TOWARDS GENOCIDE IN KENYA: THE CURSE OF NEGATIVE ETHINICITY.

BOOK TITLE: TOWARDS GENOCIDE IN KENYA: THE CURSE OF NEGATIVE ETHINICITY.

AUTHOR: KOIGI WA WAMWERE.  MVULE AFRICA PUBLISHERS: 2008.

REVIEWER: Peter Onchuru Mokaya

The book revolves around the effects of measuring leaders on the ground of ethnicity and not merit. In this book the author distinguishes the use of the term tribalism, ethnicity and negative ethnicity. The author begins by proving how most states and communities in Africa don’t learn from their past mistakes. To justify this he gives the account of the following examples.

In 1994, in Rwanda, ethnic hatred had killed one million people in a genocide that took only three months to execute. Africa and entire world was horrified, but the lesson of this tragedy was lost. In Africa, ethnicity hatred continues to kill. Since independence in 1960s at least one million people have died of civil war and strife they have created among themselves. These were never acknowledged. More than two million died in the civil war of Sudan that have been in existence since 1983

In Nigeria, in September, 1996, some ten thousand to thirty thousand Ibo people were massacred in Northern Nigeria. By the time the Biafran War in Nigeria ended in 1967, 2 million people in the eastern region had died from the war and from related starvation and disease. In Uganda Idi Amin, Obote, and Okello Lutwa killed approximately eight hundred thousand people for belonging to the wrong ethnic community.

Liberia in 1989 one hundred and fifty thousand people died; in Angola since 1975 to 2002 one million people died and created four million refugee; Somalia, since 1991 more than one million people died; in South Africa, twenty thousand black South Africans were killed in ethnic violence between 1985 and 1994 elections

The author asserts that Africa has created its own weapon of mass destruction, one more powerful than the atomic, hydrogen, or neutron bombs: Negative ethnicity.

It makes the author sad to see the government of Kenya playing with ethnic demonization, discrimination, war mongering, and ethnic cleansing, as if Africa has not suffered enough genocides already.

With African Chiefs and warlords, the author writes that negative ethnicity has become an inescapable prison for African people. This is also perpetrated by journalists, priests, academics and most intellectuals in the communities who rather educate them on human equality, acceptance of others, and the independence of all, beat the drum of negative ethnicity on the march to elite privileges of power and wealth. Elites struggle to maintain their wealthy position by making their communities feel that individual and powerful elites own the community and the community own them by attaching each other in the same ethnic community.

The author admits that the country (Kenya) is still burning and self destructing. He perceives the division as political and not as ethnic differences as most people think.

It is sad to read the story on how thirty five innocent people were burnt in Kiambaa Church just after the announcement of 2007 presidential elections in Kenya. The only crime of these people is because they were Kikuyu and the attackers believed that Kikuyu’s rigged national elections. The church was burnt because it was tribal. During the same period a Luo family of thirteen people was similarly burnt in a house in Naivasha by Kikuyus in the quest to revenge the death of their fellow Kikuyus in Eldoret.  The post poll chaos claimed 1,220 lives and displaced over 350,000 people.

The above chaoses were planned by local elders and other powerful leaders from Kalenjin and Kikuyu communities. A daily nation of March 18, 2008 excerpt illustrates this. It is also claimed that the planning logistics were funded by wealthy politicians. The local people were hypnotized to understand that it was their time to get power and chase other tribes away from their land and if the opposite happened then war was the alternative.

The author continue to narrate that during the post poll aftermath national leaders called for unconditional release of the perpetrators of this violence arguing it was not criminal but implicitly deliberate, noble and planned in defense of democracy. Does fighting democracy moralize killings of innocent lives? Will impunity end in Kenya? And what can prevent future chaos and butchering of innocent people? Still remains unanswered questions.

Impunity of negative ethnicity is highlighted in the book. The clash of 1992, 1993, 1997 and 1998 in Kenya saw loss of many innocent lives and properties of Kenyan people in Coast and Rift Valley provinces. Judicial commission of inquiry was formed to investigate the matter. The commission came with good findings but, no action was taken on the perpetrators of the said crimes.

The author proposes that Nuremberg principles be applied in bringing high and mighty of the society into book whenever they commit crimes against humanity by virtue of their huge government position as it was done to the perpetrators of NAZI crimes.

In the quest to acknowledge the monster of negative ethnicity the writer feels that most politicians only condemns it publicly and propagates it behind the façade.  This was clearly seen during the sharing power deal in 2008 between President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Kenya. There was relative calmness after the ceremony but, no serious politician went to console those who had lost their loved ones as a result of disputed elections. Even if it was done few politicians minded about those who they marched together in the chase of democracy. Power deal was sealed and negative ethnicity still lingers around. Its evils are only waiting for a trigger.

In the search of the genesis of negative ethnicity the author says that in Kenya today, the most talked about divide is between the Kikuyus and the other communities. It is argued that most Kikuyus are successful economically unlike other tribes and that they acquired their wealth trough unjust means. On the other hand most Kikuyus argue that they accrued their wealth through hard work. Koigi Vividly approves and disapproves the two allegations by giving numerous relevant examples right from colonialism, the era of the first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, then President Daniel Arap Moi and the Present president Mwai Kibaki. Koigi avoids generalization by proving to us that not all Kikuyus are bad by dealing with the subject objectively. In deed most Kikuyus do work hard and employ legitimate means to be successful and the masses among the Kikuyu tribe are poor. Throughout the book the author illustrates how three presidents propagated negative ethnicity by favoring their fellow tribesmen in the government and doing away with the oppossers of negative ethnicity either from their own tribes or not.

The author compare with the same phenomena in different parts of the world. Jews were Europe’s most demonized religio-ethnic community from the borders of Russia and Poland through wholesale murder in Italy and German during the Nazi regime. The same trend hit Chinese in Indonesia and Malaysia, the Ibo of Nigeria, the Bamileke of Cameroon, the Tutsi of Rwanda, Eritreans in Ethiopia, the Ewe of Togo among others.

Koigi argue that the significant pie of Africa’s economy is owned by foreigners like Indians, European and Asian and no one complains nor says that these people acquired their wealth through unjust means. Africans are fighting amongst themselves by tagging economic success of others as a prime reason.

Capitalism that was passed down by colonial masters still ills the nation. The author illustrates on how first African politicians in Kenya grabbed the ideology into their heart and left the real strugglers for independence to continue suffering. Indeed, capitalism is the genesis of negative ethnicity and the author suggests economic ideological reforms that accommodate the majority if not all be embraced.

Mr. Koigi point up how people are ethnically enslaved in Kenya. He says that one of the ethnicity’s worst crimes in Kenya is that it convinces poor people in every community to commit double suicide. When people allow their elites to eat and get fat for them or in their tribal name, not asking for share of the national cake through trade unions and other political parties they die. The same apply when they don’t think for themselves like during the two referendums in Kenya where politicians seemed to read and dictate what their tribe people should vote and yet the constitution is a national document that lives beyond every present person. I wish the author could have touched the vulnerability of poor people and how those who live at the down most pyramid of Maslow hierarchy of needs could be given food and be manipulated by the rich and powerful ones in the community.

The author ardently illustrates the effects of the following in the world of negative ethnicity: latency of negative ethnicity, mental disarmament, self demonization, ideology of negative ethnicity that includes national madness, havoc of Majimbo as it is used in radio stations. Equal citizenship is advocated for by the author and negates the friendships of overbearing foreigners in Kenya on the political arena. An effect of subverting democracy in a state by rewarding every party with a ministerial position is also discussed in the book. This translates into ethnic leadership and dictatorship. The dire consequences of ethnic dictatorship according to Koigi is responsible for past assassinations and mushrooming of illegal ethnic militias that is almost in  all tribes of Kenya. Ethnic fallacies that have made people view and elect political leaders not as best spokespersons or policies but ethnic chiefs are clearly articulated in the book.

 Ethnic self hate is yet another component of the book. It is said that self hate is worse than hate by others because its internalization and submission to hate by others that you can no longer fight because you accepted it. The author illustrates how negative ethnicity is acquired and has taken people into captive. Renouncing majimbo seems to be one of the solutions of negative ethnicity according to Koigi.

The mayhem of illegal militias and its illegitimate fight in Kenya by the governments is big a component in the book. The author explores the Kriegler commission and the truth, justice and reconciliation commission and their challenges in the search of truth in the domains of negative ethnicity.

The best national protection is greater economic cooperation and unities with fellow coupled wih democracy internally are some of the author’s proposed ways of eradicating negative ethnicity.

Mr. Koigi goes beyond the boundaries of Africa to show how ethnic hate has ravaged different parts of the world. It is in this book that the contributions of the west towards ethnic hate in Africa is articulated as well

Some of failed solutions posed in this book include Majimboism, Rotational presidency and no party democracy.

The book gives good insights on the ground of negative ethnicity and effects of ignorance on the political arena. It is recommended for students, lectures of social sciences and the general public that has suffered or potential to suffer from effects on negative ethnicity.

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Peter Mokaya: mokpit@gmail.com