NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES, ETHNIC PROFILING ARE THE CANCER EATING KENYA

Every time I think about the challenges we face as a country in pushing for a culture of ethnic diversity, I cannot help but conclude that it lies in the negative stereotypes we peddle against communities.

We have created an image of each community in Kenya, a lens through which we look and judge. And afterwards, we have been so perfect in grading each community and thereafter rewarding it as we wish. I will point out four examples.

Of late, there seems to be a deliberate effort and propaganda against the Kikuyus in Kenya. These discussions always seem to sprout especially after appointments, with the target being the community.

For the longest time,  Kikuyus are branded as greedy, so much so that we never appreciate even that which they have acquired something through sweat and hard work. We also see them as power-hungry people who will do anything on earth to remain to be the fulcrum around which the presidency rotates. This is so wrong!

This was evident few weeks ago after the election of Kipipiri MP Amos Kimunya as the National Assembly Majority Leader, with days of bashing and profiling the Kikuyu community. It is wrong to look at the ethnicity of someone when they are appointed to a position instead of looking at their ability and capability.

And we are not trying to say that it is only the Kikuyu community that gets targeted all the time. We have had instances of ethnic slurs against other communities for years in Kenya, which is something that needs to stop.

And the Luo? We see them as a destructive group of people always proud and therefore should be denied power as much as possible. And even more, since culturally circumcision is not their main rite of passage, then we still see them as ‘boys’ who will mess with power.

We then see the Akamba as the ‘black magic’ community, so much so that all that they do revolves around ‘kamuti’ (witchcraft). On top of this, we see them as a lazy lot only interested in women and sex.

Then the Abaluhya. We see them as gluttonous, a community that can’t stop at anything until they get their ugali and a chicken on their plates. Like the Akamba, we also portray them as loving sex. Even recently we reported that men in Nambale (a Luhya region) had been promised Akamba women, almost implying that, these two communities can make a match on matters sex.

When former Treasury CS Henry Rotich and Kenya Power MD Ken Tarus were charged with alleged corruption, the Kalenjin were branded, thieves. Bear in mind that they were charged for alleged graft alongside persons of other communities.

And, unfortunately, we find that most leaders are always silent about this, even when it seems like profiling is becoming louder and louder. It is also unfortunate that the NCIC never takes actions against such individuals, even when the record is available.

I did not choose the tribe, family, or country that I was born into. Therefore, using stereotypes and profiling me because of something I had no control over is wrong.

In Rwanda, the genocide was fanned by profiling. The bad blood between the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi led to the genocide that left more than 800,000 people dead.

Ethnic profiling played a major role in the 2007-08 post-election violence (PEV) that claimed more than 1,500 lives and left hundreds of thousands more displaced from their homes.

This is what happens when one tribe decides to retaliate, or attack another tribe, believing the people creating narratives and spewing hate. For a country that is not fully healed from the scars of the 1990s as well as the 2007-08 PEV, we cannot afford to encourage ethnic slurs in any form.

We should be a country that encourages meritocracy and substance in appointment to public office.

Kenya is blessed with diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds that have been used to divide us politically. Tribe has become more of a liability than an asset for us as a people, even when we shun it for common interests.

There is nothing wrong with belonging to a certain tribe. What is wrong is for us to carry the notion that we are superior to others, whether we control political or economic power.

We will never change our tribe but we can change how we use our tribal affiliation as Kenyans. We have a bigger tribe called Kenya in us that we can use to unite each and every part of this country!” Brilliant stuff! Well done, Machel Waikenda a.k.a. Stori Poa: You are spot on!

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