the long term, of durable structures which can be used for the negotiation of power and to enforce conformity among politicians.
- The trouble with Kenyan politics is that the big politicians can do what they want. And what they want it to take care of themselves.
Newspapers, at least the good ones, are very careful how they deal with this whole question of tribe.
Some, such as the Nation, have policies which ban the needless tribalisation of issues. But I wonder how we shall conduct debates on this election without reference to tribes.
The analysis of one man caught my attention and emphasised just how central tribe is in the perception of Kenyans, particularly with regard to politics.
This man argues that Kenya’s big five nations — Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Luo, Luhya and Kamba — have each lent allegiance to the five leading parties: The National Alliance Party, the United Republican Party, the Orange Democratic Party and Wiper Democratic Movement.
What would be left of URP without the support of the communities of the Rift Valley? What would be TNA without Central votes? What would be ODM without the Western basket?
This is not to say that these parties are not reaching beyond their tribes for the support of other Kenyans. They are and they have succeeded, to some extent.
Equally, there are some parties, which have no significant following in any one tribe and have uniformly distributed backing across the country.
But these are the smaller ones. Each of the big parties has a core of voters made up of one big tribe; the fundamental unit of mobilisation is not an issue agenda, it is the tribe.
That is why alliance-building is driven by councils of elders, professionals and other euphemisms for tribal representatives.
I am neither disgusted nor too worried about the tribal basis of our political discourse. My concern is the establishment, in the long term, of durable structures which can be used for the negotiation of power and to enforce conformity among politicians.
The trouble with Kenyan politics is that the big politicians can do what they want. And what they want it to take care of themselves.
The country might feature, but it rarely comes first. It is easy for the rich and powerful to be patriotic; it’s a lot tougher when you don’t have a job or money to buy medicine for your mother-in-law.
When I hear politicians who spend most of their time conspiring to steal from the public mouthing off about their love for Kenya, I know it’s not Kenya they love. It is its money. My advice is not to the politicians, they don’t listen.
My advice is to the “professionals” and “councils of elders” and other tribal pointmen negotiating alliances: when you are done negotiating a job for your tribal messiah, demand a serious attention to national issues: Jobs for young people, proper management of the economy, health and social protection for the vulnerable, serious investment in infrastructure, education, and national security, an export drive, and food for all.
If you can take care of the issues, you will be forgiven for getting to power on the back of your tribe.
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Scrap metal terrorists, a correspondent tells me, have gone and done it: they scaled the fence at one of the best-defended installations in Kenya, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and stole a radio beacon which helps pilots find the runway.
Now, in his estimation, there is only Sh10,000 worth of copper in the beacon, but the taxpayer will cough up Sh20 million to replace it.
That’s not even the issue. The issue is that these guys don’t care about the safety of other human beings. They don’t care whether the vandalism of crucial equipment brings down planes; all they want is their Sh10,000.
Among other comments is one from a guy who says the vandals stole the goal-posts from his old school, which he has been supporting. I was touched by that; he makes sacrifices to give some kid a chance in life, another one steps in and steals it.
President Kibaki is spending a lot of our money building infrastructure which he hopes will be his legacy. But while he spends billions during the day putting things up, others spend nights stripping them off and exporting wire to China.
The government should first ban the trade in scrap metal, identify those who have benefited from the destruction of infrastructure and send them to Kamiti for a long, long time, and only later find ways of ensuring the recycling of metal is done within the law.
mmathiu@ke.nationmedia.com
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