Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo.
The latest flare up along the Nyado, Muhoroni, Tinderet and Aldai districts borders, which resulted in the loss of the precious lives of six Kenyans leaving scores injured and hundreds left hundreds homeless must be handle with extra care by the authorities in both sides of the border.
The ugly incident must be condemned unreservedly by all level minded Kenyan who cherish peace and the rule of law.
The investigators should go much deeper and look into the possibility of a political angle playing part in the skirmishes, which in my view is not caused by the simple act of cattle rustling.
Cattle rustling business between the two communities is centuries old trade, but has never before degenerated into full scale tribal skirmishes like the one witnessed last weekend.
If not thoroughly investigated and its root cause uprooted and amicably resolved, it could be pointing out to the direction of the shape of things to come this being an election year.
This full scale bloody confrontation comes at the time when members of the two neighboring communities have pitched camps in two different political parties vehemently opposed to each other, could be a recipe for much more bloody battles ahead.
It all began last Thursday nigh when unknown common stock thieve raided Nyakunguru village in Muhoroni district and stole four cows
The thieves drove the animals across the border into Nandi district. The next day dozens of Luo youths armed themselves with crude weapons crossed the border and moved into Chemase area in day light and forcefully seized 44 herds of cattle from the Nandi farmers and drove the animal across the common border into Muhoroni district.
The police did what they could and recovered some of the animals, but the Luo insisted that the recovered herds cannot be returned to their rightful owners until the Nandis on their return the four cow they had stolen from the Luo side of the border.
In retaliation in anger, the Nandi made an armed incursion into several villages during the night . The invaders set dozens of Luo homes ablaze and torched hundred of hectares of sugar cane in the farms belonging to the Luo , an action viewed by Luos as punitive economic sabotage. The next morning bands of Luo youths boarder several trucks in crossed the border in retaliation raids and torched several homes leaving many people homeless.
The local MPs representing the affected areas should be absolved from blame. Led by Tinderet MP Henry Kosgey and included the Muhooni MP Prof/P Ayiecho Olueny,Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo, Lands Minister James Orengo, Aldai MP Dr Sally Kosgey moved with speed and addressed series of tension charged meetings pleading with the residents for calm and to work together to ensure that peace and tranquility returned to the affected area. Kosgey even went out of his way offering to give cash money to compensate the owner of the stolen cows. The offer was out rightly and rudely rejected. At one point at a meeting at Chepsweta area, those in attendance demanded that the Muhoroni MP leave the venue of the meeting, but were calmed by Kosgey.
The active participation in the peace process by the veteran Nandi politician Mzee Ezekiel Bargetuny who did not only appealed for calm and restoration of peace in the are, but also allowed the displaced person to use his farm as a temporary refugee camp.
All this are clear indication that the local MPs were genuine and serious in their undertaking in preaching for peace.
However, there some missing pertinent questions which calls for an immediate answer. Judging fro the arsenal of weapons displayed and captured by TV cameras, there seemed to have been prior preparation for the armed conflict. Who were the owners of the trucks that ferried the dozens youths from Muhoroni into Nandi area on a revenge mission? Who paid for the cost of hiring the trucks?
Houses and cane farms went up in flames even as the leaders were busy addressing the meetings and urging the residents to maintain peace. Were there any signs of “Double Speak” on the parts of MPs? Why the Nandis were reluctant to have the Muhoroni MP participating in the peace meeting at Chepsweta?
Some of the youths were seen carrying shields made of steel materials meaning other people have long been preparing and getting ready in anticipation of such eventuality. This is what the government must investigate and ensure it contained such unlikely event of the outbreak of full scale tribal war. It must pre-empt it and contain the situation, but not to wait until after such ugly incidents have occurred and then rush its security personnel to quell the Violence at a much higher costs.
The government must also share the blame for having reused to prosecute those politicians who have been criss- crossing while defiantly making inflammatory speeches, some of which are full of insults and high provocation despite of recommendations by several bodies, commissions and civil societies.
It has the services of the National Security Intelligence Services {NSIS} with well staffed section handling and dealing with internal security whose responsibilities include advancing it o any boiling issue in the marked trouble spot throughout the country. Has the NSIS ceased to exist?
Communal grievances, which originated from biased and unfair distributions of the land in the Songhor valley, particularly the large scale farms formerly owned by the departed white settlers, some which were taken over by the ADC at paces like Kimwani could be the contributing factors to the latest spate of grudges and hostilities.
Peace and tranquility are the component of development and co-existence of the all the Kenyan communities and it must be upheld at all cost. Action should be taken against anyone disrupting peace even if he or she is from the politically correct and untouchable groups, the strict observation of peace of paramount,
Ends
Each and every election year there has to be tribal clash.why?these people crisscrossing the country in the name of prayer meetings should be stopped and their movement monitor so that piece can prevail in the country. those who have been to the lake knows that one dieing in water usually goes with anything they find around so we should be careful with the so called suspects.
RUTO/UHURU PRAYER RALLIES
Like babies they are playing in the hands of Luis Moreno Ocampo who as a professor at Law is not very stupid.
Not only Luis Moreno Ocampo knows what they do at the rallies is not remotely connected with the Son of Galilee, but the most naive baby on earth is very clear on what they want to achieve, that is make Kenya ungovernable unless one of them is the head of state.
PNU government is watching gleefully as the killer bomb threatens to implode and explode come the next general elections. Apparently it believes rather strangely that to its benefit Raila Amolo Odinga is being destroyed by Ruto/Uhuru duo. But RAO is not Kenya nor is destroying him development. May be the departing president will love to make skulls of innocent democratic protesters grace his legacy come next elections! Behold his loud silence as violent poison is puked at the ungodly prayer rallies by his desciples!
Mark! When he took the oath of office he swore to defend and protect all Kenyans including the innocent PEV democrats who protested in defence of democracy and justice.
DR ODIDA OKUTHE
WHAT IS MOI UPTO ENDORSING UHURU KENYATTA?
Moi endorses Uhuru Kenyatta for president come next elections!
Did Moi see the PEV and its implications to mankind? Has Moi actually been following Uhuru Kenyatta ever since he was negatively mentioned at The Hague? Has Moi ever seen and understood Uhuru Kenyatta’s body language since his profecy at Burnt Forest six months before the 2007 presidential elections that he ”would be in the next government irrespective of who won the 2007 election?
Has Moi realized that the Uhuru profecy later came true when the elections were rigged in his favour and he without education and merit became the DPM and Minister of Finance?
DR ODIDA OKUTHE
I grive unashamedly to see these two nilotic communities kill each other from an incident related to theft of animals. I also ululate so unabashedly to see elders drawn from both sides painstakingly trying to broker peace to foster peaceful coexistence. I am a luo and always have deep affection for all nilotic tribes because in them I see my other brothers. The issue of being kenyans rate last in my consideration. I hope you’ll not confuse me for being a tribalist. Despite the fact that it is an election year, and that we may have different political preferences, lets inculcate peace within the political ranks for the development and future of our people. shedding our own blood does not help.I that regard. I thank our senior brothers like Mr. kosgey, mzee Bargetung, mama Sally and others who took their precious little time to pour water into the fire. The wishes of these senior brothers to keep peace should be emulated and youths from the two communities made to form abroader intercommunity policing team to tackle cattle rustling menace. political competition by people who want to enrich their already bulging pockets should not antagonise our people. Bothers kindly let peace prevail.
We should not pretend that kenya has attained homegeneous community. People,mostly in the rural areas ,they tend to maintain the culture of their
respective tribes. For example,the tribal groups ,we have in kenya such bantus
,nilotics and kush tend to be behave differently.
The majority of nilotics and kush are always very frank in whatever they do.Infact,without town influence,one would bank on any agreement reached
with them. Before the coming of the whites,the Arab traders were the ones
roaming and trading with Africans at the Coast and Hinterland.They found it easy
to trade with some of bantu tribes beause their earlier meeting with the group
at the coast which produced the group known as Waswahili. The c unningness behavour of the arabs extended to these group of people.
The behavour ofcunningness of the arabs spread very widely within East Africa.
This way of life also is adopted by many politicians of our present time. It is what
makes it difficult for politicians from nilotic and kush groups to match politiians who
exprienced of c heating of the arab traders.It is very easy among nilotics to be cheated to fight one another. This was witnessed in Uganda when Amin was cheated to overthrow Obote’s government . The same fate happened when Acholi
generals in Obote’s army were cheated by Museveni group to combine forces to overthrow Obote’s government. The Acholi generals went a head and overthrew the
government of obote without Museveni’s input. When they were doing that the Acholi felt save. They never realised the intention of the group of being against the
general nilotics. Now the whole area of North and West Nile are in great problems
of underdevelopment for the two decades. The diffences has been exploited by the
cunning group to maximum.
Now ,the Kenya situation is very c lear. The 2008 political crisis should make kenyans
know our limits. We should not allow ourselves to be divided by petty differences which will be exploited by natural enamies who had taken oath to rule kenyans for100 years. They are veryc unning and always ready to change their political
path very quickly . This is how peole like Karume and Michuki managed to servive politically. It is Michuki who declared media blackout immediately after swearing
Kibaki at night.This declaration speaks volume a bout that man. Suprisingly,when
he died nobody mentioned this. It is a strange world.
Therefore,the fighting between Kano people and Nandi of last week was cunningly
brought about by a group who want revenge against the two tribes after they have
separated.The Luos and Kalanjin should not allow to be divided at all.