Ask anyone the reasons for their political affiliation or lack of and HISTORICAL INJUSTICE is guaranteed to top that list. The fallacy in many a mind is that once what was done to my grandfather’s grandfather is addressed, I will be a success. The insanity of this line of reasoning baffles me. People have bought what non-performing leaders have sold them unquestioningly!
The typical non-performer politician builds around him a super-hero aura and convinces the populace of his zealous quest to see to it that historical injustices are addressed. He gets people so infatuated with the past, they fail to see his or her present inadequacies. In places where the myth of historical injustice never took root, leaders have no option but to perform. At the risk of offending some people I will give an example:
In LUO-NYANZA RAO is the famed fighter for MY PEOPLE rights. He embodies the fight to address historical injustices against the LUO. To be elected, all you have to do is connect yourself to BABA. Non-performance is not as consequential as betraying BABA and his quest. Effectively, non-performers still warm their political seats!
In CENTRAL KENYA the people were not fed the whole “What their grandfathers did to your grandfathers” crap. A leader has only one option, perform or leave! Consequently, non-performers are ousted every election; proximity to UHURU KENYATTA withstanding.
Now what exactly are these HISTORICAL INJUSTICES and how do they affect us?
Someone humor me, cite a historical injustice and how it affects your life today.
The bulk of KENYAS population is born 80 kuendelea. People who barely had any brush whatsoever with said injustices. Another fallacy is that some tribes were spared while others were targetted. This is only selectively true. ALL communities bore the brunt of brutal governance! LUOs cite assassinated leaders but fail to realize that more KIUK leaders fell to the assassins’ bullets! Communities that were targeted and marginalized (read the Somalis and the Pastoral Communities) are surprisingly silent in the whole affair. TURKANA which was all but fully marginalized is making devolution work and developing exponentially while the COAST which has no such case to speak of cites HISTORICAL INJUSTICES in the quest for secession.
The land issue is a tricky one and we will open an entire can of worms with that one. What I mean is, that land you claim THE KENYATTAS and MOIs got illegally belonged to the MAASAI before it belonged to you! MZUNGU stole from the MAASAI who stole from the BUSHMEN and the list is endless. TRIBAL ANIMOSITY is fanned by non-performing politicians who milk mythical HISTORICAL INJUSTICES which affect NO ONE ALIVE IN KENYA TODAY. Those that do, like the cyclic election violence of the past three decades, SURPRISINGLY affect mostly the KIUKS. The very same people painted as benefactors of historical INJUSTICES. The land issue also affects the KIUKS more than any other tribe I dare say. But these people forgot the past, ventured into business, and are buying huge tracts of land all over the country…LEARN FROM THE KIUKS, FORGET YESTERDAY AND WORK ON TODAY FOR THE SAKE OF TOMORROW.
No historical injustice is worth the hype it generates. People are better off focussing on the present and future rather than address injustices that over 75% of the Kenyan population must first be taught to know it happened.
Kikuyu entitlement again. You are peddling the lie that has been used to rob the country for the last five years. People dont want the current lot of politicians out because of historical injustices, its because if the current injustices.
CURRENT INJUSTICES is easier said than quoted. Cite one such injustice and show how my KIUK blood has spared me your fate?
For real change, vote new blood. I am however guessing you like many others scream change while still riding the wave of old politicians. I am certain you voted for a political dynasty in the last elections, so do not color me the hater of change. the only difference is that my dynasty had more numbers.
If you donr see the current injustices then you must have been blinded by your entitled thinking. Try looking at things from non-tribalist perspective. Did you know that a leader who steals money meant for development is performing an injustice?
True. Show me a politician with a clean track record and you have my vote. BABA vs UHURU, I say UHURU is the cleaner. Performance wise, UHURU is the better and COUNTRY MINDED WISE, RAO has sought to raze the country to the ground so many times I have lost count.
If I had money to fund a designated survivor kind of an event I would in a heart beat… We need to end the political class as it is now. As long as they are running around even in their old age we will never move on or heal.
You forgot to mention that the actual marginalization is perpetuated by the local leader in his or her quest to hang on to power or decimate competition. This is true regardless of ethnic backgrounds, mention Baghdad Boys, Mungiki, Kamjesh, Jeshi ya Baba, Nchinkororo, Kalenjin Warriors, Angola Msumbiji, Nairobi Business Community, Sabaot Land Defence Force etc the template is the same.
Kama hujui chenye unasema sometimes afadhali tu kunyamaza. Watu wengi sana Kenya ni kuvumilia waliamua wavumilie in silence. They realized the cost of going back to the bush to fight their fellow black brothers was too painful a cost.
Take the mau mau for instance. You go fight for your father’s land in the bush and cold mountains being bombed and shot at everyday alafu ukitoka forest unakuta kwenyu kuliuzwa kwa the likes of homeguard michuki ati willing seller willing buyer!!!
Na wewe mau mau unaenda kutupwa na huko hostile territory Laikipia na Molo na ol kalau kwa akina @Yunomi. Ama na huko mwisho wa dunia huko Mpeketoni ndio usiwai rudi. You know you just can’t walk from Mpeketoni to Murang’a utakuliwa na masimba na mandovu kwa njia. Those cruel fucking bastards. Alafu leo watoto wako wanachinjwa na al shabab na ati ulikuwa na kwenyu kitambo.
And then you ask for an example of how that affects us today…REALLY!!! Really, you want an example?
Alright. If your dad or grandpa grabbed half a million acres of prime land or more during the willing seller willing buyer program whereby he bought said land for 2 cents an acre, laughable really; today you just need to sell 2000 acres and build yourself a mall or an estate. Mtoto wa mau mau hawes compete na wewe. No way completely impossible. YOU OWN KENYA!!
In fact the progeny of kiambu landgrabbers are surviving by hiving off a few acres every year. You find someone in his 40s huwa anaishi kwa bar like a drunken zombie. He doesn’t work just sells his late parents inheritance na kuponda raha. Payback I guess. Na anauza prime coffee land for a pittance.
Wamaasai hata sijui watabakishiwa nini hao. The poor bastards. Screwed on all sides by every Tom, Dick and Harry.
And you’ve pointed out something very very very important: Lack of knowledge. Whitewashing of history…
History is being rewritten right before our eyes. Uhuru stood on a podium in 2013 in front of the whole country during the presidential debate and said, ‘me I’m young… me I’m innocent those were the sins of my father, mimi nilikuta imefanyika…’
Naye Raila aka support like a pea in a pod, brother’s in arms, ‘yes he is young he doesn’t know these things. Don’t blame him, he is a good man, he is my friend.’
And just like that that chapter was more or less closed. Wacheni wakule hawana dhambi, walikuta imefanyika!!
School children today are rarely taught about Mau Mau or the land troubles. Syllabuses are being rewritten to protect the sons and daughters of theives.
And they haven’t stopped there, they now own the media so they control what you know, what your children know. History rewritten.
Na baba zao wakikufa you can see in their state funerals their sins are white washed wanabaki safi kama pamba!
Michuki homeguard not only grabbed their lands but killed thousands of the dispossessed Mau Mau babies today known as Mungiki and who are exploited during every political campaign. Talk of adding salt to wounds. But that was conveniently left out in his state funeral, Mwiraria hana kesi, Biwott worked hard for his wealth, Ntimama was just a crusader for his people he did nothing wrong to Kikuyu paupers, Nkaissery was an angel, no mention of the 80’s or the recent massacre of young kids in the slums… etc etc SAFI KAMA NINI, SAFI KAMA PAMBA!!!
So how many other Kenyans are making it despite the fact that their grandfathers had no land to be stolen to begin with. The fact that you want to focus on your great granddads wealth is the reason why others will always beat you in the race of life. It does not affect YOU!!! That land was neveryours to begin with, your granddad stole, in all probability, from the maasai. The historical injustice you think should give you back your great granddads land should GIVE IT BACK TO THE MAASAI not you so IT SHOULD NOT BE AN EXCUSE. It was never yours. FORGET THAT LAND. It is a shame that you rely on land that you have to READ ABOUT IN THE HISTORY BOOKS to know you ever had a claim to it!
The EVILS YOU STATE ARE ACCURATE. What I am saying is that poking that old flame will bring us no good. RWANDA poked ancient animosities and regretted it. To move on, they forgave and forgot the past and worked on improving the future. SOUTH AFRICA forgave her oppressors, it is the only way to deal with mass evils. Suppose we decide to look back, THE MAASAI should get back their lands, the homeguards should be made to pay for COLLABORATION and this will include one KIPCHOGE KEINO who was KENYATTAS jailer at KAPENGURIA! THE MAASAI also stole many cattle from their neighbors and should be made to compensate them before the said neighbors can give back the land. Imagine trying all who were involved in the crimes of 2007, and I am not talking about the politiciuans here. MILLIONS of youth SHOULD Be jailed if we are to address the issue JUSTLY (stricty speaking) Do YOU see how this ends?
Although I don’t understand why your reply hasn’t been pulled down whilst mine was when I suggested something similar with regards to activist Judges?
However your point although drastic, I can relate