At the height of the 2007/2008 post-election violence, I drove into one of Nairobi’s shopping malls.
As I was walking in, I bumped into an old friend, whom I had not seen for a while, walking to his car. What followed was an incident that I am unlikely to ever forget. He walked straight into my face, eyes bulging, mouth frothing, his finger jutted out. You, he hissed, how dare you support them? Then came a venomous diatribe against “them”. Up to this point “they” had not been named, and their identity became clear by inference when he informed me that Mungiki had been dispatched to circumcise every one of them.
I had said nothing up this point. I was contemplating the urbane, educated man—a Master of Business Administration and former bank chief executive—in front of me, his gleaming BMW in the background, transformed into my mental image of Interahamwe.
My bemusement was compounded by knowing that the man had been a key member of the presidential campaign of a non-Kikuyu presidential candidate.
When he was done, I posed a question: whether, when the Mungiki was done with “them”, he would take issue with their coming back to administer the same rite of passage to his daughters. That took a moment to sink. When it did, he stormed off towards his car.
My crimes included speaking out on TV against the ethnic mobilisation that was going on and publishing an analysis of the election results which pointed to manipulation of the results in favour of Mwai Kibaki. The crimes went on to earn me a spot on the Kikuyu traitors list, as well as threatening phone calls, some from personal friends.
This was not my first encounter with such bigotry. Shortly before the election, I had been duped to speak at a social gathering convened by respectable members of the Kikuyu elite.
I arrived a bit late and found another speaker explaining why letting go of power would be the end of the country. I did not stay long enough to speak. I left in the middle of a tour de force by a prominent academic of evil leaders in world history—no prizes for guessing where this was headed. I would not be surprised if oathing took place thereafter—there was certainly enough blood and entrails around to re-enact the Gatundu tea ceremonies.
The season of madness is upon us.
I recently got into a casual conversation with a friend, we were at a funeral, about the state of our politics which veered into the subject of lack of ideology in Kenyan politics.
He disagreed. There are two political ideologies in Kenya, he pontificated. We “agriculturalists” believe in eating the sweat of our brow, while the others believe in entitlement.
Pastoralists believe they are entitled to cattle, including other people’s. Fisherfolk are beyond the pale—they just get fish from the lake without knowing who put it there.
This particular bigot, an influential member of the President’s inner circle, saw no irony in the fact that the media was awash with stories of hardworking agriculturalists helping themselves to public money—the National Youth Service scandal was raging at the time.
PERSUADED ME
Some months ago, a young relative persuaded me to meet her friend who she said had a business proposal for me. The friend, who turned out to be a dashing young woman, was propositioning me to become a contributor to a new patriotic publishing venture, which by her own admission could do with the intellectual credibility I would bring to it.
With a bit of probing, I established was a government propaganda initiative.
My declining did not go down well, but the diatribe that followed took me by surprise. How could I as a Kikuyu not see the consequences of losing power? That we would be overrun by hostile envious tribes and who would run down the country and dispossess us of everything?
The incoherence was astounding. One moment we Kikuyus were the Jews of Kenya, resented for our business acumen, in the next we are the ubermensch whose manifest destiny it is to rule Kenya.
The remarkable thing is not what she said—I’ve heard it all before—but the righteous indignation and fervour with which she said it. This is a new breed of ethnic supremacist, a naive culturally dislocated young socialite, as elite as they come, international school, foreign university educated, who could not even speak Kikuyu—an oblivious fascist.
In 1961, American political theorist Hannah Arendt went to Israel to report the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann for The New Yorker. Her dispatches, which she compiled into a book, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, generated a high voltage intellectual debate that reshaped the thinking about perpetrators of mass atrocities.
Eichmann had been in charge of deporting Jews to the death camps. Ms Arendt, herself a Jewish emigre who had escaped Hitler’s gallows, expected Eichmann to be a psychotic monster. But the Eichmann who emerged during the trial was no such thing.
He came across as normal, if somewhat buffoonish, an observation confirmed by independent psychiatric evaluations conducted on him before the trial: “Despite all the efforts of the prosecution, everybody could see that this man was not a ‘monster’ but it was difficult indeed not to suspect that he was a clown”.
Eichmann was not even a virulent anti-semite, yet he had sent millions of Jews to their deaths. Why would a normal person participate in the genocide of people he did not particularly hate? Eichmann was an underachiever who was obsessed with belonging to something important. He was in mortal fear of obscurity—so much so that he undermined his defence by claiming credit for things he did not do so as to not appear unimportant. He joined the SS after he was rejected by a prestigious fraternity known as the Schlarraffia. Nazism fulfilled this psychological need and he in turn gave it his all.
Eichmann’s profile is one that is easy for us to recognise. He was a mindless sycophant mesmerised by proximity to power, willing to advance his career by any means and at any cost.
“The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal.” This is what Ms Arendt termed the banality of evil, eliciting both fear and rage. Dehumanising evil, that is, casting perpetrators as monsters helps us to dis-associate ourselves with it—it is a coping mechanism. By humanising it, Ms Arendt forces us to process it.
PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION
It has been suggested that the politicians who have been spewing ethnic bile be subjected to psychiatric evaluation. This suggestion, is our cope out. These people are not insane. Their madness is saying publicly what we think and say in private, and increasingly, publicly hiding under the anonymity of social media. But this is not insanity. It is lack of inhibitions, which is easily explained. Like Eichmann, they are mindless sycophants intoxicated by proximity to power—terribly and terrifyingly normal.
Ms Arendt’s thesis is echoed in Christopher Browning’s 1996 book Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. The book is an account of unspeakable atrocities committed by a German police unit in Poland. Unlike Eichmann who was actually an SS officer and senior in the Nazi hierarchy, the members of Unit101 were not diehard Nazis, but ordinary, mostly middle-aged men who had been drafted but found ineligible for military service. The remarkable thing is that they were not even coerced to commit the atrocities. Those who felt that they did not have the stomach for killing were offered re-assignment at the outset. Out of 500 men, only 12 opted out. The unit murdered 80,000 people. They did it to belong, esprit de corps.
But nowhere else in the world has evil been as humanised as right next door in Rwanda. The Holocaust killers were men in uniform in war. Ordinary Rwandans killed their kith and kin with pangas. In Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak, veteran war correspondent and chronicler of the genocide, Jean Hatzfeld, gives the podium to the killers.
Fulgence: “In a war, you kill someone who fights you or promises you harm. In killings of this kind, you kill the Tutsi woman you used to listen to the radio with, or the kind lady who put medicinal plants on your wounds, or your sister who was married to a Tutsi. Or even, for some unlucky devils, your own Tutsi wife and your children, by general demand”.
Adalbert remembered the feasting. “We roasted thick meat in the morning, and we roasted more meat in the evening. Anybody who once had eaten meat only at weddings, he found himself stuffed with it day after day. Before, when we came home from the fields, we’d find almost nothing in the cooking pot, only our usual beans or sometimes just cassava gruel. When we got back from the marshes, in the cabarets of Kibungo we snapped up roast chickens, haunches of cow, and drinks to remedy our fatigue. We found women or children everywhere offering them to us for reasonable prices. And brochettes of goat meat, and cigarettes for those who wanted to try them. We overflowed with life for this new job.” Feasting and fatigue feature a lot in the accounts. Banal.
What to make of Pio’s account?: “Farming is simpler, because it is our lifelong occupation. The hunts were more unpredictable. It was even more tiring on days of large-scale operations, patrolling so many kilometres behind the interahamwe, through the papyrus and mosquitoes. But we can‘t say we missed the fields. We were more at ease in this hunting work, because we had only to bend down to harvest food, sheet metal, and loot. Killing was a demanding but more gratifying activity”. Is there a Pio in all of us?
In Joseph Desire’s account we encounter the collective suspension of thinking and moral reasoning that is the essence of Ms Arendt’s thesis as to how ordinary people become mass murderers: “It was a madness that took on a life of its own. You got on board or got out of the way, but you followed the crowd. If you had a machete in your hand, you didn’t listen to anything. You forgot everything, starting with your intellect. This repeated programme freed us from thinking about what we were doing. We went out and came back, without a thought in our heads. We hunted because that was our daily routine until everything was over. Our arms drove our minds, or in any event our minds never spoke up”.
Walter Reich, in a New York Times review of Browning’s book summed it up as “a penetrating searchlight on the human capacity for utmost evil (which) leaves us staring at his subject matter with the shock of knowledge and the lurking fear of self-recognition”.
Lurking fear of self-recognition. Good people, génocidaires are not psychos. They are ordinary unthinking haters like you and I.
ndii@netsolafrica.com
I read this and said Haleluia and Amen many times. For this is what I have been saying of the Kenyan Intelligentsia for a few years now. Their pretence to respectability and morality soon vanishes when they sink in tribal gatherings.
- My bemusement was compounded by knowing that the man had been a key member of the presidential campaign of a non-Kikuyu presidential candidate.
- The crimes went on to earn me a spot on the Kikuyu traitors list, as well as threatening phone calls, some from personal friends.
- This was not my first encounter with such bigotry. Shortly before the election, I had been duped to speak at a social gathering convened by respectable members of the Kikuyu elite.
- My declining did not go down well, but the diatribe that followed took me by surprise. How could I as a Kikuyu not see the consequences of losing power? That we would be overrun by hostile envious tribes and who would run down the country and dispossess us of everything?
- The incoherence was astounding. One moment we Kikuyus were the Jews of Kenya, resented for our business acumen, in the next we are the ubermensch whose manifest destiny it is to rule Kenya.
- The remarkable thing is not what she said—I’ve heard it all before—but the righteous indignation and fervour with which she said it. This is a new breed of ethnic supremacist, a naive culturally dislocated young socialite, as elite as they come, international school, foreign university educated, who could not even speak Kikuyu—an oblivious fascist.
Veritas happy new year ..do not worry about Omollo he needs to really get hold of his bitterness..Dr Ndii is.a patriot that does not need a kikuyu intelligentsia label. Hate leads to destruction of the soul. Dr ndii is a patriot and a man who can tell what is right and wrong. The cost of standing for what is right is high but it is a choice we can make
David Ndii is right about tribalism. It's especially problematic and more consequential when practiced by a group in power. What is interesting? I am yet to see anyone, including resident Kikuyus, on this forum, condone the tribalism.I have been absent for extended periods so I cannot for sure state that there is any resident Kikuyu who has supported tribalism. In any case since the likes of Njamlik visit in disguise it is not easy to know who is and who is not.
That said, tribe is the unit by which political mobilization happens in Kenya. The Luhya just recently anointed their spokesman at Bukhungu and expect every Luhya to toe the line at the risk of political oblivion.First of all what Atwoli did is still being debated. Frankly speaking I believe it is Atwoli's own retirement plans where he wants to become the Governor of Kakamega.
It goes without saying that people like Raphael Tuju are ostracized for not bowing down to the Luo sovereign.I have no idea how and when Tuju was ostracized. How was he "punished"? Is it because the "Luo Sovereign" failed to endorse him? Was Tuju dependent on "Sovereigns"? Here is what is publicly known:
What Ndii is talking about, and he is right, is his experience with one example of a phenomenon that affects the big tribes in Kenya. The our man syndrome. The other tribes become rivals or even enemies. You can be sure unsavory views of other tribes are not the preserve of Kikuyus alone.I disagree. The so called anti Kikuyu feeling is provoked by what I have described above
It would be nice to see some ideas of how ukabila in politics can be reduced or overcome. Its anatomy is already well known. In that sense there isn't anything new or even useful that David Ndii is saying in this article.
Just like CORD is now being blamed in some quarters for " not making sure elections are not stolen",
Who is this "Kikuyu Intelligenzia" ? as far as I'm concerned Uhuru's inner circle are white or indian if not old boys club MKM dwindling into extinction anyway.
I get what the article is saying but it comes off like a Kikuyu hate piece. There's just too many speculations and suspicions about Kikuyu stereotypes and purported Kikuyu elites breeding some super race like Arendt's experience of Nazism, but I've studied Arendt and the Third Reich and Kenya's situation isn't the same.
Going down this road just spirals misinformation, breeds tension and hate for Kikuyus which is the kind of mentality that led to the PEV. The difference between the last elections and the one coming up is there are concerns this fall-out between Uhuru & Ruto will lead to another PEV between the Kalenjins+ other tribes versus Kikuyus.
I just think we should be more mindful of not demonizing Kikuyus alone for the problems in Kenya's political landscape. It just seems too easy to demonize all problems onto one tribe, but the political landscape today is more complex and involves other stakeholders who could potentially tip the balance of power in favour of democracy, fair & transparent elections.
Termie
Your experience alone should be enough to dissuade you from writing what you just wrote. I have known you not to be a sycophant so I am wondering who it is you are trying to please. No offence intended and now let me explain below:David Ndii is right about tribalism. It's especially problematic and more consequential when practiced by a group in power. What is interesting? I am yet to see anyone, including resident Kikuyus, on this forum, condone the tribalism.I have been absent for extended periods so I cannot for sure state that there is any resident Kikuyu who has supported tribalism. In any case since the likes of Njamlik visit in disguise it is not easy to know who is and who is not.
That said you have missed the point that David Ndii is making. Those who support the bigotry do so in private and within gatherings of those who share their own views. I stated at choo.com my own experience when persons who I knew and thought of as being above triablism shocked me when they expressed pedestrain tribal views in my presence. They had come to believe I "could be trusted". I have lost one or two friends over time when I came to figure out that tribe was more important to them than anything else.
So if you are expecting a bigot to openly state and acknowledge bigotry you will wait for a very long time.QuoteThat said, tribe is the unit by which political mobilization happens in Kenya. The Luhya just recently anointed their spokesman at Bukhungu and expect every Luhya to toe the line at the risk of political oblivion.First of all what Atwoli did is still being debated. Frankly speaking I believe it is Atwoli's own retirement plans where he wants to become the Governor of Kakamega.
That said, there is the little detail about generalization... which you have been waving over my head. "Does it mean every Luhya..." (you can complete the question.
On a serious note: The tribalism that i is discussing has nothing to do with the appointment of a "spokesman". He has his focus on something more nefarious and diabolical:The list is long.
- It is the cultivation of a culture of supremacy;
- The infusion and collective indoctrination of a whole population to hold colonial-like views over fellow citizens
- Mass demonization of legal and official opposition on a personalized scale
- Legitimization of illegalities and denigration of morality and ethics
QuoteIt goes without saying that people like Raphael Tuju are ostracized for not bowing down to the Luo sovereign.I have no idea how and when Tuju was ostracized. How was he "punished"? Is it because the "Luo Sovereign" failed to endorse him? Was Tuju dependent on "Sovereigns"? Here is what is publicly known:I have also heard the propaganda (Tuju is sells Propaganda for a living. He has an Information / PR firm) to the effect that he was rejected by the people of Rarieda because they love backwardness so much that he annoyed them with his "Development". Perhaps Termie can stand in for Tuju and specifically state what that development was? We live in a country where the meaning of Development got lost way back in the 60s
- Tuju ran for office on an LDP ticket then upon reaching Parliament bailed from his party and started voting against it.
- He lost the ensuing election.
- It is also a fact that Tuju convinced DP later PNU that he could rival Raila Odinga in Nyanza and for that received massive financial resources.
- He failed to get enough signatures to make it to the ballot.
If the Luos hate Tuju because of Development why can't he be sponsored for election in Nyeri or Kiambu? CORD has an elected Indian MP in Kisumu. ODM offered Uhuru Kenyatta a seat in any constituency outside Central if membership to parliament was all that took him to support Kibaki in 2007. He declined.QuoteWhat Ndii is talking about, and he is right, is his experience with one example of a phenomenon that affects the big tribes in Kenya. The our man syndrome. The other tribes become rivals or even enemies. You can be sure unsavory views of other tribes are not the preserve of Kikuyus alone.I disagree. The so called anti Kikuyu feeling is provoked by what I have described aboveQuoteIt would be nice to see some ideas of how ukabila in politics can be reduced or overcome. Its anatomy is already well known. In that sense there isn't anything new or even useful that David Ndii is saying in this article.
Just like CORD is now being blamed in some quarters for " not making sure elections are not stolen",
The excessive emotion is misplaced and unhelpful. Perfectly clear explanations have already been given. Here: http://www.nipate.org/index.php?topic=3729.20
Moon-ki, you can disagree without being condescending. Its not necessary.Just like CORD is now being blamed in some quarters for " not making sure elections are not stolen",
The excessive emotion is misplaced and unhelpful. Perfectly clear explanations have already been given. Here: http://www.nipate.org/index.php?topic=3729.20
Termie
Your experience alone should be enough to dissuade you from writing what you just wrote. I have known you not to be a sycophant so I am wondering who it is you are trying to please. No offence intended and now let me explain below:David Ndii is right about tribalism. It's especially problematic and more consequential when practiced by a group in power. What is interesting? I am yet to see anyone, including resident Kikuyus, on this forum, condone the tribalism.I have been absent for extended periods so I cannot for sure state that there is any resident Kikuyu who has supported tribalism. In any case since the likes of Njamlik visit in disguise it is not easy to know who is and who is not.
That said you have missed the point that David Ndii is making. Those who support the bigotry do so in private and within gatherings of those who share their own views. I stated at choo.com my own experience when persons who I knew and thought of as being above triablism shocked me when they expressed pedestrain tribal views in my presence. They had come to believe I "could be trusted". I have lost one or two friends over time when I came to figure out that tribe was more important to them than anything else.
So if you are expecting a bigot to openly state and acknowledge bigotry you will wait for a very long time.QuoteThat said, tribe is the unit by which political mobilization happens in Kenya. The Luhya just recently anointed their spokesman at Bukhungu and expect every Luhya to toe the line at the risk of political oblivion.First of all what Atwoli did is still being debated. Frankly speaking I believe it is Atwoli's own retirement plans where he wants to become the Governor of Kakamega.
That said, there is the little detail about generalization... which you have been waving over my head. "Does it mean every Luhya..." (you can complete the question.
On a serious note: The tribalism that i is discussing has nothing to do with the appointment of a "spokesman". He has his focus on something more nefarious and diabolical:The list is long.
- It is the cultivation of a culture of supremacy;
- The infusion and collective indoctrination of a whole population to hold colonial-like views over fellow citizens
- Mass demonization of legal and official opposition on a personalized scale
- Legitimization of illegalities and denigration of morality and ethics
QuoteIt goes without saying that people like Raphael Tuju are ostracized for not bowing down to the Luo sovereign.I have no idea how and when Tuju was ostracized. How was he "punished"? Is it because the "Luo Sovereign" failed to endorse him? Was Tuju dependent on "Sovereigns"? Here is what is publicly known:I have also heard the propaganda (Tuju is sells Propaganda for a living. He has an Information / PR firm) to the effect that he was rejected by the people of Rarieda because they love backwardness so much that he annoyed them with his "Development". Perhaps Termie can stand in for Tuju and specifically state what that development was? We live in a country where the meaning of Development got lost way back in the 60s
- Tuju ran for office on an LDP ticket then upon reaching Parliament bailed from his party and started voting against it.
- He lost the ensuing election.
- It is also a fact that Tuju convinced DP later PNU that he could rival Raila Odinga in Nyanza and for that received massive financial resources.
- He failed to get enough signatures to make it to the ballot.
If the Luos hate Tuju because of Development why can't he be sponsored for election in Nyeri or Kiambu? CORD has an elected Indian MP in Kisumu. ODM offered Uhuru Kenyatta a seat in any constituency outside Central if membership to parliament was all that took him to support Kibaki in 2007. He declined.QuoteWhat Ndii is talking about, and he is right, is his experience with one example of a phenomenon that affects the big tribes in Kenya. The our man syndrome. The other tribes become rivals or even enemies. You can be sure unsavory views of other tribes are not the preserve of Kikuyus alone.I disagree. The so called anti Kikuyu feeling is provoked by what I have described aboveQuoteIt would be nice to see some ideas of how ukabila in politics can be reduced or overcome. Its anatomy is already well known. In that sense there isn't anything new or even useful that David Ndii is saying in this article.
Omollo,
I am not trying to please anyone. I understand what David Ndii is saying. I am actually expanding on what he is saying. Yes Kikuyu tribalism sucks. That goes without saying. It is also part of a more widespread behavior in Kenya. One could argue that the Kikuyu, or at least their elite, bear a greater responsibility in its perpetuation on account of having been in power long enough to have done something about it. Obviously it's not in their interests to create a country where the focus can shift from tribe to actual performance in office. Why should they? Your reactions make me believe you have fallen for the trap hook line and sinker. Try and separate the issue from your personal experiences with one or two lowlifes. It might help to look at Kikuyu as fairly normal human beings.
What am I saying? That when it comes to the masses of the Kikuyu, they behave no different than the Luo, Kalenjin, Bukusu etc masses. They will have their prejudices and epithets against the other in equal measure. They feel special and can flex their small muscles behind a tribal kingpin. These prejudices and hatreds are needed and reinforced by the elites(Liluyu, Luo, etc) to keep the masses entranced because they have nothing else to sell them. If Kiuks are reminded that Jadhes are the enemy, they are less likely to pay attention to the fact that they are all being equally shafted and will wake up at 4 am on election day to vote for their tormentors to protect them against the enemy But all this is common knowledge. What you want is to show that somehow Kikuyu prejudice is worse because it's...well Kikuyu,
Something else David Ndii is not saying. How are we supposed to end tribalism? You also don't seem to have any suggestions on how the problem can be overcome.
Moon-ki, you can disagree without being condescending. Its not necessary.Just like CORD is now being blamed in some quarters for " not making sure elections are not stolen",
The excessive emotion is misplaced and unhelpful. Perfectly clear explanations have already been given. Here: http://www.nipate.org/index.php?topic=3729.20
The matter was discussed and explanations given on another thread, and I assumed we were done there. Instead, here you are taking a sly dig, on another thread. You got a matching, but more direct, response.
All I ask you is that you do not be condescending by ascribing emotions to my statements. I was actually referring to my very friendly exchange with windy on the same issue and not yours with others.
Why is Jubilee the party soooo concerned about Nationwide network failures. There can be a technical solution that targets those few areas without network or when there is network failures in specific areas. How often do we have country wide network failures anyway. We only have them for sure during elections when ourutu are candidates. Rarely do we have problems with M-Pesa countrywide and yet we so sure that there will be "nationwide network failures" during the 2017 elections. Ouru steals the elections early in the day and that is why he needs this provision for manual voting in place so that he his "technicians" can bring the system down and stuff ballot boxes with fake voters already registered. The 2 million voters who only vote for president can only "vote" manually during a man made nationwide network failure and that is why Jubilee is taking this extraordinary steps to make sure this legislation is passed. If this was a genuine concern they would have easily debated the matter and found a negotiated solution with CORD.Doesn't look good. It seem cord just want to stone-wall any progress towards free and fair election. If there are places without network - how will you electronically transmit or if there is network failure - what happens.
But that is what I am saying Kichwa. It only becomes possible if CORD is in the house negotiating and not protesting in the streets or courts. They can even insist that if systems go down, we permit a certain delay to give them time to come back online. As it is, Jubilee has their way because they encountered no resistance where it mattered.
This exchange is such a waste of time. *
Moon Ki. This exchange is such a waste of time. I am tempted to ask why you are being so emotional about this but I do not want to sound condescending.
Here is my exchange with windy and RVP which I was reffering to. It appeared to me that they were blaming CORD:Why is Jubilee the party soooo concerned about Nationwide network failures. There can be a technical solution that targets those few areas without network or when there is network failures in specific areas. How often do we have country wide network failures anyway. We only have them for sure during elections when ourutu are candidates. Rarely do we have problems with M-Pesa countrywide and yet we so sure that there will be "nationwide network failures" during the 2017 elections. Ouru steals the elections early in the day and that is why he needs this provision for manual voting in place so that he his "technicians" can bring the system down and stuff ballot boxes with fake voters already registered. The 2 million voters who only vote for president can only "vote" manually during a man made nationwide network failure and that is why Jubilee is taking this extraordinary steps to make sure this legislation is passed. If this was a genuine concern they would have easily debated the matter and found a negotiated solution with CORD.Doesn't look good. It seem cord just want to stone-wall any progress towards free and fair election. If there are places without network - how will you electronically transmit or if there is network failure - what happens.
But that is what I am saying Kichwa. It only becomes possible if CORD is in the house negotiating and not protesting in the streets or courts. They can even insist that if systems go down, we permit a certain delay to give them time to come back online. As it is, Jubilee has their way because they encountered no resistance where it mattered.
This exchange is such a waste of time. *
And you went past the "*" because?
Moon Ki. This exchange is such a waste of time. I am tempted to ask why you are being so emotional about this but I do not want to sound condescending.
Here is my exchange with windy and RVP which I was reffering to. It appeared to me that they were blaming CORD:Why is Jubilee the party soooo concerned about Nationwide network failures. There can be a technical solution that targets those few areas without network or when there is network failures in specific areas. How often do we have country wide network failures anyway. We only have them for sure during elections when ourutu are candidates. Rarely do we have problems with M-Pesa countrywide and yet we so sure that there will be "nationwide network failures" during the 2017 elections. Ouru steals the elections early in the day and that is why he needs this provision for manual voting in place so that he his "technicians" can bring the system down and stuff ballot boxes with fake voters already registered. The 2 million voters who only vote for president can only "vote" manually during a man made nationwide network failure and that is why Jubilee is taking this extraordinary steps to make sure this legislation is passed. If this was a genuine concern they would have easily debated the matter and found a negotiated solution with CORD.Doesn't look good. It seem cord just want to stone-wall any progress towards free and fair election. If there are places without network - how will you electronically transmit or if there is network failure - what happens.
But that is what I am saying Kichwa. It only becomes possible if CORD is in the house negotiating and not protesting in the streets or courts. They can even insist that if systems go down, we permit a certain delay to give them time to come back online. As it is, Jubilee has their way because they encountered no resistance where it mattered.
I was blaming them for not partaking in the discussions. Not for refusing to ensure that elections are not stolen. My point was that taking to the streets even while refusing to participate in the debate that the jubilant had initiated actually weakens their argument. They would have lost; but at that point, the argument for mass action is stronger as they would have exhausted all other avenues.
Omollo,
I am not trying to please anyone. I understand what David Ndii is saying. I am actually expanding on what he is saying. Yes Kikuyu tribalism sucks. That goes without saying. It is also part of a more widespread behavior in Kenya. One could argue that the Kikuyu, or at least their elite, bear a greater responsibility in its perpetuation on account of having been in power long enough to have done something about it. Obviously it's not in their interests to create a country where the focus can shift from tribe to actual performance in office. Why should they? Your reactions make me believe you have fallen for the trap hook line and sinker. Try and separate the issue from your personal experiences with one or two lowlifes. It might help to look at Kikuyu as fairly normal human beings.
What am I saying? That when it comes to the masses of the Kikuyu, they behave no different than the Luo, Kalenjin, Bukusu etc masses. They will have their prejudices and epithets against the other in equal measure. They feel special and can flex their small muscles behind a tribal kingpin. These prejudices and hatreds are needed and reinforced by the elites(Liluyu, Luo, etc) to keep the masses entranced because they have nothing else to sell them. If Kiuks are reminded that Jadhes are the enemy, they are less likely to pay attention to the fact that they are all being equally shafted and will wake up at 4 am on election day to vote for their tormentors to protect them against the enemy But all this is common knowledge. What you want is to show that somehow Kikuyu prejudice is worse because it's...well Kikuyu,
Something else David Ndii is not saying. How are we supposed to end tribalism? You also don't seem to have any suggestions on how the problem can be overcome.
on tribalism it should start with you and I.. Like MJ sang look at the man in the mirror and change that man first. I believe changing prejudice is one family at a time or child at a time. Let no amount of bitterness allow you condemn the ignorant masses who for one reason or the other have decided to stop thinking rational on issues. After reading that book about Rwanda by that woman who survived genocide I realized how easy it is to get caught up in national madness and do harm against other human beings. Dr Ndii is letting his conscience dictate how lives his life. He has decided to take this path as an individual he can only point it out to others but he has less influence over them.
Termie
Could you point at a person wielding power in Kenya from any other tribe who has proceeded to hire his own tribesmen to a public institution until the place is completely tribalized?
Yes you are partially right. I have through personal experience come to understand and loathe Kikuyu Bigotry. The mistake you make is to suggest my position is based on some casual experience or one time encounter with some bigots. Nothing could be further from the truth. In brief I have studied it. I have deeply examined it. Hence nothing Ndii says has not previously been mentioned by me.... even the comparison to Nazism / "semitism" or wanting to be Victim and Perpetrator in one.
The problem with your argument is that you divide the tribe in to *classes* and proceed to attempt to exonerate one or more groups and limit the sins mentioned by Ndii to one which happens to be the smallest of all.
Oathing takes place in Central every election cycle. Mass oathing. Because they have captured the State, the organs of the state that should prevent, stop or punish these illegalities are emasculated.
It is now an accepted fact that a large majority of ordinary Germans elected Hitler to power. He expressed their views. Similarly the bigoted views being expressed by the likes of Kabogo and Kuria emanate from the Kikuyu people. Those beliefs have since become internalized. Those who speak loudly beyond the usual whispers know the prejudice exists and they want to use to get ahead to parliament etc.
I do not deny that other tribes have had people preaching mildly similar gospels. The question is: Why has it not caught on like it has among the Kikuyu? Can a seed germinate where there is no soil? Even if it does, could it grow without water? Can it get strong and healthy without fertilizer and insecticide and weeding? Above all most seeds have to be planted!
Termie kindly name the opposite number of Raphael Tuju in Central? We are talking about a region whose people are high on hate and bigotry. A region so well indoctrinated that one can be tempted to call them zombies. I simply do not believe that level of collective automation can solely be blamed on a small group. I no longer believe so.
You asked me for solutions. It is unlikely to see power peacefully change from Uhuru to anybody else through the 2017 elections. It is a foregone conclusion that Uhuru Kenyatta will steal the elections. It is also a fact that come 2022 if he is still in power, he will short change Ruto and keep the Captured state hostage.
I can foresee two or more scenarios:
1. A civil war to last until all ideas of Tribal Hegemony and Supremacy are dead
2. Implosion of the Kikuyu Colonial MachineryOmollo,
I am not trying to please anyone. I understand what David Ndii is saying. I am actually expanding on what he is saying. Yes Kikuyu tribalism sucks. That goes without saying. It is also part of a more widespread behavior in Kenya. One could argue that the Kikuyu, or at least their elite, bear a greater responsibility in its perpetuation on account of having been in power long enough to have done something about it. Obviously it's not in their interests to create a country where the focus can shift from tribe to actual performance in office. Why should they? Your reactions make me believe you have fallen for the trap hook line and sinker. Try and separate the issue from your personal experiences with one or two lowlifes. It might help to look at Kikuyu as fairly normal human beings.
What am I saying? That when it comes to the masses of the Kikuyu, they behave no different than the Luo, Kalenjin, Bukusu etc masses. They will have their prejudices and epithets against the other in equal measure. They feel special and can flex their small muscles behind a tribal kingpin. These prejudices and hatreds are needed and reinforced by the elites(Liluyu, Luo, etc) to keep the masses entranced because they have nothing else to sell them. If Kiuks are reminded that Jadhes are the enemy, they are less likely to pay attention to the fact that they are all being equally shafted and will wake up at 4 am on election day to vote for their tormentors to protect them against the enemy But all this is common knowledge. What you want is to show that somehow Kikuyu prejudice is worse because it's...well Kikuyu,
Something else David Ndii is not saying. How are we supposed to end tribalism? You also don't seem to have any suggestions on how the problem can be overcome.
To say that tribalism is the same no matter who practices it is a big fat lie. Tribalism, racism or sexism are all about power which manifests its self into unfair economic advantages and therefore more political and economic power. Its like saying that black racism in America is just as bad as white racism or that male chauvinism and feminism are all the same. Jomo and Moi practiced tribalism when they had ultimate power and the effect was huge and cannot be compared to the effect of ouru's tribalism or any future leaders tribalism-thanks to multi-party, presidential term limits, devolution and the bill of rights enshrined in the new katiba. Right now we have to work on free and fair elections and rampant corruption to continue leveling the playing field. We are not at a point in our struggle where we can say that the kikuyus quest to retain power by all means is equivalent to what any tribe would do if there tribes mate was in power.
We all hate tribalism. The type practiced by Kikuyu elite is not any different. Save for being in power - this is the only important difference. Because they are in power, you tend to scrutinize their behavior more. And you end up hating it more, while retaining a healthy blind spot for the same behavior elsewhere.
The rest such as their thoughts on ethnic superiority is secondary - not important in my view, except as a mechanism by the elite to alienate the "enemy" and maintain a stranglehold on the community support. The animosity with other tribes is vital to the survival of the elite. They will happily sacrifice a few peasants from the community to advance this narrative and maintain the status quo. They don't do it because they believe they are superior. They do it because they need the animosity to retain their position. When you react the way you do, that is music to their ears.
IMO, that there is more than just those two solutions you suggest. I think the most important one is to strengthen devolution.
To say that tribalism is the same no matter who practices it is a big fat lie. Tribalism, racism or sexism are all about power which manifests its self into unfair economic advantages and therefore more political and economic power. Its like saying that black racism in America is just as bad as white racism or that male chauvinism and feminism are all the same. Jomo and Moi practiced tribalism when they had ultimate power and the effect was huge and cannot be compared to the effect of ouru's tribalism or any future leaders tribalism-thanks to multi-party, presidential term limits, devolution and the bill of rights enshrined in the new katiba. Right now we have to work on free and fair elections and rampant corruption to continue leveling the playing field. We are not at a point in our struggle where we can say that the kikuyus quest to retain power by all means is equivalent to what any tribe would do if there tribes mate was in power.
The good thing is that nobody has said it is the same. If you read my response, I note that the important difference is the power of the Kikuyu elite. Also, it's not fair to compare it to racism because the average KIkuyu is just as much a victim of their elites machinations as the average Kenyan.
There are people, like Ndii, who, for the greater good, have the courage to say in public what they have been told must be kept secret. We all have our "tribal myths"; you know it, and I know it. Ndii's article, made public at high personal cost should not be about "Aha! This confirms what I always suspected!". Rather, it should be a challenge for all us ("small" or "big") to come out (in private or in public) and truthfully face reality ... to take the first step, which is acknowledgement, in breaking out of a nasty "black-hole". But, certainly, particular, no purpose is served by using such to demonize all Kikuyu. "Thinking people" should be able to show that they have something useful that the "herd" doesn't. That's the whole point in going to school.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
There are people, like Ndii, who, for the greater good, have the courage to say in public what they have been told must be kept secret. We all have our "tribal myths"; you know it, and I know it. Ndii's article, made public at high personal cost should not be about "Aha! This confirms what I always suspected!". Rather, it should be a challenge for all us ("small" or "big") to come out (in private or in public) and truthfully face reality ... to take the first step, which is acknowledgement, in breaking out of a nasty "black-hole". But, certainly, particular, no purpose is served by using such to demonize all Kikuyu. "Thinking people" should be able to show that they have something useful that the "herd" doesn't. That's the whole point in going to school.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
There are people, like Ndii, who, for the greater good, have the courage to say in public what they have been told must be kept secret. We all have our "tribal myths"; you know it, and I know it. Ndii's article, made public at high personal cost should not be about "Aha! This confirms what I always suspected!". Rather, it should be a challenge for all us ("small" or "big") to come out (in private or in public) and truthfully face reality ... to take the first step, which is acknowledgement, in breaking out of a nasty "black-hole". But, certainly, particular, no purpose is served by using such to demonize all Kikuyu. "Thinking people" should be able to show that they have something useful that the "herd" doesn't. That's the whole point in going to school.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
The point is Ndii has written what I have previously written about. I am sorry if my stating the fact hurts you or any other person.
Feel free to take your own stand on the bigotry among your people.
(Juma for instance).
If however you expect me to engage in showmanship to "condemn" non existent ills among my people for the sake of making you or the perpetrators of bigotry feel better, you will wait for a very long time.
So more than anybody else, I have the right to celebrate David Ndii and say a million "Ahas"
Will you then join me in condemning Uhuru Kenyatta for institutionalizing Tribalism? Would you also join me in demanding that Uhuru Kenyatta and resign as Head of state to facilitate a truly national unity government?condescending
I also hope you will support measures to De-bigotize the people of Central Province and free them from the effects of Mass oathing started by Jomo Kenyatta.on tribalism it should start with you and I.. Like MJ sang look at the man in the mirror and change that man first. I believe changing prejudice is one family at a time or child at a time. Let no amount of bitterness allow you condemn the ignorant masses who for one reason or the other have decided to stop thinking rational on issues. After reading that book about Rwanda by that woman who survived genocide I realized how easy it is to get caught up in national madness and do harm against other human beings. Dr Ndii is letting his conscience dictate how lives his life. He has decided to take this path as an individual he can only point it out to others but he has less influence over them.
My declining did not go down well, but the diatribe that followed took me by surprise. How could I as a Kikuyu not see the consequences of losing power? That we would be overrun by hostile envious tribes and who would run down the country and dispossess us of everything?
condescendingI guess that is why I requested you to join me in taking specific stands on specific issues. Clearly you now make your position abundantly clear.
What a condescending twat you are! you do not know me from Adam and you have no idea on where I stand on the issue of Uhuru.
Your claim that only Kikuyus need to be de-bigoted is baloney dressed as intellectual discourse.I based my position on well documented facts not least the confirmation by The Right Reverend John Gatu of the PCEA ( a church to which more than half of Kikuyus ascribe to) of Mass Tribal Oathing started by Jomo Kenyatta and now Uhuru Kenyatta. Here follows Ndii's account of a recent encounter:
Shortly before the election, I had been duped to speak at a social gathering convened by respectable members of the Kikuyu elite.I need not add more.
I arrived a bit late and found another speaker explaining why letting go of power would be the end of the country. I did not stay long enough to speak. I left in the middle of a tour de force by a prominent academic of evil leaders in world history—no prizes for guessing where this was headed. I would not be surprised if oathing took place thereafter—there was certainly enough blood and entrails around to re-enact the Gatundu tea ceremonies.
You claim that you know the reasons why millions voted for Uhuru. Your conclusion was that Kikuyus must have done so to despise other Kenyans and lord over them.
You have started this debate with a preconceived conclusion on what Ndii article is about.I wouldn't have started the debate if I did not have an opinion on the article. As for my conclusions being preconceived: Won't it have made it even easier for you to put them to shame. Unfortunately I have clearly backed up my views on why I support David Ndii.
Have you ever asked yourself why would voters in their wisdom or lack thereof vote the way they did?I believe the answers to that question is what you are now strongly disagreeing with. So yes I have asked myself that question severally.
The things you spattering all over the wall about "admission" "revelations" about Kikuyu open secrets is nothing new.
For those us who have been around the block and have left the echo chamber and engaged others we know that these truths are told and known by most and are offered as a lesson learnt from historical perspective. They are given as wrong ideas and deeds that caused dishonor to a community. They are used as a teacher able moments not as historical facts of great conquest and political supremacy.The problem is current, ongoing and poses a clear and present danger to the foundations and very existence of the Nation-State Kenya. Engaging in cosmetic showmanship is a luxury Kenya cannot afford. Come next week and CORD will be calling for demos and Uhuru will start his killings and assassinations. That will not end up in a class room as a "Teachable" moment anytime soon. Perhaps in 100 years after the demise of Uhuru Kenyatta.
If you step back and stop preaching to the choir you would come with different strategies and ways to win the hearts and minds of your audience. You cannot do that by insulting the same people you claim to love.You have missed the point. I am not advocating for the appeasement of anybody. The period of appeasement ended when Uhuru Kenyatta rigged the 2013 elections and embarked on a looting spree. 2017 is a simple affair. Those who want peace will allow free and fair elections. Nobody will take off pants and bend over to be shafted. That is my gospel.
Kikuyus for most fact has no problem with the person of Raila.They can start having problems with him from today if they so wish. It matters not
Leave the propaganda you have heard from few loud uncouth characters.The onlys propaganda I am exposed to is listening to Macharia's radio and TVs alongside those of The Kenyatta family as well as the Captured KBC singing "uwiano" and one country one people and the rest of the crap meant for us to absorb. Yes and that boring song by Eric Wainaina speaking of Daima Mkenya when he actually means "Daima Kikuyu". That song reminds people of the duplicity they saw in 2007 - 08 when they were were being serenaded as Kibaki and Uhuru killed people. Sorry but people outside Central have become impervious to such propaganda.
What t happened and did not happen in 2013 is the interest of Raila and Kikuyus did not converge.
Kikuyus made a strategic risky move of appeasing their historical enemies Kalenjins in RV. They voted for Peace and thought that with RV on their side they would be guaranteed peace and that the rest would work itself out. However, due to the fact this union was between enemies and was made by one group as an appeasement there is a lot of unease and dissatisfaction with this arrangement and people are questioning the wisdom of it. Couple with current corruption this unions is becoming unpalatable for votersThe 2013 vote was about capturing government to beat the ICC. After that, the next agenda was to steal as much as possible because there is no other chance after 2017. The rest of what you say simply shows you have fallen victim to Uhuru and Ruto propaganda.
There is an opportunity for CORD here to present an alternative.
To give Kikuyus a reason to give CORD a second look. This wont be done when people like you are hell bound on making all type of unnecessary political skirmishes that do nothing but enhance the stereo type of CORD supporters being fanatical and riotous.If a normal Kenyan cannot see the need to oppose the activities of Uhuru Kenyatta that Kenyan has no business being in CORD and is best left outside.
The only reason why Uhuru and Ruto are jumping up and down is because they have realized that a chuck of Kikuyu voters may not vote for them.I disagree. Kikuyus will vote for Uhuru almost to a man. The Kalenjin vote will shrink but may be inflated thanks to the "manual voting".
Offer these chunk of voters an alternative. Sell your ideas. Btw I wonder which world do you live in that you have not caught up to this fact. You must be deep in the CORD echo chamber to hear any other voices.It has been tried and failed. Mass De-Oathing would have to be conducted first followed by Mass De-Bigotization before normal canvassing for votes takes place over there. Those people are patients that belong in hospital to be cared for on the same terms as a recovering addict. My heart goes out to them. I shade tears thinking how they have been politically narcotized.
Omollo you are a diaspora Kenyan and sometimes not being on the ground gives us a false sense of being in touch with reality. My advice to you is to tone down your bellicosity and your self righteousness.
I for one will always have a disclaimer that I am not on the ground and have no feel of the real sentiment. I am believer that the decision is for Kenyans in Kenya to make on who should be their leader. For that matter I wont even cast a diaspora vote for I believe I cannot impose my will on those that will directly be affected by my vote.Unlike you I know the resentment. It is worse than 2007.
With that I bow out of this debate
Global citizen: Kikuyus do not have to apologize or explain why they voted for Ouru. Kenyan voters have a right to vote for whomever they want for whatever reason. The issue is free and fair elections. The propaganda is that Cord lost because Luos do not vote and that Kikuyus vote in large numbers. It's the myth of Luos are lazy and Kikuyus are hardworking 2.0. The underlying reasons are never spoken of in both 1.0 version and the 2.0 version. Elections of Kenya are stolen during voter registration and that is why this issue is highly contentious. It's the "ghost voters" already in their data base that is the problem and not the real voters. The best way to resolve this problem is to clean the voter registration and also to make sure that only real people register and vote. This is why Jubilee will never allow the voter registration list to be cleaned up and the manual voting to be discarded. They need a few hours of manual voting to vote for the "ghost voters". The tyranny of numbers is a myth-it's really the tyranny of "ghost voters".agreed it is not acceptable and right there now there is an internal debate within Kikuyu community on how to stop this from happening in 2017. At the end of the day no one wants the repeat of 2007 or the mess of 2013.
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You are a madman.. are you able to separate a community from its politicians.. You are a madman, a festering wound of hate.
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Its amazing that if one points this out one is accused of Kikuyu demonization. Of course we know that not all kikuyus do this but Kikuyu politicians since Jomo have exploited the kikuyu laity with this fear of luos for too long and it needs to stop. It started with the Kiapo thing and they use it not only to get votes but to justify stealing votes. Macharia is not the first Kikuyu to say that Raila won in 2007, many kikuyus have told me that they know Raila won the 2007 elections but they supported Kibaki for taking it away because otherwise Kikuyus were in danger of being victimized by tribes who are jealous of their hard earned wealth. This is a lie but kikuyu politicians have used it successfully since Jomo and I expect them to use it in 2017 more than ever as Ouru becomes more desperate. The only cure for this is for other Kenyans to elect a none kikuyu president and then kikuyus will realize that the best protection for all of us is the constitution and not a tribal presidency. Many Kenyans will not stand by and watch any none-kikuyu president prosecute or marginalize kikuyus. We are better than that.(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C1kbZYfXEAARiSF.jpg)