The elections are around the corner and Kenya is infected with a heightened political fever.  Temperatures are running high and are on the verge of getting dangerously out of control.  I am for example increasingly on the receiving end of an endless supply of unsolicited hate mail, most of it anti- ODM.  From the tone of the letters it would be safe to assume that the writers of this hate-mail support either of the other two main parties, but they are not doing their cause any justice by churning out the hate mail like it is going out of fashion. 

Some people would prefer to call it propaganda but let’s just call a bad hair day what it is and not an unconventional hairstyle. Claiming that ODM candidate Raila Odinga is capable of starting ethnic clashes, or that (this is the most creative allegation I’ve heard so far) he is an eunuch, and (the most alarming) that he will hand over Kenya to the Islamic community, by allowing them to turn our country into a Muslim state, is crossing the line that separates ‘decent’ political mud slinging from dangerous hate campaigns. Does anyone remember Rwanda? 

drowning in hate

Well, I would like to comment about the three allegations, as a neutral party, (right now I’m on the fence and trying to listen to each side's agenda) therefore I am not blowing anyone’s trumpet here but merely analyzing the situation, with logic and common sense as my tools. 

The political situation in the early nineties was very different from that which we have now. Calls for the introduction of Majimboism back then were informed by a desire for ethnic division but Kenya has evolved much since and we are right now much more tolerant of other tribes. In addition, there has been increased efforts at development in marginalized regions. This in no way implies that there are no regional equalities in Kenya today, or that certain communities have no cause to feel marginalized, but without a doubt their lot is much improved than it was back then.  But the inequalities, both political and economic, persist and the perception with it, and it is this spirit that is the driving force behind the yearning in these regions for economic Majimboism or any other state programmes that would improve marginalized areas. 

The second charge is that the Lang'ata MP is a eunuch. This, to say the least is quite interesting. I laughed when I first read it but cut myself short almost immediately because there is very little funny about the claim. It is highly unlikely that what these hate campaigners are claiming is true, but even if it is, so what? The intention clearly is to malign. Does impotence preclude the governing of a country?  It clearly does not, but if the charge is one of emasculation what does that say about these hate campaigners view of gender equality in the political arena? 

Third and perhaps most disturbing is the most disturbing news I’ve heard on the Kenyan campaign scene for a long time. It portrays the Islamic community in a negative light. Why does the world assume that they are all out to take over the world and make everyone wear hijabs? This is a dangerous mindset that we have gobbled up from the mouths of the ‘anti- everyone else’ Bush administration. And it is careless fear-mongering particularly because it cannot and will not happen. Kenyan society is far too secular to be turned into a sharia-law state.  

Hijabs all around?

My overall problem with this hate mail is the underlying assumption that we as Kenyans, citizens of a cosmopolitan and tolerant country, have not the facility to avert any of the alleged disasters that would occur if Raila was elected president. I would like to add a caveat here, I do not necessarily believe that Raila’s team would fulfill some of the promises they have made if they got into office.

I for one do not think that Raila would do any of the things that the hate mail campaigners claim he would do, but even if he did we have matured so much as a country in the last five years that no one can, I repeat no one, can turn us on ourselves.

Over the past five years, we have grown in leaps and bounds, politically, socially and economically. We have come to value being Kenyan. How many companies now brand themselves as being pro-Kenyan, boasting about their Kenyan-ness? This wasn’t so ten years ago if you remember. Being Kenyan wasn’t in. How many people listen to and even buy Kenyan music? These might seem like trite examples but they are a real reflection of the social transformation happening in our country. We are starting to love being Kenyan, slowly but surely. No one can take that away from us. It doesn’t matter who we vote in as president, what matters is whether or not we vote and who we vote in as MPs and councillors, because that is the real problem we have in Kenya, a parliament that has only its own interests at heart. Look at the way the ninth parliament gave itself hefty pay increases and a sinful send off package when most of their constituents are languishing in poverty. 

The essence of my message is this; let’s stop hate mail campaigning and let’s look at the issues with clarity and objectivity so that we can vote wisely. But whatever happens next year, we will survive as Kenyans no matter who gets elected, and we will hold them accountable to us. We get the leaders we deserve, and we Kenyans, my brothers and sisters, deserve visionary leaders who will be accountable to us, no matter what ethnic group we hail from. Think about it, and consider blocking off people who send you hate mail; they’re not worth your time. 

Toni Kamau is the producer for HATUA Season 3; a human rights based talk show hosted by Jimmy Gathu and Anne Mitaru Mumina. Season 2 is currently airing on NTV on Sundays at 6 pm.

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No one is undecided
written by Jaluth MaSoko , November 05, 2007

Thats a bold faced lie. The agendas of the leading candidates are well known. dont be lazy a few clicks of the mouse will get you where you wanna go.

The hate mail wont change minds because they are ridiculous.

What hate mail directed against the President did you get? and why no mention of them?

This post is a piece of anti Raila drivel, poorly written and disguised.

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Thank u friend
written by Mimimzalendo , November 05, 2007

I like you have continued to receive so many emails and sms's with an anti-tribe bent. A good number of them come from PNU propaganda teams and some of them are pure and simple, tribal. Especially the ones targetted at our brothers and sisters from Nyanza, Western and Kalenjin. Its good to see you take a stand on this. We should also make sure that both sides (PNU, ODM, ODM-K) should know that we dont like these hate-campaigns disguised as propaganda stuff. That was why it was so myopic and un-visionary for the PNU-Launch in Nyayo Stadium to have turned into a hate campaign launch platform.

Be blesed,

MM

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written by mwangi , November 05, 2007

[Comment deleted by Moderator]

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toni lol
written by mwangi , November 06, 2007

If your name is Toni Kamau and you are still sitting on the fence then something is very wrong . Don't pretend that you are a fence sitter . if you are a Kamau and not decided when people like Ole Ntimama are coming back dot cheat us that you are undecided you are an ODM-msaliti

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Let\'s all cool down
written by Jayawardene , November 06, 2007

Thank you Toni. You speak out bravely on a serious topic and one which our leaders and the general media are all failing to address.

Though I am not much of a siasa fan myself i find it understandable that for many people tensions and temperatures will continue to rise during an election campaign such as this.

That said however there can be no excuse whatsoever for the careless and often reckless remarks that are coming from some of our leaders. Similarly we the public should take no part in this dirty game of malicious propaganda.

An election is not the end of the world. Win or lose we all have to live together in this beautiful country of ours. We shall still need to educate, feed, clothe and house our kids kama vile mbeleni and at the National level our urgent development issues will still need addressing.

Let us cool down and remember that whether we win, lose or draw December 28 will be just like any other friday....all over the world.

For those who are responsible for the creating, sending and forwarding of vile letters, emails and text messages I have nothing but a deep and sincere pity for them.

Even as one allows themself to be used by others with supposedly bigger brains one cannot escape the shame and self loathing, the guilt and disgust of knowing that under the anonimity of text messages and emails what one is doing is very shameful, dirty, disgusting and lewd.

It only takes a tiny spark. Be careful

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Thank you Tony
written by MKerich , November 07, 2007

Jaluth and Mwangi
Indeed it seems that you both have bought into the tribal hate propaganda that you're parties sell. Jaluth, an open minded examination of Tony's post will indeed show it to be impartial. To claim that it is a thinly veiled attack on ODM just because the author is Kikuyu makes me lose alot of respect I had for you.
As for Kamau, i dread to think what you wrote in the comment that was deleted. How is it being a traitor to think openly and decry hate speech just because he is you're kinsman? I'd rather you left youre argument to the shallow Ntimama statement than extend it to mean that any right thinking Kikuyu must vote with the president no questions asked.
Indeed if presumably educated people of the internet community can speak at such a low neanderthal tribal level i shudder to think of what is passing for truth with the fourth estate!
I laud the Author Toni for trying to write some sense on the internet which seems to be fast turning into a forum for idiocy,pure hatred and bigotry. Souldier on with the cause!

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red flag
written by Amir Ibrahim , November 07, 2007

Now Toni. I have a little problem. I believe that some of these texts and emails are so obvious in their messages that they cannot at all be from the PNU.

For example, the one about the prepuce and its absence/ presence. Why would anyone think that such an email would work to dissuade a modern, urban, office working Kenyan? Is this not the sort of message you preach in the slums or in a village? Certainly no via email, or SMS where a record can be kept.

My second problem with these messages is the fact that they do not seem to be sent discriminately, which surely would be the MO for them to achieve the desired effect. I do not live in Kenya and I am not Kikuyu, but even I have got them. Someone seems to be running a very clever operation aimed at creating a certain perception of Raila as a martyr.

It is not out of nothing that I say this, the man certainly suffers a sense of perpetual victim-hood. Everyone is against him, shadows all around whispering dangerous nothings and so on. Do we remember when he was always alleging an attempt on his life? Now he is talking about rigging? Nyachae talked about Raila being uncircumcised once and then Raila talked about it for a whole year, the ODM-K council of elders suggested that Kalonzo or Musalia would have a better chance of beating Kibaki and then Raila went into a wail about how they had suggested to him that a Luo could not become President of Kenya, etc.

This may well be a psyop, and Kenyans are the poor victims. It seems organised to present Raila is a light that we should all sympathise with him, he the poor eternal victim of the powers that be, who never harmed a fly but who is every day hated and scorned across the country.

P.S. How come there are no anti-Kibaki ones going around? The ODM too smart? Too organised?

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written by aeichener , November 07, 2007

Very likely, some of the dafter (Kenyanese: "more dafter") emails come from ODM supporters who want to make their opponents look bad. Rather flimsy,the pretence.

Alexander

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heat is heat
written by jayawardene , November 08, 2007

My landlord always says that whether you use gas or electric heating you still pay the price: Heat is Heat.

Ofcourse Toni is absolutely right to highlight this issue which nobody else wants to discuss. I have my own reasons to doubt Ibrahim's and Alex's suggestions but that's by the by.

The authors and the intended recipients of these ghastly emails and phone messages may or may not be as you say. What is without doubt though is the potential chaos that these messages can bring to all of us.

Like Toni I urge you one and all to purge your contacts lists of all such offenders. Next time you get one of those sms be polite and tell them nicely to just.....go away.

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get used to the unfamiliar
written by new day , November 11, 2007

interesting thread, although not very clearly written by tony kamau to attract a wider participation. First and foremost, amidst all the hate mail going around, i am still praying that the peace continues to prevail, no one is killed or maimed for expressing their opinions. Meru and Kisii people, let ODM do their campaigns in your region peacefully. And Nyanza people let PNU move around the lake and sollicit votes.

To understand the nature and motive behind most hate mails doing the rounds, it is instructive to take a moment and understand the ethnic dynamics in Kenya, linked to History and Culture.
Generally, Kikuyus as a group have acquired some kind of superiority complex due to 3 factors;1. Jomo Kenyatta was this country's founding father and has a sound legacy, added to the mau-mau struggles which are attributed to events that led to independence, so kikuyu communities feel that they were key to the country's independence;2. The Kikuyu community is the most populous with 22 percent of kenya hailing from mount kenya, thus they are able to use their numbers to influence;3. Central Province is strategically positioned making it impossible to ignore the Agikuyu presence addedd to the fact that Nairobi is a mere 30 or so kilometres away. This makes it easier for central province resource producers to take advantage of Nairobi's business tools to market goods. Compare with Kakamega or Kisumu and you see the distinct advantage. This has given rise to a thinking that the Agikuyu have the best business acumen. While it is true that the Agikuyu are an enterprising group, it is misleading for attitudes and perceptions of other communities to be shaped by this thinking. You can be the best by practice and persistence.

These factors and other minor factors that I have not raised here, have contributed to this superiority complex which has manifested itself in little every day ways and transactions. The impact (mostly intepreted negatively) has been felt by individual Kenyans and I think they are reacting jointly to these minor treatments which most have felt to be injustices (ref: emails about key jobs in the civil service given to people from a particular community doing the rounds in offices followed by a response by the Government in a paid for advertisement trying to show that jobs were distributed equitably) etc. That explains why, as shown by opinion polls by Steadman, InfoTRACK Harris, Consumer and Strategic, Raila's lead is enhanced by a cross section of communities other than GEMA that feel that change should entail taking power away from Mount Kenya. Example: Some like the Luhya are also keen to have their own to the top come 2012 and think that it is easier to negotiate with Raila at that time than anyone from Mount Kenya and are therefore putting their bet on reducing the risks before they throw in their bid.

Meanwhile, our brothers from central kenya will do anything within their power to have kibaki re-elected, anything. This explains the hate mail and propaganda. it started with speeches saying Raila was unelectable, meant to incite communities that practise circumcision to reject him. Well, this one has not been selling anywhere and was dropped. Raila is a Dictator - has also been dropped, after Raila took the trouble to show his humane side by visiting children's homes and maternity hospitals and having journalists take his pictures holding newly born children.
Now we have the Majimbo song trying to show that Raila is out to balkanize (funny word that i am reading for the first time in this context) the country. This has contributed to a drop in Raila's score at the opinion polls. I can see the ODM now trying to practise damage control, avoiding the word majimbo for other alternatives, or they might try to find ways to avoid the subject altogether, i.e by saying the subject will be revived after the elections to let all candidates to concentrate on electioneering.

For me it is clear where the hate mail is motivated from, Kikuyus finding it hard to de-link competitive politics in a democratic country with their own deeply held myths and beliefs. That someone from a community deemed as inferior can marshall support and out gun 'their' president.

Meanwhile, old Kibaki has spent 5 years 'sleeping' at state house only to come out to campaign for a second term too late as the seeds of ethnicity and hatred have been sowed secretly while he slept and was unheard of. Nothing was done to make kenyans feel united these past five years, what would you expect ??

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written by Ngigi , November 15, 2007

There's no escaping the fact that there's a heavy anti Gikuyu sentiment being fanned and exploited by the ODM crew as they did in 2005 over the referendum.

If we only use a tenth of our brains and do simple policy analysis, we'll find that ODM's policy banter is not feasible in this or any other life. PNU is being funded by old corruption networks, yeah boo hoo! (Moi/Biwott etc).

Ruto still has corruption cases pending against him and is on record saying that an ODM govt would never implement the Ndung'u report as it was authored by "enemies". Corruption thus, is not an issue.

Ethnicity ? - see aforementioned "enemies".

Majimboism is tied to the ethnicity issue and we all know how Central province is being used as the evil comparator of unjust distributions of wealth. The HATUA Toni you should be taking is being honest about our country's history. Luo's have been led to believe that Gikuyu's caused and sustain their poverty and hence are out to exact vengeance. Kalenjin's are bitter that their kinsmen were sacked by the NARC administration despite the fact that they generally got employment based on ethnicity rather than merit.

I, as a Gikuyu, will not be apologetic for being born in Central or the fact that my ancestors approximately 600 years ago chose a land populated with rivers while other favoured lakes. KANU ignored central for 24 years and we learnt to be self reliant.

It is time everyone else learnt to be dignified by working hard to create wealth and not to expect a redistribution from Central or anywhere else. Begging from anyone, not least the state is not dignified.

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Good Comment
written by Kipkirui Cheruiyot , November 16, 2007

Thanks for such a refreshing comment. It is sad indeed the kind of hatemail going around. I wish everyone would read your article. Keep up the good work.

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Kikuyus are nobody\'s enemies
written by new day , November 20, 2007

The hate mail is actually both ways, and not only directed towards the Kikuyu. The subject is usually flimsy and only meant to evoke fears and ridicule, with the ultimate motive to discredit. it should be discouraged at all costs. In Rwanda, the word 'inyenze' meaning cockroach was frequently used to discredit the tutsis, and we all know how it all turned out in the end.

I would like to clarify from Ngigi's post above, that while it is imperative that he/she finds pride and security in having been born in central kenya, where i was also born, and that it is true that Mr. Moi neglected that area for many years, the area people are not self reliant, and depend on others in business, logistics, soci-cultural and national activities. Indeed, no one region in Kenya is self-reliant and we all put our synergies together to weave a common destiny.

Differences between Kikuyus and Luos have mostly been on the political front both historically and in present times, and it is not accurate to merge these with other threads of society where both communities have found common ground. Propaganda and the hate mail all attempt to introduce deeply held beliefs and practices into the political realms to excite deep emotion for or against someone.

Let us see some balanced attitudes for a change. Let some Jaluos sing some Mugithi train praise songs and other kikuyus revel in Atoti yawa flattery. The same for other communities. Otherwise, reading all the posts and threads in kenyaimagine and Mashada and I still see biases, I immediately can tell that the curse is far from over.

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