Ethnic domination recipe for national failure

By John Cheruiyot

Writing in a local daily in 2004, political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi made a
profound observation. He observed that Kenya's political scene had shifted from repression to deception. He noted that Narc victory turned into a deception as soon as Kibaki sailed successfully into State House. The MoU that solidified the then opposition was made hollow by the deception. Every strategy that made Narc succeed was built on deception. Hence it appears Kibaki's administration hinges on deception to hold on power.

The LDP thus was conned and outwitted. Indeed it appears that the key architects of Kibaki administration are the remnants of Kenyatta era elite driven by Gema political ideology to make Kenya a Gema hegemony. This ideology was established in the 60s after the disbandment of Lancaster House Constitution. The Luo-Gema partnership was severed in 1966 when Odinga was banned and banished from politics and in 1969 when Tom Mboya was assassinated. Indeed the 70s was a purely a Gema decade. Every aspect of national institutions, both public and private was Gemanized.

The emergence of Moi's presidency in 1978 frustrated the Gema ideology for the last 24 years. Hence the election of Kibaki in 2002 was a mighty resurrection of Gema dispensation. The Bomas draft was a product of national and all inclusive paradigm which was immediately dismantled in Kilifi through what became Wako draft. The draft was shot down last year in the most revolutionary referendum in the history of Kenya. It was historic in that all the 41 communities of Kenya voted vehemently against it.

Deception is as old as mankind. The first human family was deceived by Satan or the Serpent to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. It is since then
that deception has become the norm and the native act of every society. Satan is described in the Bible as the father of lies whose native language is deception.. Deception is the disregard of divine principles. When two parties
agree, their agreement is legalized at both the spiritual and the physical realms. Leaders who disregard MoUs earn divine wrath. The disregard of the MoU
began in the 60s when Jomo Kenyatta betrayed Oginga Odinga. President Kibaki again repeated the same mistake and the same blunder.  The collapse of the 2002 MoU has brought misery to both the government and the opposition. The collapse of the revived constitutional talks recently will continue to be a thorn in the flesh in nation of Kenya. What is clear is that the architects of Gema ideology are now in control of the State House and all public institutions. Subukia MP Koigi Wamwere accused ODM-K for unleashing anti-Kikuyu politics among the rest of the Kenyans. He blasted former Attorney General Charles Njonjo for supporting ODM-K whom he termed as anti-Kikuyu. The
nation thus is split into anti-Kikuyu and anti-Raila paradigms.

With the reappointment of Kiraitu Murungi and Prof.George Saitoti, into the
Cabinet, it means the Gema dispensation is the in-thing. Kibaki has chosen to
follow a Gema political and economic path. In the short term it will yield success yet in the long run it will totally and systematically undermine his grip on power. Kenya for one community is a recipe for chaos and instability. It should be noted that most of the leaders in the cabinet from other communities are married in one way to Gema wives. Meaning their being in the government is
by the virtue of relationship to the royal community.

They are politically correct because of their sociological function. Kenya thus
suffers from ethnic phobia and ethnic mistrust which if not checked now will
result in a revolution sooner than later. In the Drum of August 1969 Malimoto
one of the most prolific writers in the 60s observed after the death of Tom
Mboya: "It is a fact that real and potential and economic power in Kenya lies in
the hands of the Kikuyu; and this is the burden the Kikuyu will live to learn to
bear for the unity and the peaceful future of Kenya .By understanding, big-heartedness, tolerance and humility, the Kikuyu can give Kenya a lasting
peace and prosperity."

He added "But with arrogance, selfishness or ruthless exploitation of minor
tribes, mistrust shall be bred and Kenya will have a hard time, holding
together" Such was a prophetic voice 37 years, now come true. Kikuyu arrogance, selfishness and ruthless exploitation of other communities are now putting the nation asunder. The original FORD split, the Narc split, the Bomas Draft aborted and every constitution appears headed to the dustbin. Kenya's stability and peace is at stake.

Malimoto further noted "If tribes cannot live together and develop the country
as a whole aren't we heading for a Biafra? Another Congo, another Sudan? And who stands to gain from it if not our enemies and detractors?" He concluded "Whose blood will flow on the streets, in the jungles, if not ours? Whose children will starve to death? Yours and mine. Just because of senseless answers to senseless acts". Making all institutions Gema-compliant is a recipe for instability. The quagmire facing Iraq and Somalia is ethnic and clan mistrust.

For the last five years Iraq has failed to be a stable nation because the Sunis
cannot agree for a federal or the split of Iraq into three. The reason being the
Sunis have no oil resource. A federal system or any other would shut them from
the oil wealth in Shiite and Kurd territories. The same mistrust has failed to bring peace in Somalia for the last 15 years making it a failed state in Africa.
The new wave of peace and stability in Somalia has come through Islamic courts meaning Islam the dominant religion is at last succeeding where clan and world nations have failed.

This means religious and ethnic differences if not tackled with wisdom and tact-
nations of African will continue to suffer. The Gema communities have since
1960s been against federal system or the decentralization of power because they see such a scenario will remove them from the centre of Kenya geo-political world. Although Gema communities account for about 30% of the population they control the bulk of the economy. While the rest of 70% occupy the vast territories and the nation given a centralized dispensation they will be able to control and exploit the resources outside Nairobi and Central.  The Coastal communities will be able to call the shots in terms of the resources in their regions. Kenya's GDP would grow faster and Nairobi and Central will not
be the only pistons of the economy. Rift Valley would become the California of
Kenya and Coat the Hawaii of the nation. The North Eastern would become the Botswana of the Nation. Kenya is a great and a potential nation kept captive by its misguided leadership since 1920. First by the British and later by Kenyatta, Moi and now Kibaki administrations.

So it this belief that their [Gema] existence is guaranteed in a centralized
dispensation than in any other way. Hence the elite from the community are all
agreed that the House of Mumbi must resist any form of decentralization by all
means. The Wako Draft was the climax of the Gema paradigm. As things stand the Gema ideology is about the economy and the resources of Kenya being controlled and distributed among the Gema communities while the rest of Kenyans watch at a distance. This will heighten tension. It will spur negative ethnicity in the country and before long it becomes a Gema and non Gema affair divide.

It will make all the 41 communities to vote as a block and as a political unit
in the nation. The hard-line stance taken by Justice Minister Martha Karua is
akin to Kiraitu's as the minister for Constitutional Affairs. The walk out of
Dalmas Otieno and others against Karua's stand will go along way in isolating
the Gema communities from other Kenyans. Recently as this writer walked along Kenyatta Avenue he over heard two individuals talking to themselves. One of them observed "It is hard to succeed today in Kenya unless you are a Kikuyu" Such sentiments are emerging simply because the Gema elite are insensitive and totally drunk with power.

Every Gema CEO has a bias for their community and will not promote or employ another Kenyan except their kin and kind. This scenario will sooner than later backfire and totally disorient the country. When the community dominates the resources of the nation marginalizing other Kenyans this will not auger well for Kenya and its stability. If Kibaki had chosen to bring all the communities together current political bickering would not have arose. After the referendum he should have punished his close advisers by appointing the entire LDP brigade in his government and in the process eliminating every kind of rebellion.

Instead he chose to bring together his kinsmen and the weaklings from other
communities. For example over 50% of the Coastal region voted against the draft.  The same was true for Rift Valley, Nyanza, North Easter, Nairobi, Western, and Eastern. This was serious rejection which needed a soul search by the president.  This meant a new political dispensation was to have emerged. Kenya has vast resources that with stability and fair play every Kenyan would get a better par capita. Having one community prospering by shutting others out is retrogressive and irrelevant in 21st century.

jcruiyo@yahoo.com