Comments on: Violence In Kenya: Is This What Democracy Looks Like? http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/29/democracy-in-kenya/ Online travel magazine dedicated to exploring travel in the 21st century. Offering travel news, compelling interviews, online travel tools, and more. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:17:57 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Emıly Hansen http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/29/democracy-in-kenya/comment-page-1/#comment-49523 Emıly Hansen Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:02:13 +0000 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/29/democracy-in-kenya/#comment-49523 Respect for difference. It's a hard and fine balance but we can do it. Having lived in India for a long time (and more still to come) I fınd that this is a concept we should all be looking at in terms of embracing people everywhere in the world. Indıa's situation is not the same but, as well, the politics of dıfference/peace/stability are very fragile ındeed in many parts of the country. I had someone tell me at the school I worked that no students should come wearing any symbol of their religion/background and I deeply disagreed with that. While not a big fan of ego, something which often gets confused with identity,it is a wonderful thing to accept everyone's diversity (wıth equality being a word which means: no matter how we vıew the world we are one people.) Great article. Informative and questioning. As a human community we must never give up on nations in conflict. Respect for difference. It’s a hard and fine balance but we can do it. Having lived in India for a long time (and more still to come) I fınd that this is a concept we should all be looking at in terms of embracing people everywhere in the world. Indıa’s situation is not the same but, as well, the politics of dıfference/peace/stability are very fragile ındeed in many parts of the country. I had someone tell me at the school I worked that no students should come wearing any symbol of their religion/background and I deeply disagreed with that. While not a big fan of ego, something which often gets confused with identity,it is a wonderful thing to accept everyone’s diversity (wıth equality being a word which means: no matter how we vıew the world we are one people.) Great article. Informative and questioning. As a human community we must never give up on nations in conflict.

(Report comment)

]]> By: Johnson http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/29/democracy-in-kenya/comment-page-1/#comment-49115 Johnson Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:45:33 +0000 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/29/democracy-in-kenya/#comment-49115 Ths story is bedevilled with inaccuracies. The missing letters were not actually missing... it's just that Raila's action are inspired by instinct and emotion more than intellect. Had he only asked what was going on, he would have been told, like the rest of the country, that his name was in another register. The system is so designed in order to increase efficiency in the voting system. It is by now well known that politicians are preying on the ignorance of their electorate. They first sought to demonise the Kikuyu using a few elite as their examples. If you are familiar with philosophy then you know how the fallacy of generalization can be powerful. Then step 2. they financed their election bid by partly by getting money from their electorate with promises of land (land owned by kikuyus in the rift valley). Now that Raila is not president, they sent their warriors to go reclaim the land. All ODM leaders said when asked why they didn't want to stop the violence is "we cannot stop people from fighting for their rights", this was around the time children and women who had barricaded themselves in a church were burnt to death. Enter Mungiki, a militia that claims to fight for the rights of the Kikuyu. All over sudden, the government is being accused of sponsoring this militia against innocent citizens. Possibly true, but what about the kalenjin militias, whom are they killing? Were the women and children in church criminals who did not deserve to be defended? Before, ODM supporters were talking of no peace without justice? In times of war there is no such notion as justice. War does not determine who is right, rather who is left. The luo and Kalenjin thoght the Kikuyu cannot fight back as they have alot to lose... again possibly true BUT, you will notice the fallacy of generalization. Not all Kikuyus are rich, but like any other people, they know when they are being targeted. mungiki is the reason Kenyatta banned maumau. Mau mau is back... they answer to the name mungiki and this terror gang is being given legitimacy by the antics of Ruto and the miscalculation of Raila and his luo psychophants. Drop the hardline and go to courts. Courts are the civilised way solving disputes. Use the numbers in ODM to reform electoral law to ensure fairness in the vote. Drop the war cries before its too late. Ths story is bedevilled with inaccuracies. The missing letters were not actually missing… it’s just that Raila’s action are inspired by instinct and emotion more than intellect. Had he only asked what was going on, he would have been told, like the rest of the country, that his name was in another register. The system is so designed in order to increase efficiency in the voting system.
It is by now well known that politicians are preying on the ignorance of their electorate. They first sought to demonise the Kikuyu using a few elite as their examples. If you are familiar with philosophy then you know how the fallacy of generalization can be powerful. Then step 2. they financed their election bid by partly by getting money from their electorate with promises of land (land owned by kikuyus in the rift valley). Now that Raila is not president, they sent their warriors to go reclaim the land. All ODM leaders said when asked why they didn’t want to stop the violence is “we cannot stop people from fighting for their rights”, this was around the time children and women who had barricaded themselves in a church were burnt to death.
Enter Mungiki, a militia that claims to fight for the rights of the Kikuyu. All over sudden, the government is being accused of sponsoring this militia against innocent citizens. Possibly true, but what about the kalenjin militias, whom are they killing? Were the women and children in church criminals who did not deserve to be defended?
Before, ODM supporters were talking of no peace without justice? In times of war there is no such notion as justice. War does not determine who is right, rather who is left. The luo and Kalenjin thoght the Kikuyu cannot fight back as they have alot to lose… again possibly true BUT, you will notice the fallacy of generalization. Not all Kikuyus are rich, but like any other people, they know when they are being targeted. mungiki is the reason Kenyatta banned maumau. Mau mau is back… they answer to the name mungiki and this terror gang is being given legitimacy by the antics of Ruto and the miscalculation of Raila and his luo psychophants.
Drop the hardline and go to courts. Courts are the civilised way solving disputes. Use the numbers in ODM to reform electoral law to ensure fairness in the vote. Drop the war cries before its too late.

(Report comment)

]]> By: Eva http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/29/democracy-in-kenya/comment-page-1/#comment-49011 Eva Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:32:35 +0000 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/29/democracy-in-kenya/#comment-49011 Thanks for this, and thanks especially for the way you have emphasized the context and the politics behind all this, at a time when most reporters are going for the easy tribes-with-machetes storyline. As with Rwanda, there is a lot more going on than just a random outburst of "ethnic" savagery. For some lucid on-the-ground coverage of events in Kenya, be sure to check out Stephanie Nolen over at the Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080125.wriftvalley0126/BNStory/International/home I would confidently argue that she's one of the most well-informed, thoughtful and talented writers working in Africa today. Thanks for this, and thanks especially for the way you have emphasized the context and the politics behind all this, at a time when most reporters are going for the easy tribes-with-machetes storyline. As with Rwanda, there is a lot more going on than just a random outburst of “ethnic” savagery.

For some lucid on-the-ground coverage of events in Kenya, be sure to check out Stephanie Nolen over at the Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080125.wriftvalley0126/BNStory/International/home

I would confidently argue that she’s one of the most well-informed, thoughtful and talented writers working in Africa today.

(Report comment)

]]> By: Daniel Harbecke http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/29/democracy-in-kenya/comment-page-1/#comment-48961 Daniel Harbecke Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:10:15 +0000 http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/29/democracy-in-kenya/#comment-48961 Any peace to this, at least for now, has got to come from the top. As long as Odinga and Kibaki keep accusing each other of "ethnic cleansing," the riots will continue. For now, they need to call for calm and give next week's dialogues a chance. Any allegations of voter fraud have got to be confirmed under stable conditions, or they won't be credible reports and the riots will escalate. If the Kikuyu start a movement for retribution... the thought terrifies me. This situation didn't spring up overnight. If the Luo feel they haven't been represented for 50 years, there's probably good cause. The election was only the flashpoint. The grievances have been simmering. No, I don't believe Kenya is a failed nation. But with Rwanda so fresh in people's memory it threatens to become a new stage for massive tribal conflict. Without cooperation between the Luo and the Kikuyu, there cannot be a Kenya. As long as the hope lasts for agreement through dialogue, democracy is alive. Asante, Rehana. Good luck to you in the prayer for a better day. Any peace to this, at least for now, has got to come from the top. As long as Odinga and Kibaki keep accusing each other of “ethnic cleansing,” the riots will continue. For now, they need to call for calm and give next week’s dialogues a chance. Any allegations of voter fraud have got to be confirmed under stable conditions, or they won’t be credible reports and the riots will escalate. If the Kikuyu start a movement for retribution… the thought terrifies me.

This situation didn’t spring up overnight. If the Luo feel they haven’t been represented for 50 years, there’s probably good cause. The election was only the flashpoint. The grievances have been simmering.

No, I don’t believe Kenya is a failed nation. But with Rwanda so fresh in people’s memory it threatens to become a new stage for massive tribal conflict. Without cooperation between the Luo and the Kikuyu, there cannot be a Kenya. As long as the hope lasts for agreement through dialogue, democracy is alive.

Asante, Rehana. Good luck to you in the prayer for a better day.

(Report comment)

]]>