Sat, 2 Feb 2008 11:58:42 -0800


From: Mugo Muchiri
Los Angeles
January 31, 2008

The Luo and Kikuyu have a long intertwined history that predates Kenya’s political independence of 1963. It is a very precious, almost brotherly, relationship that’s primarily molded on friendship and respect, but that’s unfortunately been allowed more times than necessary to degenerate into fear and loathing.

For the most part, Luos look at Kikuyus with admiration; they respect their drive and acumen which fuel their seemingly relentless pursuit of material abundance. Kikuyus, they’ll acknowledge, have an uncanny ability to organize factors of production so that the color of the end result is green. Being satisfied with the status quo doesn’t appear to be an option for most Kikuyu folk which may well explain Mumbi’s children’s zero tolerance for economic stagnation.

This view of Kikuyu ingenuity goes way beyond the confines of Luo thinking and is in fact widely held in the country. A comedic byproduct of this is that Kikuyus have been the butt of any number of jokes. My favorite one goes like this: If Divine intervention isn’t forthcoming, by all means use the ‘ka-ching’ sound of a dropping shilling as a foolproof way to revive a dying Kikuyu. Kikuyus, who themselves have a healthy penchant for self-deprecation, will hasten to chime in that a revived Rathaaro (Lazarus) promptly declares: “Eyo ni yakwa” (“That is mine”).

How do Kikuyus on the other hand view their Luo brethren? The words high regard, smart, intelligent and easily driven to excel come to mind. This is especially true in pursuits of an intellectual nature and of sportsmanship in general. When a scholarship is offered a Luo, for example, you’re talking huuuge, deep bite! They ain’t letting go until the goal is achieved, all too often a PhD.

If education is important to the Kikuyu, it is doubly so to the Luo. Ask any progenitor of Ger and they’ll be quick to point out to you that the fault lines of respect run deep in Luo society. Becoming highly educated is a prized treasure and a constant motivator that opens the door to societal respect, recognition and, to a large extent, fame. The Great Separator in Kikuyu society is wealth as measured in banknotes and earthly possessions.

Few would argue that Kenya isn’t the richer owing to this deeply instilled tradition of academic excellence among Luo folk. How otherwise could you explain that at virtually all institutions of higher learning in Kenya, a Luo imprimatur in teaching and research is indelibly present? Luo academe is widely recognized as astute purveyors of higher education to our college-going sons and daughters.

Kikuyus on the other hand have had a vast impact on the economic wellbeing of the country by the sheer strength of their desire and drive to create wealth. Indeed wealth creation is so impregnated in Kikuyu DNA that geography has hardly been a barrier to the adventure of finding treasure. As a result, the Christopher Columbus’ of Kenya’s economic frontier are perhaps the most highly dispersed or diffused of all 42 ethnic groups in Kenya.

The funny thing is that although Luos and Kikuyus are known for their bravery and chest thumping, the courage to openly express mutual appreciation hasn’t necessarily occupied center stage. They have been loath to acknowledge membership in Mutual Admiration Society. Yet the truth of the matter is that we secretly admire each other’s talents and are aware on a visceral level that we need each other for our mutual progress and benefit. The reason why America is the economic powerhouse of the world can be distilled into one simple fact: an acutely efficient environment that all but guarantees the almost seamless interaction between technology and entrepreneurship. Keen minds discover and raw greed delivers.

Happily, it is on the individual level that cross-fertilization hasn’t needed any coaxing. Today, intermarriages between the two great tribes are just about as common as the Otieno-Wambui union of the 60s was uncommon. I have often mused about two of Kenya’s most prominent political antagonists - President Jomo Kenyatta and his first Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and in particular about how their personal chemistry might have been influenced by the knowledge that two of their grandchildren would one day be joined together in holy matrimony.

Would their disagreements have been less bitter and disruptive to intercommunity harmony? Would a point of commonality have had a mitigating effect on their negativity and its ensuing deleterious effect on the Luo-Kikuyu nexus?

What is clear to me is that the relationship between the Kikuyu and Luo is far too important to be left to the personal chemistry (or lack thereof) of its leaders. And a digression might help illuminate this point. After the deadly attacks of 9/11, many here in America were totally astounded and completely aghast at how much hate broad swaths of Middle-Easterners harbored against us. The first impulse of any Administration might have been first to profile and then flush out alien Arab-Muslims from the homeland. In fact most foreigners believe that this was precisely the inspiration behind the edict that all aliens beyond a certain age, starting with those of Middle Eastern descent, register at INS offices countrywide.

Fast forward a few years and enter Karen Hughes, America’s gung-ho image re-setter. Significant numbers of Middle Eastern students get invited to come and study at US colleges and universities. Why? True we want them to get a fine education, but we also want them to see, live and interact with ordinary Americans everyday. It wouldn’t take long before they discover real Americana, the one that so often gets distorted by stereotypical prisms from the outside and lopsided foreign policy proclivities from the inside. The true generosity of the American people, their kindheartedness and openness of spirit would come cascading forth. Feedback would eventually filter back to the students’ home countries and a re-cast American image, it was judged, would be a huge national dividend for the United States.

The counter-intuitive morale of the story is simple: in the face of adversity, multiply points of contact, DO NOT FALL PREY TO THE VOICES OF ISOLATIONISM.

It is vitally important that interactive subsets be established at all levels of Kikuyu-Luo body politic. Letting such a relationship become hostage to the vested interests of 2-3 individuals is pound foolish and penny wise. It is stupidity compounded (stupidity to the power of 3). It’s like going gaga over antiquated IBM mainframes in today’s age of iPods, iPhones, iTunes and Blackberries!

My second missive, in a few days, will shed some light on what I believe Kenyans need to do to quickly put this sad chapter of an otherwise beautiful story behind us. We need to entrench peace, harmony and positivity but not just amongst the larger tribes. The feeling of being Kenyan and loving all Kenyans needs to be an abiding reality of every mwananchi.

And so it’s kwaheri ya kuonana from the son of Ndunge who dearly hopes that we can quickly return to the days when humor rules and where our version of the Onion allows us to congratulate Jesus 2.0 for a terrific upgrade (from an ass to a Hummer!) and to assert our strongly held belief that there’s absolutely no problem that a slap and a nolle prosequi can’t solve.

WE WILL BE A MUCH, MUCH, MUCH STRONGER NATION AFTER ALL THIS. I AM SIMPLY TELLLING YOU THE TRUTH.

OUR CONDOLENCES GO OUT TO ALL BEREAVED WANANCHI.


READERS: We held this story for some time so that we could discuss whether the obvious stereotypes contained herein were offensive. We decided that a little humor was in order and that we would make an exception and put political correctness aside for the sake of a piece that we believe is worth reading. We believe that the stereotypes contained in this article do not detract from the very necessary message of this piece.  We appreciate the author's submission of this well written and interesting article and we hope that you have enjoyed reading it.