Kenya – Split up the country now

You may call me a doomsayer; a fat kenyan sitting in a comfortable, air-conditioned cubicle in the “diaspora” and totally out of touch – call me whatever you wish but today I will say what has been burning inside of me since December 29, 2007. This was my initial guttural instinct but I checked it and held out for hope.It is now becoming obvious that there may never be a government of national reconciliation in Kenya. It seems to me at this point that the only thing that will save kenya is to split up the country now and let the groups that get along with one another live within their enclaves and save Kenyans more unnecessary bloodshed or hold fresh elections. I will not hold my breath on the latter until I see it and even then, I think it will be more of the same.I say this because no matter who is right, no matter which movement resonates with the majority of Kenyans, there are always vested interests on either side that are threatening the unity of Kenya as we know it today.This is a complex, multi-faceted battle. You have the younger generation that are looking for the “Kenyan” solution. Then you have the older generation that “knows better” than trust anyone from [blank] tribe and will only enable causes that reinforce this belief. They will never change. They might welcome a daughter-in-law or a son-in-law from [blank] tribe, but usually that is never enough to change their core beliefs.Then there is the growing, comfortable middle-class who have the most power in Kenya to sway the political landscape, but have taken a surprisingly nonchalant attitude to the crisis we have in Kenya at the moment.At the top of the food chain, you have the kenyan politician, perhaps the slimiest, dirtiest, opportunistic creature of them all. It is very hard to determine which one of these politicians are truly “kenyan”. They say one thing, get elected, get into office and lose touch with their pre-election message and the common man on the street.The ticking time-bomb of this dilemma lies at the bottom of the food chain and that is the poor. They are isolated on all fronts. Without political or economic power, and no one willing listen to them or give them the light of day, not even their wealthier tribe mates, they are not left with many options.I spent some of my earlier years growing up in Kibera and although I did not live in the slums, we had friends who lived there. We did not think much of their situation. All we cared about was that we had a buddy to play with. Back then, there was only Laini Saba, Kianda, Katwekera, Makina and DC. These neighborhoods were very distinct and we knew how to find our way through them when going to Langata and so on. You could look at a picture and know which part of Kibera that was. These days, they are simply referred to as the Kibera Slums. If you think about it, this is Kenya’s answer to the poverty problem – the thinking goes something like, “the poor belong in the Kibera Slums and are not my problem as long as it’s not in my backyard”. Kinda like the same way we deal with our trash. We only think of doing something when the pile is so high that we cannot pass to go to our houses or the stench is hitting our living rooms. In fact, the name “Kibera” has become synonymous with “poor”.The sad thing is the poor are not going away, slimy politicians are not going away anytime soon, tribalism is not going away, so what gives?Divide the country and let everyone deal with their own problems – including their share of the poor. The current stalemate tells me that the mistrust between the tribes is so deeply rooted that we need time away from each other for a while. We may be able to reconcile or find common ground after skipping a generation or two of living apart.One person cannot hold the key to the pantry and decide when and what we are going to eat yet all of us spent the whole day digging in the field. Peace will only prevail If everyone fends for themselves and keeps their find since we have the shown inability to share peacefully and rationally.Please save bloodshed in Kenya by splitting it up now.If this does not happen, I’m sorry to say that Kenya will sink into an abyss the likes of which we have never seen before. No foreign entity will want to be enmeshed in this mess this time.I have lost hope in reconciliation and I cannot be lied to anymore. Enough is enough.A couple of days ago, we heard of reports that a military base was being set up in the Mt. Elgon area to cap the SLDF. From the turn of events in Kenya yesterday, it now turns out someone knew all along what was coming down the road and prepared well. Unfortunately, it seems like protests in Western Kenya will be dealt with severely not only by foot soldiers, but from the air as well this time around.If you have a better solution, I would like to hear it.God bless Kenya !!

Related posts:

1. Kenyans in SA plan protest 02/01/2008 19:14 – (SA) source: News24Johannesburg – Kenyans currently living...
2. Small Humanitarian organisations with missions and projects in Kenya UPDATE: OCTOBER 6, 2008 – I put this list together...
3. Jerome Corsi’s mission in Kenya swift-boated Republican conservative propagandist Jerome Corsi’s plans to “swift boat” Barack...
4. Chinese ambassador to Kenya hosts Kenya olympic team The Chinese ambassador to Kenya, Zhang Ming, hosted the Kenyan...
5. Obama win gets mixed reception in Kenya Article posted on June 5, 2008 by nairobichronicle Like everything...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.