If Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of Africa in the 1980s, Kenya, throughout the 1990s, was seen as an oasis of stable democracy in a region gripped by ethnic and political violence. The country had a booming tourist trade and a growing economy.
International organisations and aid groups operating in East Africa were based in Nairobi. But the ethnic and economic faultlines began to appear after President Mwai Kibaki’s ruling Party for National Unity was accused by his rival Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, and some neutral observers, of rigging general elections held on December 27, 2007.
In the mob violence and police crackdown that followed, more than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed and about 600,000 displaced. TV images of machete-wielding men running amok had a negative impact on Kenya’s tourist trade.
Though initially the violence appeared poll-related, in reality, ethnic tensions, which have been a part of Kenyan politics since its independence in 1963, and economic disparity could have been the main causes. Since Kibaki came to power, members of his ethnic group, the Kikuyu, who make up about 20 per cent of the population, have been perceived to be the main beneficiaries of land ownership in the Rift Valley.
This is turn has fuelled resentment against the Kikuyus amongst the other communities such as the Luo and the Kalenjin.
Weekend Review spoke to a few Kenyans in the UAE about the situation in their country. “Everything will go back to normal,” says Andrew Ngure, 31, who works as a project engineer in Dubai. “The new power-sharing government will last. It’s time the politicians started thinking about the good of the people.”
While blaming his country’s ills on tribalism, Stephen Moses, 24, a cost controller based in Sharjah, had praise, too, for Kibaki’s government. “He at least stabilised the economy. GDP growth was about 3.8 per cent during his rule. And the currency was stable. Tribalism continues to be our main problem. ”
Paul Orawo, 37, an engineer based in Dubai, said the most important thing was a new constitution, which the present government is writing. “It [the new constitution] will resolve the process of wealth sharing and wealth redistribution. The constitution proposed in 2005 did not meet the expectations of the Kenyan people.”
Orawo added: “Kenyans are not really tribal minded. It is the politicians who ‘tribalise’ things.”
