News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo In Kericho Town.
Members of the Kalenjin community may soon find their community isolation and sidelined by other Kenyan communities and sidelined in the future governments if their visionless leaders insist in continuing with their opposition to the new constitution for selfish centered reasons.
This warning has been sounded by a Kipkellion politician Josephat Kipng’etich Koske who said during an exclusive interview that the proponents of No campaign were using semi-illiterate civic leaders from the various Council in spreading their opposition to the new document, and yet the majority of these Councilors are illiterate and cannot read what is contained therein the new document. It is a complete fallacy and total mischief.”
Koske who contested the Kipkellion Parliamentary seat on ODM and lost during the party preliminary nomination said the no camp proponents were spreading lies that when the constitution come into force many people in the region would be forced out of their farms.
These are all packs of lies. In fact there are more Kalenjin people occupying the land which belonged to other community. Their number outstrip the non-Kalenjin living in the Kalenjnin predominantly region. Cited the Trans-Mara East district in Maasailand whose inhabitants are Kalenjin. The Kalenjin can now form close to 70 per cent of the residents of that district.
The Kalenji, Mr.Koske said must learn to be cohesive and how to live harmoniously with their neighbors. The new constitution is the best document ever produced in this country as it will protect all Kenyans irrespective of their tribe, color, religion or creed.
Koske strongly condemned an unnamed Nairobi daily newspaper, which had reported on its Thursday edition saying that Kalenjin MPs who are in the Yes camp will lose their parliament seats come the year 2012 general election. “These MPs were not elected to their seats on William Ruto’s personal ticket, but were voted into the August House on the ODM ticket. They should continue supporting the ODMK and most of them will retain their seat. “
Even those who are hiding their heads in the No camp under the umbrella of William Ruto will find themselves kicked out of Parliament if they did not perform well to the satisfaction of the electorate,’ said Koske.
He advised the Kalenjin youth against being misused by politicians. Were used in 1992-92, again in 1996-97 and finally in 2008.The youth were told to evict non-Kalenjin residents, and the youth went as far as spilling blood of innocent Kenyans. But all these tribal skirmishes have ended up no benefiting anybody. In fact, the Kalenjin are today poorer than they were 30 years ago. All means of production such as KCC were looted to the ground, Pyrethrum farmers have been going without payment for their products for years. The community cannot go on being cheated year after years.
The time is ripe for the Kalenjns to be cohesive enough and usher in the true spirit of nationalism and patriotism and learn how to live in harmony with their neighbors. Politician peddling lies must be told ion their face to shut up and go.”said Koske.
Koske’s warning came amid reports from various parts of the South and North Rift regions that hate leaflets have started appearing inside tea estates in Nandi Hills in South Nandi district and in Kericho, Bureti,Bomet and Sotik districts advising non-Kalenjin residents in those areas to leave immediately after August 4 referendum voting.
He went on,”the authors of these hate leaflets should be hunted down by the law reinforcement agents and forced to account for their cowardice actions. Kenyans are yawning for the new constitution for which they have battled for close to three decades in vain. Lt it be enacted, and any clause of it which is found to be unworkable could be amended in the same way Kenyans have seen the Lancaster House Constitution of 1962 being amended more than 100 times. Such amendment hurts nobody.” He added.
The reports, which could not be verified immediately says, the leaflets have appeared at the George Williamson Tea Company, which is located near Kapsabet in North Nandi district and also in some tea estates in the Nandi Hills region.
Also there are unconfirmed reports that many non-Kalenjin workers in the tea estates and factories located in Kericho, Bomet, Bureti and Sotik district are slowly slipping out of their work places in fear of what will happen to them after August 4, referendum voting. There has been a lot of verbal threats in public joints, market places and shopping centers that the Kalenjin will evict them out of their places of work if they voted for Yes camp.
Some of the workers are reported to have started sending their families away in fear of possible molestation after August 4.”We are not taking any chances and what we are doing now is sending those whose presence within the tea estate camps are not necessary or not essential or dependants who are not working for the companies. We have advised our children to go to our rural home directly from school when schools are closed for the August Holidays,”said Mr James Omariba, a Kisii working in one of the tea estates in Kericho.
The majority of workers in the tea industry in both South and North Rift hails from the communities which supports the Yes camp, namely the Kisiis, Luos and Luhyia. These workers were subjected to a lot of harassment in the previous incidences of politically motivated tribal land clashes. In the South Rift districts of Molo and Kuresoi, Kikuyu settlers were harshly evicted by the so-called Kalenjin warriors who attacked them with crude weapons. The previous clashes sent hundreds of resident to the ID camps as many people were forced out of their homes and made to flee their homes for safety.
But Mr. Koske has assured the non-Kalenjin not to panic so long as they are Kenyans they are free to settle and live in any place of their choices. Nobody will be harassed, and we are going around educating our youth not to allow themselves to be misused by greedy individuals.
The new constitution will guarantee every Kenyan of his or her right of ownership of property, the land included therefore let nobody peddles likes cheating the Wananchi that they will be driven out of their farms or be heavily taxed for the smallest land plots, “ said Koske.
Ends
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