DIVISIONISM IN KENYA
From: Alex Kiprono Maiyo
Thu, Dec 10, 2009

It is disheartening when you go through the blogs by Kenyans. They are laden with divisionism, which is a pointer that we still have a long way to go to overcome the evil.

In school I was taught by Kikuyus, Kalenjins, Maasais, Luos, Merus,
Swahilis, Arabs, Indians and Europeans. Pastors from various tribes and races have also ministered to me. I also shared classroom with students from various tribes. To me they have always been the same. They equally do good and wrong.

However, nobody has explained to me why it has to be different when it comes to political leadership, where we are told some tribes cannot produce presidents, or when a person commits a mistake as an individual, he drags the entire tribe into the offense.

I am just tired of this type of politics where if an individual, a Kikuyu
wrongs me, a Kalenjin, I shout that the Kikuyus have wronged the kalenjins and the Kalenjins should teach Kikuyu lessons. Many times, it is not even committing a wrong against one. There are many instances when one is caught in the wrong, and an attempt to address the wrong is fought by inciting tribesmen.

On comparing notes with others, I have learnt that what happens at the national level is a replica of what happens at the local level, where the clan comes before anything else. Indeed, most projects undertaken through CDF fail because of clanism.

As Kenya makes a new constitution, would you please pass on my contribution that DIVISIONISM at any level need to be criminalized, to discourage tribalism and clanism.

I urge all of you to go slow on divisionism. POLE POLE NDUGU ZANGUNI.