Take Kenya for instance. Right from the time the country gained independence from her colonial masters, ethnicity has been the pervasive feature of Kenyan politics. Ethnic numbers dictate who wins or loses an election. In fact anyone who doesn't trace his roots to one of the big five communities ie the Kikuyu, Luyha, Luo, Kalenjin and Kamba, has almost nil prospects of becoming the country's president. This is the unsavoury truth, however much we dislike it. True, we've seen politicians from diverse ethnic groups come together to craft coalitions that have gone on to win elections. But a careful examination of most of these coalitions still point to astutely concocted ethnic alliances to ascend to public office.
Consequently the bazillion dollar question has been, how can we rid Kenyan politics of ethnic leanings and have a system like America's where politics are largely defined by policies/ideas and not ethnic considerations? But as we grapple with this question, something worthy of note happened in the the just concluded general election. After a vigorous and most tortuous campaign, many Kenyans expected the Luhya people of western Kenya to vote for Amani coalition presidential candidate Musalia Mudavadi in large numbers. Granted that he hails from the region and had combed nearly all corners of the province, it was assumed that Mudavadi was almost guaranteed of bagging the entire western vote.
The belief was that he could then use this voting bloc to negotiate a post-election deal with either the Jubilee coalition or the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy. But this was not to be. Contrary to the expectations, the Cord candidate Raila Odinga, who is originally from the Luo community, garnered almost 70 per cent of the luhya vote. Busia, one of the counties in western province voted for Raila 88 per cent.
Even in Vihiga county where Mudavidi traces his roots, Raila got more votes than Mudavadi. This tells a story that radically departs from the ethnic connotations that have been the hallmark of Kenyan politics. It speaks of a people that seem keen on setting a pattern after which the rest of Kenyans should follow. In a way, the luhya people are telling the rest of Kenyans that there's more to leadership that leadership is not about tribe but sound policies.
There are those who have accused luhyas of betraying one of their own by voting for someone from another ethnic group. Such argue that unlike communities such as the Kikuyu, the Luo, Kalenjin among others, the Luhya are not 'united' and don't vote as a bloc. This accusation, however, ignores the big picture. It is a contradiction in terms in the sense that while we are decrying the high levels of negative ethnicity afflicting Kenyan politics, we are quick to pillory and denounce any efforts to rid our politics of tribalism. This is unfortunate indeed.
Others may want to argue that Luhya's knew that Mudavadi had no chance of posting impressive results in the presidential contest and this is why they decided to cast their lot with Raila who appeared poised for an outright win. Nothing could be further from the truth. In 2007, the Kamba people of Eastern province knew that Kalonzo Musyoka could not win the presidency. It was apparent that President Kibaki and Raila Odinga were the frontrunners. But the Kamba still went ahead and voted for Kalonzo to the last man. Nothing other than the fact that Kalonzo comes from the community informed this voting pattern by the Kamba.
The message the luhya are sending to the rest of the country is that time for politics of negative ethnicity is up. They are making it clear that it is the height of self deception to decry the high levels of tribal politics in our country and still go on to vote for someone, not on the basis of sound policies, but just because he or she belongs to your community. What many Kenyans appear not to have grasped is that we are in a new dispensation with a constitution that makes a strong case for equal distribution of national resources.
Unlike in the previous dispensation when skewed development of the country was the thing in vogue for the powers that be, occupants of public office can only engage in lopsided distribution of national resources to their own detriment. Not even the president can violate clear provisions of the law and get away with it. This should encourage Kenyans to vote for leaders who have a vision for the country and not ethnic barons whose only motivation is their own selfish interests.
This article was published in the Star Newspaper on March 16,2013
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