Ethnic chiefs are to blame for our woes

Some of the old biblical narratives provide a useful perspective on leadership, both in terms of the curse of failures in leadership and the benefits which successful leaders bring to their people. The biblical books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Joshua, for example, - collectively referred to in theological circles as the Pentateuch - say much in regard to the Children of Israel: their stupendous emancipation from captivity in Egypt; their eventful 40 years of sojourn in the wilderness; and their subsequent settling in the promised land.



But it is what the book of 1 Samuel says about the selfsame Children of Israel that I find quite germane to what is presently obtaining in Kenya. God – in his matchless wisdom - had told the children of Israel that since he was their King it was superfluous for them to have an earthly king. But in the course of interacting with neighbouring nations and seeing how they conducted their affairs, the children of Israel insisted that like their neighbours, they wanted an earthly king whom they could behold and who could lead them to battle against their adversaries.

Even after Samuel, a prophet of God, reminded them that such a king would oppress and lord it over them they persisted in their demand for an earthly king. Finally God granted them their wish and asked Samuel to go anoint Saul, the son of Kish as King over the Israelites. But true to Samuel’s earlier warning, Saul turned out to be the most unfortunate thing that ever happened to the Israelites. Unspeakable tyranny and unparalleled callousness were the hallmarks of his rule.

What became of the children of Israel pursuant to their insistence that a king be appointed to reign over them is not very different from what is unfolding in Kenya today among nearly all the ethnic communities. The phenomenon of the tribal kingpin also known as the ethnic chief is increasingly gaining popularity and acceptance in Kenya. Nearly all the 42 communities seem to be in a mad rush to have some political figure reigning over them and on whom the entire community’s hopes of earning a place at the national high table are pegged. As a matter of fact the said figure clearly commands more reverence and adulation among his ethnic group more than even the legitimate national leader.

It is this thinking that informed the recent gathering in Limuru, dubbed "Limuru II" to crown Uhuru Kenyatta the political head of the Gema communities. The Kamatusa communities, that is the Kalenjin, Maasai, Turkana and Samburu, have also followed suit and held a similar meeting to endorse Eldoret North MP William Ruto as their ethnic chief. But as one ponders the whole concept of the ethnic chief and its ramifications on Kenyan politics and our way of doing things he or she cannot help but be revolted by the whole thing. Just as it happened to the Jews of old, ethnic chiefs are turning out to be the worst thing that has ever happened to Kenyan communities and the country as a whole.

For starters, most of these ethnic chiefs are extremely wealthy guys who have continued to senselessly use their communities as pawns in their quest to gain political mileage over their political foes. Whilst most of their ‘people’ are living in squalor and the most despicable conditions, these guys are wallowing in untold affluence whose source remains questionable.

 Surprisingly whenever they run into trouble pursuant to their personal indignities in handling national affairs they swiftly retreat to their ethnic cocoons and begin to shout from hilltops that their community is under siege. This has the effect of whipping tribal emotions making members of their ethnic communities to go on the offensive under the mistaken belief that, as a community, they have been earmarked for decapitation when in reality it is these ethnic chiefs, as individuals, who should be held accountable for their misdeeds. As it is apparently evident this has the loathsome outcome of driving a wedge between sections of the populace and the powers that be, striking a lethal blow to attempts to forge national cohesion, a key impetus to economic, social and political advancement.

Besides, these ethnic chiefs have also perfected the art of fortifying the regions of their origin from their perceived political foes. Their political nemesis can only set foot in these regions to their detriment. Each time their opponents venture into their territories, violence is bound to erupt resulting into immense damage to life and property. Forget about the belated castigation of such beastly acts that subsequently emanate from the said tribal kingpins. They are nothing but a public relations exercise calculated to delude us that they subscribe to higher and sounder ideals when deep down their hearts they are jubilating and bragging of the fanatical following they command in their home regions.

It should consequently not strike us as surprising that our country is still hopelessly in the grip of impunity, sleaze and negative ethnicity. How can these ills be arrested and even terminated altogether when each time efforts to bring the perpetrators of the same to book are made we scurry to their defence in the mistaken belief that we are saving our community? Are we not the very people giving incentive to what is ailing our country?

The truth is that contrary to popular beliefs these ethnic chiefs are the principal architects of our misfortune. They are the people who should shoulder the greatest blame for the maladies afflicting our motherland and the sooner we do away with them and forge ahead as one the better.

 This article was published in the Star Newspaper on April 7,2012