From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013
Some of our readers misunderstood my homily of fifth Sunday of Lent. In fact when my niece asked me why only Kikuyu want to rule Kenya and why do they hate other tribes, particularly the Luos I tried to convince her that it is not the case, in other wards, Kikuyus do not hate Luos or other tribes, it is the political system in Kenya that exclude other tribes and make them feel they do not belong in decision making and development platforms.
My homily was based on the fact that we must work as Kenyans to kill negative ethnicity. We need to feel that all of us are Kenyans, politically and religiously- A country that all national cakes are distributed equally among 42 tribes in Kenyan, including the Ogiek community.
One of my colleagues even went as far as suggesting I should distinguish Sunday homilies are news dispatch, advising me that on Sundays I must gear my homilies towards saving souls. My colleague is still thinking in Vatican 1, the time that when Christians were in church they were souls, and only to reunite with their bodies after mass.
That is why those days we did not have toilets in church compounds because souls cannot go to toilets. Church doors were closed so that no one was allowed to come out because what you could see outside was rendered sinful.
Yet still, as a priest and prophet I will be failing in my prophetic role to condemn anything that can divide us as Kenyans. I must condemn politics based on loyalty to tribe. I must condemn it because loyalty to tribe is given much relevance than loyalty to country.
I will be failing in my role if I did not condemn political party system anchored on ethnic groupings. This type of system denies other tribes equal opportunities when it comes to development. Political system based of tribal groupings offer platforms for leaders to elaborate their development policies entrenched on the tribal sense.
Our tribalism has ascended worrying heights, especially to our children who we want to see growing up as children of one nation called Kenya. If we do not work together as Kenyans to destroy such systems then we will be perpetually embroiled in small messy tribal conflicts to the extent that the problem seems inexorable.
We must stop this cancer which has eaten deep into our social fabric, permeating every nook and cranny of our society from spreading. We must not allow our political leaders to continue compounding the problem– using ethnicity as stepping stones to their power-seeking ventures.
Tribalism cannot be vanquished by the National Commission on Integration and Cohesion alone. We need – as a people – to pivot our energy and reorient our strategy towards cohesiveness.
We must condemn tribalism because it is inimical to development. It bores retrogressive policies – much of which crippled this country for decades. We need to detribalise our politics – cease using tribe as a means to power and access to resources. The rhetoric and diplomacy will not help suppress the vice.
Like my niece Irine, the young generation have a responsibility to slain the dragon of negative ethnicity that rear its ugly head every electioneering year. It is their role to see unto it that elections in Kenya must not be based on tribal groupings to ascend to power.
We do not want to see other elections in Kenya like the recent one which have exposed and exacerbated negative ethnicity. It has left no doubt that our electoral math, maps and voting patterns are largely ethnic. Seemingly, our politics have little to do with ideology and issues but to ascend to power.
We need to stop this system in order to prevent conflict and help Kenya meet its growing economic needs. We must come together and engage in collective initiatives to rid our country of negative ethnicity.
We do not want a country where elections are stoking ethnic hatred among Kenyans. The elections cannot be said to be free, fair and peaceful if the system excludes other tribes.
We must not pretend. Negative ethnicity is a major problem in Kenya. It is a threat and a burden to our democracy and development. Children grow up imagining Kenya through tribal impulses, especially our young people who are used by some politicians to fight other tribes who are not loyal to particular system.
We need a country where the youth can develop a new vision for Kenya where everyone feels that they belong. If this is done then it will take the agility of young visionary Kenyans to slay the dragon of negative ethnicity that impedes our growth and development as a country. Until we tackle negative ethnicity that is rife in Kenya, peace and stability will be fragile.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
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Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002