Bradburn and I have been dominating the conversation in the africa topics on the well these days, as his parents live in Kenya, and my parents lived in kenya, and are hoping to move back soon. Naturally, we've been feeding each other stuff, and he just posted this, which is from a blog comment thread. It's amazing.
Anonymous said...
My fellow Kenyans,
I am a kenyan, one who has had the privilege of living with the
Luo, the Kalenjin, the Kisii, and others. I am Kikuyu. I have read all
the above dialogue with much sadness. It is clear from it what is
eating our nation: Ignorance. As a Kikuyu, I know, as any half brained
Kenyan does, that the election had some serious problems. But really,
Odinga or Kibaki, the end result would have been the same: The pooir
people of Kenya would have remained what they have always been: Hard
working, honest, hopeful, suffering, and poor. On that note, we all
need to wake up and realize one thing. In Kenya there are ACTUALLY ONLY
TWO TRIBES: The politicians, and the rest of us. ON that note, Kibaki,
Raila, Ruto, and the other parliamentarians are one tribe. Real
brothers. They live in palatial homes, with guards at the gate. They go
to Europe for medical treatment, and they would not even take their
cow to Kenyatta hospital, Kisumu Provincial, or any hospital in Kenya.
They travel in government maintained cars, and they enjoy fat salaries.
ALL OF THEM. Presently, the population in KIbera has destroyed two kms
of railway line. I have travelled that line to the rift valley, and I
have been out all the way to Kitale, Kisumu, etc. It is an important
line for the common KEnyan (the second tribe, the rest of us). Now that
it is destroyed, the poor Luo who was hoping for pricews to stay down
and the price of malariaquin to stabilize will suffer this coming rainy
season. So will the Kikuyu who lives in Kisumu, and the Luhya who
lives in BUtere. But Kibaki, Ruto and Raila will never mourn the
railway line. They never use it. Raila flies to Kisumu. Kibaki has a
government jet. Ruto can fly to Eldoret.
When I lived IN kericho, I (kikuyu) visited many Kalenjin homes. I
am of the opinion that the most generous, givng people in Kenya are
Kalenjins and Muslims. When I went to High school, I shared cofee and
toothpaste with some Luos. We drank tea from the same cups, and we
huddled togetherer for the same cup of coffee which we passed on from
person to person. We had little, very little. As far as life in Kenya
goes, these luos, Kalenjins and some Luhyas we shared the dormitory
with were my brothers.
The problem now is that Ruto and Kibaki and Moi and Odinga would
have us believe if one of them is in power, that tribe eats. I can go
to a court of law to defend many kikuyus because when Kenyatta was
president, many of us did not eat. The eaters were Kenyatta, Moi,
Odinga Snr (I personally have a lot of respect for Jaramogi Oginga
Odinga, and I believe he should be more prominet in Kenya's history
books than he is now), Kibaki, etc. But all ppoliticians who were anti
Kenyatta told their tribes the Kikuyu were eating. All I remember
during KEnyatta's time were the many days I was home without school
fees. During MOi's reign, I lived in Kericho. Although I live out of
the country now, I still visit Kericho when I go home. It is my second
home in Kenya, although I have no land there. I love the town, and the
community around it. Anyone who thinks the Kalenjins were eating during
Moi's time should go see how hard working the Kalenjin community is,
and how many of them I saw could not buy sugar. I met many a Kalenjin
during the Moi era who were without. I saw many die at the little
equipped Kericho hospital, which Moi never visited (or any other
politician except maybe the local politicians). But when Moi and
Kibakin travelled in the Kericho and Nyanza area, they stayed at the
Highland hotel. You have to be one of this tribe to afford it.
The Luos and the Kikuyus now living and dying in Kibera are
rothers. and their relatives are in Mathari. Here, they live on 100
shillings a day--when they get it. When Omolo's son gets sick, they ask
Kamau's wife to lend them 50 shillings. KIbaki and Odinga are usually
at the Intercontinental, paying sh300 for a soda. Now that tribe wants
Kenyans to get up and fight, and on this blog, that is what you are
doing, my brothers. If you are LUo, you are as much my brother as the
Kalenjin or Nandi in the Rift valley. If you don't believe it, go to
Kenyatta hospital. Your mother and my mother will be lying in
neighboring beds, dying without medicine. You and I will have left our
children at home, to come to the hospital to care for our parents. ON
the bed across the isle will be Mama Choge, dying also, without
medicine. the pain, frustration, fear, hand hopelessness on thier faces
will know no tribe. It will be our mothers, one dying as surely as if
she was the other, dying under the same system of operation. If you get
to the hospital before I do, please prop our mothers up for comfort. I
will do the same when I get there. Kibaki, Odinga, and Ruto will not
be there. Their tribe will be in another hospital, or at the
intercontinental, waiting for us to get home and fight to secure their
comfort. So, what tribe are you now?
January 27, 2008 2:25 AM