Kenya’s first sons lock horns
The current deadlock in a largely stable East African nation has its roots in the dynamics of its first government.
KNOWN for its safaris and endless stable of lithe middle-distance runners, Kenya has long been seen as a relatively peaceful and prosperous nation and a bulwark against the al-Shabaab militants next door in Somalia.
However, recent times have seen a number of challenges to this peace. The 2007 presidential elections saw an impassioned contest between incumbent Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga.
Tribal tensions between the former’s Kikuyu and the latter’s Luo groupings erupted and an estimated 800 to 1,000 people lost their lives.
Although it ended in a powersharing agreement with Kibaki as president and Odinga as prime minister, it brought simmering issues to the fore, and they haven’t really gone away.
To compound matters, in the last five years, attacks linked to al-Shabaab have not been in short supply. They include the massacre of 17 people at two churches in Garissa in July 2012, the killing of 67 at Nairobi’s Westgate Shopping Mall in September 2013, the deaths of more than 60 at Mpeketoni in June 2014 and the Garissa University College attacks in April 2015 which resulted in nearly 150 deaths.
The latest eruption of violence is between supporters of incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta and Odinga who once again has suffered a narrow loss.
Aside from the same Kikuyu/Luo divide, it has its roots in Kenya’s first post-independence administration.
Back in 1964 as Kenya became a republic, its first president was former rebel leader Jomo Kenyatta and his vice-president was Luo chieftain Jaramogi Odinga. That’s right ... their sons are the ones slugging it out now.
In an even greater irony, Jaramogi fell out with Jomo and spent many years in jail or had his political activity restricted. And to be fair, this was true even during the long presidency of Jomo’s successor Daniel Arap Moi.
So now, the focus is on the battle between their offspring. Uhuru Kenyatta is one of the richest men on the continent. Listed as such by
Forbes, he owns Brookside Dairies, Kenya’s largest dairy company, and has stakes in a popular television station and a commercial bank in Nairobi.
Most controversial of all, he owns vast tracts of land which are widely believed to have been acquired in a post-colonial land grab.
Having said that, Raila is also very much part of Kenya’s elite. With a fervent following among the Luo, his family has far-reaching influence.
While many business interests are controlled by his son Raila, Jr, the man is not short of cash.
The end result of this power struggle, however, seems to be Kikuyu and Luo increasingly willing to resort to violence against each other. News wires are full of stories of mobs resorting to lynching members of the other group.
Uhuru Kenyatta himself was indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity committed during the violence that followed the 2007 elections, although those charges were notably dropped in 2014.
His domestic opponents claim that Kenyatta has pulled the wool over foreign backers such as the United States.
In fact, as silly as it may sound, the Kenyan heritage of former US President Barack Obama has often been evoked as if to lend an aura of credibility to the current administration.
Terror attacks may have taken a back seat to the tribal confrontations but that doesn’t mean they are completely out of the equation. Just three days ago, as if to serve as a reminder of their lurking threat, militants beheaded three people and burnt houses in an attack near the coastal town of Witu.
Right now, Kenyatta and his Jubilee Party are holding on to power, but at what cost? Is another power-sharing agreement best for Kenya? Will other groups like the Masai be held to ransom by the situation?
As silly as it may sound, the Kenyan heritage of former US President Barack Obama has often been evoked as if to lend an aura of credibility to the current administration.