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Kenya on the Brink
The news from Kenya this week is troubling, and uncomfortably familiar. Yesterday, in the aftermath of a contested election, dozens of people, including children, were burned to death by an angry mob as they sought shelter in a church. Those who fled were hacked with machetes and beaten with clubs. The violence was carried out along ethnic lines, with victims mostly members of the Kikuyu tribe, and aggressors made up of a handful of other ethnic groups.
With close to 300 people dead in similar clashes so far, the words “ethnic cleansing” are being used to describe the conflict, which has already driven a hundred thousand people from their homes. The events in Rwanda come immediately to mind.
The Kikuyu account for a minority of Kenya's population, but control most of its wealth, industry, and power, much like Rwanda's Tutsis. The violence stems from last week's reelection of President Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu, which is being broadly disputed by both Kenyans and international observers. The defeated candidate, Raila Odinga, claims he is the rightful leader of Kenya, “the people's president,” and his supporters have begun taking out their anger on Kikuyus.
Ngugi wa Thiong'o is a Kenyan playwright and author who was Tavis' guest in December to discuss his recent novel about a fictional African dictator. He said on the program that Kenya now has a “much, much better [political] situation,” than it has had since it gained independence from Britain some fifty years ago. Indeed, until recently, Kenya was seen as one of the most stable countries in Africa. In discussing his book, and the way in which dictators rise to power, Thiong'o noted that, “democracy must come from the people… power must come from the people.” Today, as the direction of Kenya's fledgling democracy is being determined by its people, the country appears on the verge of descending into tribal warfare. Despite previous indications to the contrary, it seems that dictatorships always loom, and stability is by no means assured. If Kenyans cannot look to their leaders for guidance, they might well look to the lessons of their neighbors.