As I watched "Agenda Kenya" yesterday on a local television, it suddenly downed on me that perhaps as a nation we are yet to grasp the enormity and the seriousness of the situation prevailing in Mt Elgon and Bungoma areas in Western Kenya.

With no official statement as of yet from the Government one cannot preclude complicity. With one stark word I state its "Genocide"- on our own backyard!

According to Article 11 of the 1948 International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide(provision of which is replicated in Article IV & VI of the Rome Statute of The International Criminal Court) the crime of genocide is defined as consisting of two elements: the first the mental element which involves seeking to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group as such and secondly,the physical element which includes inter alia killing members of a group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of a group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part... et cetera. The Convention further continues to criminalize the act of Genocide, complicity, incitement and attempting to commit Genocide. Unfortunately both these elements are manifest in the prevailing clashes between the warring communities in Mt Elgon Area.

While the International community has manifestly shown it's abhorrence of these kinds of acts or omissions, on the other hand serious questions are posed about our view and resolve as a nation with regard to this sad state of affairs to wit: what has, what will and what can be done to stop and curtail the wanton destruction of property and loss of life that result from such clashes.

As the cinders of burnt houses continue to smoulder in Bungoma and Mt Elgon area in western Kenya the genuinely concerned Kenyan must ask why? What has gone wrong? Is some life so cheap? Is the Government responsible and if so to what extent? Might there be complicity from the Local administration, from the intelligence community and the state's security machinery? Finally, what role should the government play in curbing the skirmishes and preventing future repetitions of violent clashes especially over land within the Republic?

While we acknowledge that violent land clashes are not a preserve of Kenya only; the international scene has witnessed during the month of March 2007 violent land clashes in Nandigram area -south of Calcutta in India, Guangdong land clashes in China ,Masindi area in Uganda, North West province of Cameroon and our neighboring country Ethiopia. The reasons for these flares-up vary but a common denominator in these clashes is-Government Policy gone wrong.

With regard to the Mt. Elgon clashes, the negligence of Kenya's governments past and present has been the greatest factor. It defeats reason that a Government would be willing and eager time and again to send its military forces using the tax payer's funds on peacekeeping missions in far away countries but be lethargic to do so when such conflicts are occurring only a few miles from its own military barracks - Moi Barracks near Soy. In the strongest terms possible we as Kenyan people must condemn such hypocrisy and abdication of duty.

The fact that violent clashes continue to recur with little or insignificant prosecution of perpetrators portends a worrying state. The country still continues to court a culture of impunity as was evidenced in a Prime News item on a local TV station as recently as yesterday when one citizen from the warring factions (Ogiek community) made an inflammatory statement threatening death and destruction to the Soi community with the comfort of knowing nothing serious will be done. Our politicians continue to churn inflammatory comments, vigilante organized militia (the likes of Mungiki, Chinkororo, Taliban, Kamjesh, Msumbiji...etc) continue to exist and extort Kenyans, often with political backing.

That aside we watch with terror as part of our country is turned into a war zone with armed and well trained militia engaging in wanton acts of destruction of human life and property. The military should urgently be deployed to arrest and curtail the situation. With close to 60,000 people displaced and over110 lives reportedly lost it's just not enough to send the local police with the backing of the paramilitary General Service Unit while our adequately trained military forces relax in the Barracks. Lives are being lost to determined militants armed with guns, machetes, bows and every kind of crude weapon imaginable. This should send chills to the man restfully sleeping at State House and his cabinet.

Just like Koffi Anan commented on the 10^th Anniversary of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide we must acknowledge that "Such crimes cannot be reversed. Such failures cannot be repaired. The dead cannot be brought back to life! "And that it is our responsibility to ‘do more' and in a ‘timely fashion' to prevent the wanton killing, maiming of individuals and destruction of property by the organized militia of one race against another.

It is sad, shameful and aggravating to see that due to our inaction our fellow citizens are now refugees in neighboring Uganda having been forced to abandon their home nation, the one that their forefathers fought for while our members of parliament haggle in luxurious hotels and resorts over how to gain power over them.

True there may be no ready or immediate solutions to land clashes in Kenya but with the benefit of hindsight we certainly realize land clashes were not the preserve of the KANU -Moi Government. It is a social problem that continues to glare its ugly face time and again in this republic. More must be done than endlessly cry wolf . Urgent long term solutions must be sought which should emanate from and incorporate the views of the diverse Kenyan public, a mission much more urgent and important than the clamor for minimum reforms.

The Need to Legislate

After 9/11 attacks in the USA, the Government -under international pressure- hurriedly proceeded to draft an Anti- Terrorism bill which was manifestly unjust and unconstitutional, a cynical effort to please our partners in the West. Yet time and again the lives of the citizenry have been lost and in grave danger yet not even the feeblest attempts have been made to legislate and seek long lasting solutions to this problem. This again being hypocrisy and betrayal of the ideals upon which this nation is founded. It's in this vein that I propose an Ethnic Crimes Bill should be expeditiously drafted by the Attorney General with input from prominent scholars, technical expertise and input from the legal fraternity by and large to punish, prevent and curb crime motivated by ethnic hatred.

A further long lasting attempt to gain a solution would be for the President to appoint a permanent Presidential Commission on Land/Ethnic Clashes with the mandate to: investigate and identify the root causes, derive solutions and especially to undertake a mass education campaign against perpetuating ethnic rivalry and hatred. The commission should further contribute to the continuous Legislation against these sorts of Acts or Omissions. If need be the commission should become a statutory commission vide an Act of Parliament. It must be remembered that a single flare can set a whole forest on fire. Subsequently,no Kenyan is safe due to the fact that they are not in Mount Elgon, or Likoni or North Horr when these clashes occur.

As we will settle down to sleep tonight, it pains to realize that thousands of fellow Kenyans will not enjoy the luxury of peaceful sleep. They will not sleep in the comfort of their homes but in fear and with the knowledge their country is not doing enough in their behalf.