One interesting trait prevalent among Kenyans is their passion for conjuring tales of vivid imagination and then insisting on them so ardently that they end up being turned into truisms, never mind their lack of basis in fact.
The traditional method, is to take on a sprinkling of facts, throw them into a massive sufuria boiling with sliced and diced-facts, spiced up with fantasies for good measure, with a large pinch of salt for flavour and an unhindered splash of such outrageous fictions as would embarrass most, except we are Kenyan. It is not for nothing that we build these castles, we are seeking only to advance our agendas, to establish what we wish were true. Such efforts are much aided by any helpful constructions we can push especially as our excuse as always; where there is smoke, there is fire, but far too often, it is merely an ignis fatuus, a fool's fire. Let's take a lighter look into our society and step for a moment away from the serious but sometimes silly business of politics. Here are some of our articles of faith, Mheshimiwa XYZ fought for our freedom
This would be funnier but for the sincerity with which it is pronounced. To my recollection, Kenya got her independence in 1963. The loss of any freedoms on the part of the Kenyan people after that was a choice we made ourselves rather than one that was forced on us. In the Moi era, it was claimed that people were fighting for freedom and against injustice. Were we not the same people who sang Tawala Kenya Tawala! And feted our king and his court with pomp, ceremony and crepe paper garlands? Moi did not steal freedom from us, he impoverished us and we gladly accepted his rule. Okay, you may ask about those detained by Moi. I concede that Moi and Kenyatta had the knack of detaining people they did not agree with and this, the treatment of political opponents makes a matter for interesting analysis. Why were some of those opposed to the system assassinated and others merely detained? Tom Mboya, JM Kariuki and Robert Ouko? These three had one thing in common - they could provoke a feeling in Kenyan hearts, and in large numbers across ethnic boundaries. However the likes of Matiba, Shikuku, Raila and Anyona could not excite anything beyond their ethnicities in the form of political threat and so were treated to somewhat greater generosity. And now to latter day saints, among whose number is the indefatigable MP for Kitui Central. I have recently read on the internet that Charity Ngilu is a fearless crusader who fights against injustice. This is the stuff of political passion and altogether harmonious with the spirit of hagiography and leader worship, but it is inconsistent with what is very public information. Justice seems to me one of the least understood, yet most often used English terms in our political lexicon, like a spear we can all wield when we are on the losing side. Then we are fighting injustice, we are sitting back left in the luxury of the latest in German chariot technology, and fighting injustice. But it seems in the Kenyan mind, a perceived wrong by the government, or the party in government is termed a gross injustice, and a slight against a political leader, a mere political wrangle becomes a war against an entire community, its marginalisation and humiliation. Is it possible an injustice is something in the persona of Mwai Kibaki or Arap Moi? If a political leader and his or her actions have not impacted on you negatively, how can you claim an injustice by him against you, even on behalf of another one? Tribalism in government appointments
I am taking the liberty of quoting Wikipedia on the definition of tribalism: The other concept to which the word "tribalism" frequently refers is the possession of a strong cultural or ethnic identity that separates oneself as a member of one group from the members of another. This phenomenon is related to the concept of tribal society in that it is a precondition for members of a tribe to possess a strong feeling of identity for a true tribal society to form. The distinction between these two definitions for tribalism is an important one because, while tribal society no longer strictly exists in the western world, tribalism, by this second definition, is arguably undiminished. People have postulated that the human brain is hard-wired towards tribalism due to its evolutionary advantages
I will also look at how Wikipedia deals with nepotism: Nepotism is the showing of favoritism toward relatives, based upon that relationship, rather than on an objective evaluation of ability or suitability. For instance, offering employment to a relative, despite the fact that there are others who are better qualified and willing to perform the job, would be considered nepotism.
As one can see, the problem in Kenya is not tribalism, but nepotism and its cousin, cronyism. When people make appointments to their cronies based on their relationship that is nepotism /cronyism and not tribalism. Unfortunately, since we are all too lazy to understand the meanings of the words we use, it becomes possible to twist these into whatever ominous shape we desire, and with it whip up the hordes into a suitable frenzy (encouraged of course with talk of wanatumaliza and 'they are taking all the money', ‘they are taking all the jobs'). The campaign period and the post-election chaos have thrown up another large number of such fictions. They range from strong assertions that President Kibaki stole the election, that only one tribe voted for Kibaki, that he only one in one province, that the country rejected him and gave him only 43 MPs against Raila Odinga's 100 and so on. I admit that as a known and unabashed supporter of Kibaki's my objectivity is not exactly in the right place, but such ones are fictions which even the less extreme of the ODM's fanbase should be able to admit. There are many other examples, tales which we concoct and then advance, lies we tell so much we come to believe them ourselves. You have a go now.
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