The use and abuse of ethnicity by politicians in Kenya is as old as Kenya itself and old habits die hard. In the pre-colonial times, ethnic groups co-existed peacefully and competition for resources was limited and healthy apart from a few cases of conflict that were resolved amicably. Whereas the origins of contemporary Kenyan ethnic identities lie in the colonial state, it is not solely responsible for the current state of events.
After Independence, our leaders continued to abuse ethnicity to maintain political power and further their selfish interests. They established a pattern of power distribution in the post-colonial state based on ethnicity that determined access to social and material resources. The uneven distribution of power meant inequitable distribution of resources and because the state controlled the production and distribution of resources, there emerged competition for these resources at state level making the state the focus of ethnic politics and conflicts.
This state of events has increasingly led to ethnic mobilizations and manipulation of ethnic and cultural identities of groups. How to take advantage of the national ‘cake’ is one of the permanent major features of politicized ethnicity in our country. The various ethnic groups perceive the ‘national cake’ as essentially limited and the main goal of inter-ethnic political struggle at the level of central government is to draw away resources to benefit the ethnic group or region represented at the core of power in government.
The pattern we see today is that; the first president came from a tribe which benefited most materially. Then the next president came from a different tribe and now it became their time ‘to eat’. Now we have a third president and the trend has continued but this time to a lesser degree. If this trend continues, by the time the presidency moves round if ever it will; some tribes will have been extremely marginalized. The governing mood in the current setting appears to be telling outsiders from the governing tribes to wait for their turn to come.
Since independence, our political parties have been in reality, coalitions of ethnic based factions. Because of the belief that the ethnic group from which the president comes is likely to benefit more by being given more access to employment and other resources. As a result, each ethnic group tries to ally itself with a presidential candidate who is likely to promote its interests.
The widespread expectation for people in positions of power to favor members of their ethnic groups has a significant implication in the way politics is conducted in our country. First, it makes voters inclined to support politicians from their own ethnic groups over others and because politicians know that voters will do this, it creates incentives for politicians to express their electoral appeals and frame their coalition building strategies in ethnic terms. It also informs politicians about how voters are likely to cast their votes and therefore which kinds of ethnic coalitions would be most useful to mobilize. For voters, ethnicity provides insights into how candidates will distribute patronage if they are elected. It helps them determine the advantage the will have if one candidate wins the election over another. Therefore, both politicians and voters find ethnicity to be a powerful tool.
The new constitution and the new institutions in place give us an opportunity to play a different set of card game that is fair and just to all. Perhaps its full implementation and the increased political activity and awareness by the populace will enable it transform us to a free and fair country where ethnicity will not form a basis for employment and election into national offices but rather where merit will be promoted and politics will be used to harness the strength in Kenya’s diversity. It is even encouraging to see that most Kenyans are beginning to push for a new morality in public life as enshrined in the new law and demanding that the new generation of politicians be guided by ethics rather than ethnicity.
The educated youth in Kenya, most of whom do not owe their ethnic groups for their professional and economic success, should not sit and watch as tribalists lead them to misery but stand up to their leadership potential and tackle the backwardness of ethnic politics aware that they have only lent their future to political leaders in trust; a trust they can recall whenever necessary. The challenge is to accept the inevitability, and indeed the legitimacy of different ethnic identities and find ways to manage their coexistence.
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