Kibaki has stepped down for the betterment of his country saying he is willing and ready to form a government of national unity with Odinga. This isn’t enough for Odinga, who wants the entire election process to be redone in three months time, Kibaki is again being co-operative, and says this too is a fine idea. (Which isn’t really surprising, not only would Kabaki attempt to be co-operative for publicity reasons - but also he knows that he has a minority government that will absolutely no governing power what-so-ever.) With nearly 400 people dead and 1/4 of a million people displaced a solution that takes effect now would be much more beneficial to the country. .. But is it going to make a difference if the dispute is politically settled?
Kenya is made up of 7 primary ethnic groups. Kikuyu account for 22% of the population and occupy the central area of Kenya not far from Nairobi. (This also happens to be the ethnic group which Kabaki is a part of. The Luhya make up 14%, and the Luo 13%. The Luhya make up the most Western part of Africa, and the Luo along side the Kisii (6% of Kenya population) occupy Nyanza, just below the Western area. The Luhya and Luo are the two ethnic groups who primarily oppose the Kikuyu government. The other three primary groups are Kalenjin, 12 %, who occupy the Rift Valley just west of Central and Kamba, 11% residing just east of Central alongside the Meru, 6% of the population.
A lot of the village ambushes, most recently gang rape, road blocks out side of towns and mobs hitting cities, churches, schools and villages are mostly comprised of youth. A unified government isn’t going to calm the anger that is inside of these 12 - 16 year old boys.
The mobs had smashed their way into their homes, the women told doctors. Attacking everyone they found inside with machetes and clubs, the youths raped them in front of their husbands, some of whom were later killed.
They have been trained to hate, and to fight and to kill. It’s not going to be as simple as saying “Okay, we got what we wanted, you can stop being jerks now”… Because it’s no longer just about the election. Now it’s about one ethnic group attempting to screw over a country that other ethnic groups call home and feel proud of.
Everyone seemed to have a sigh of relief when Kibaki seemed to give in a little to the other side. It seemed like some sort of progress - but the problem is already there, and changing the election outcome is no longer the root of the problem.
A problem as small as a fraudulent election is all it took to shake the strong African economy, good infrastructure and functioning education system. All of these things had been implement and the success was beginning to blur the lines between tribal division. Now that those lines have been suddenly and fiercely redrawn the reconciliation will be extremely difficult.
Remember when everyone thought that Bush election was rigged? Did you hear stories like this?
First the attackers pelted the church with rocks to pin down the women, children and elderly people seeking shelter inside. The armed men then slammed the church doors shut. They piled bicycles and mattresses outside the main entrance and blocked a smaller door at the back. They went about their business efficiently.
Inside the small Kenya Assemblies of God Church in Kiambaa, just outside the town of Eldoret in western Kenya, dozens of terrified people huddled together. They were Kikuyu, members of the tribe that has borne the brunt of the violence that followed last week’s disputed presidential election.
The attackers, members of the rival Kalenjin tribe, poured fuel on the mattresses and piled on dried maize leaves from a nearby field. Then they set the barricades alight and waited until the flames burned high.
This sort of violence doesn’t happen over a rigged election. It comes from deeply rooted ethnic segregation. Find, call another election. Created a unified government. But I’ll be damn surprised if the fighting stops.
