Kisumu
  22/1/2007
 
THE PERSECUTION OF ABAGUSIII PEOPLE BY THEIR NEIGHBOURING COMMUNITIES MUST COME TO AN IMMEDIATE END

  Commentary by Leo Odera Omolo 

  The question which longer into the minds of many Kenyans, and which requires an urgent answer, is the reason why members of the Abagusii community should be subjected to political persecution and made to suffer the brunt of the on-going lawlessness in the country?
 
  It has been almost three weeks since the country was plunged into an unprecedented wave of violence after a disputed poll result which handed president Mwai Kibaki election victory in a hotly contested presidential race.
 
  The Abagusii, are relatively small community which is ensconced between the Masaai and the Kipsigis communities along the borders of Southern Rift Valley and Nyanza Provinces. The community is encircled in its South Western boarders by its highly populous Luo community has suffered a great deal ever since the violent flare-ups
 
  The community is reputed and well known for its  hard working members. Butit was recently subjected to violence eviction from their legally acquired land plots and other valuable properties in Tran-nzoia, Uasin-Gishu, Kuresoi, Kipkelion, Kisumu, Sondu, Oyugis, Migori, Trans-Mara, Nakuru and Nandi regions.
 
  Most of the victims had settled in the settlements scheme areas  in the early 1960s and late 1970s when the White Highlands, which  was previously exclusively reserved by the British colonial administration to the White Settlers were opened up for Africans soon after Kenya attained her political independence.  In 1963. The post- independence KANU government headed by Kenya’s founding president, the late President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta had entered into a serious negotiation with the British Government for cash loan  which runs into colossal amount of money. The money was later used in paying compensation to the White settlers, the majority who had opted to leave the country voluntarily for green pasture in other countries.
 
  The scheme paved the way for new African settlers and members of the Abagusii community then living in a tensely populated Kisii Highland District took the  advantage of the availed opportunities, mobilized themselves into small groups of land buying companies and raised sufficient  money  which enabled many Kisiis to acquire more  land in the newly opened settlement schemes.
 
  This was meant to easy  out the congestion in the overcrowded Gusii villages. Many families sold their ancestral land to either their kins and neighbours and used the accrued proceeds to purchase land in the new settlement scheme countrywide.
 
  Earlier in 1962 the Boundary Commission which was appointed by the British government and headed by one Prof Mackenzie had recommended  the extension of the original Kisii District boundaries to include what is now known as Borabu district which was recently curved out Nyamira  district be transferred  from Kericho district to Kisiii Highland original district.
 
  These areas stretching from the Mokomoni and Makairo in the old North Mugirango location and the mountainous area overlooking the Sotik Highland Tea, Kepkebe and Ngoina tea estates to Manga, Nyausiongo and Kijauri settlement schemes  which were previously parts  parts of the Sotik Highland an area which was part of the Whites  settlement areas which  were then being administered by the Sotik sub district of the larger Kericho.
 
  The same Boundary Commission of 1962 also extended the boundary of the old Kisumu district to include former White settlers areas of Chemelil, Koru, Muhoroni and Fort-Tennan in what is today called  Nyanza  sugar belts in Nyando district. Many Luos like in the case of Kisiis were offered large tracks of land in this settlement areas.
 
  It is worthwhile to remember that the Boundary Commission headed by Professor Machenzie come to force while the older Kericho district was still being administered by Nyanza Provincial Administration from Kisumu before the district was eventualy transferred the Rift Valley Provincial Administration in Nakuru the same year.
  These areas were separately being administered by the defunct Nyanza County Council with its head office in Kericho. The Council was mainly catering for the  interests of White settlement in the two regions.
 
  The Abagusii people in the district had equally shared the Sotik settlement areas with their Kipsigis  neighbours in the same way the Luos had shared the Nyanza sugarbelts with  their Nandi neighbours.
 
  But strangely  enough the Kipsigis have since 30th December 2007 turned the heat on the Abagusi people  under the guise of the on-going political impasses and launches full-scale tribal clashes against the Abagusii people for no a parent reason and justification whatsoever.
 
  The Kisii people  are being victimized under the pretext of mass action  called by the opposition ODM party  in protest against irregularities in the election results of the presidential election. The post election period has witnessed many Kisiiis being forcefully evicted out of their legitimately acquired land plots in places like, Kuresoi, Londiani, Molo, Elburgon areas. Many members of this community are being treated like vilens and yet they had acquired their firms legally in same manner on a willing seller willing-buyer bases. Many of them have lost their lives in their skirmishes. This is totally unacceptable and  does not auger well in the true Kenyans spirit of peaceful co-existence.
 
  On political front the Abagusiii people voted wisely for nearly almost all the competing political parties. The community voted for all the leading presidential candidates, namely president Kibaki of PNU his excellency Raila Amolo Odinga of ODM and Stephen Kalonzo  Musyoka of the ODM-K
 
  Any sane person who dare to read the recently published by the ODM as the audited polls results in all the ten parliamentary constituencies in Gusii land would see that both Kibaki and Raila had shared the votes equally.  Therefore it is difficult for any level minded Kenyan to come into terms with the reality as to why the Abagusii, people are being made to suffer.  For example the reason why they had voted for this or that particular political party. The whole thing is total mockery to the tenets of democratic principles.
 
  The ODM party captured four parliamentary seats in South Mugirango, Bobassi, Boncharii and Mugirango West constituencies which are spread in  Gucha, Kisii Cenral and Nyamira districts. The party has seems secured the support of two more MPs from those  who had earlier contested  the elections during ODM preliminaries worn the elections but later lost the party tickets under mysterious circumstances to their  adversaries. The two are Robert Monda (Nyaribari-Chache)and Richard Momoina  Onyonka of  Kitutu chache.
 
  The two had worn their .preliminaries comfortably but in a strange fit of events were strangely denied the ODM  tickets by the party leadership forcing them to more to other smaller  parties and  eventually worn during the election proper held on 27th December 2007.
 
  Monda who worn in Nyaribori Chache has sins charged the party and rejoined the ODM. The later had lost the party ticket to Mr. Christ Bichage whom he later bit he down while Mr. Onyonka had lost the party ticket to the former PS Minister of agriculture  Mr. Ongwae that went a head and worn the Kitutu Chache seat.
 
  The ODM can now on six constituencies in Gusii land out of 10 seats. PNU worn  two seats  while its principal partner KANU got two. The MPS slots in Gusiland were therefore evenly distributed to the major political parties and no one should complain about this.
 
  It is therefore wrong for any group of Kenyans to go venting their anger on the Abagusii people by way of chasing them out of their legally acquired land and properly anywhere  in this country. The community is too liberal and had voted for every party that deserved votes.
 
  Some of the people who settle in Narok, Mau Narok, Kuresoi, Trans-Nzoia, Londiani and elsewhere are reported to have  caste  their votes in accordance with  reveling local political environment, therefore they deserve no ill-treatment  on account of voting for the perceived “wrong party”   The Abagusiii  should not be persecuted on the account of negative political  outburst by some of their leaders. After an even the most excessively arrogant former road minister Simion Nyachae who is credited for making un-cordinated erratic out bust  against neighboring communities was voted out and consigned to a political limbo.
 
  Both Kalenjin and Luo leaders should preach peace and tell their followers to leave the Abagusiii people alone. It was however, heartening that Mrs Ida Odinga and  some of newly elected Luo MPs  had jointly launched the initiative of touring all the peri-urban areas of Kisumu city and made passionate appeal to the communities to leave in harmony and to avoid and called for hate campaign against each other.

  Other leaders Should follow  suit.
 
  During the dark years of the struggle for independence,  members of the Abagusii Community like any other communities large or small contributed immensely  towards the liberation war.
 
  Some of the community illustrious sons were in the forefront of the struggle by black nationalists. Men like the like  the late Senator John Kebaso, the late James Nyamweya, the late Barnabas Omae, the late Mzee Johnson Kiragori, Washington Ondicho, Henry Nyabuto, John Mamboleo Onsando, the late Lawrence George Sagini, Mathews Omwena to mention a few actively participated in liberation war of the early 1950s and late 1960s.
 
  This hardworking and industries Abagusi community should be left alone to live in peace and  tranquility and  enjoy the fruits of Uhuru  like any other Kenyans.
 
  Those who had settled in other region outside Gusiii must be allowed to own their lawfully acquired property and land. Forceful and violence eviction of member of this community  must stop. The eviction of the Kisii workers out of the tea estate and factories in Kericho, Bureti and Bomet district where they are lawfully earning their living must be discouraged at all cost.
 
  The Kisii need peace, harmony and tranquility to co-exist with other Kenyans. These are my views over the on-going tribal cleansing in some parts of Western Kenya under the pretext of mass action are retrogressive.
 
  I concur with sentiment expressed by several MPs from the region led by the Minister of Education Prof Samuel K. Ongeri (  Nyaribari Masaba), j Onyancha ( Bonchari, and Omingo Magara ( South Mugirango) that their community is being presented for no fault of their own.
 
  End
  Leo Odera Omolo at yahoo dot com