Forwarded by: otieno sungu
Date: Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 3:11 AM
Kikuyu, Kalenjin presidential aspirants should give up for the good of country
By Kilemi Mwiria
Already we have many presidential aspirants for the 2012 race. Some of them are busy crafting ethnic alliances, despite the trouble such alliances caused in 2007. I would like to make a rather undemocratic suggestion informed by the experience of Tanzania.
One of Nyerere’s greatest legacies was to entrench a presidential identification system which informally locks out politicians from the large ethnic communities from contesting the presidency. It is an unwritten constitutional provision that addresses the fear of smaller ethnic groups that, with political power, large ethnic groups would be too dominant.
The violence witnessed in 2007/2008 had more to do with ethnic competition and less with the manifestoes of the presidential candidates. During the 2007 campaigns, there was much anti-Kikuyu sentiments, especially in the Rift Valley where Kikuyu and Kalenjin residents have had a history of conflict over land resources. This conflict manifests itself in a most ugly way when Kikuyu and Kalenjin candidates are involved in the presidential contest. Although other ethnic groups suffered from the violence, the key players were Kikuyu and Kalenjin — just as was the case in 1992 and 1997.
Those who suffer are always poor workers, peasants and the unemployed because they vote against local preferences. Unfortunately, those they sacrifice for often desert them in their time of need while embracing their elite political opponents with whom they have much in common. These political elites show little guilt in crafting alliances with their adversaries as evidenced by talk of a Kikuyu-Kalenjin alliance.
My take, therefore, is that potential Kalenjin and Kikuyu presidential aspirants should temporarily drop their claim to the top seat until we find a permanent solution to our ethnicised politics. After all, Kikuyu and Kalenjin politicians have dominated the presidency since independence.
Even if we distributed the presidency among all ethnic groups, it will take about 420 years for all our 42 tribes to have a shot at a two-term presidency.
In any case, given the tendency by most Kenyans to vote tribal, Kalenjin and Kikuyu candidates may be rejected, despite their credentials because their communities may be said to have had their turn. The candidates in question may be aware of this unfortunate reality but may go all the way hoping to use their candidature to negotiate powerful positions in the next government.
Kikuyu and Kalenjin communities need the goodwill of their neighbours for their business and farming success more than they could ever hope to get from one person in the name of a president. For no president can single-handedly make a difference for his ethnic community in these days of equitable distribution of national resources. Those who reap personal gain from associating with the president are often big businesses and a few close friends and relatives. More importantly, peaceful elections are good for the country’s economic stability and therefore the majority of Kenyans.
Although this proposal is undemocratic, we should also remember that we have hardly witnessed truly democratic elections in Kenya. We do not vote for presidential candidates because of their manifestos but more because of their ethnic background.
In any case, democracy is of no use if it only serves to divide people. Western democracy as practised in most of Africa has tended to promote greed, tribal conflicts and privileges for a few elites. Maybe we should consider entrenching in the new constitution a provision that checks political dominance by the large ethnic groups while stemming dictatorship by the smaller ones.
While we tinker with this idea, however, individual politicians gunning for the presidency can do Kenya a great deal of good by sacrificing their ambitions for the good of the country, especially where such ambition may intensify ethnic conflicts.
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Subject: Kikuyu, Kalenjin presidential aspirants should give up for the good of country