Muigwithania 2.0

The highest law of the land, the Constitution of Kenya, is explicit on the issue of property ownership by any Kenyan anywhere in the country.This was deliberate because the right to property was one of the sticking points during the Lancaster conferences at the dawn of Independence.The Constitution that was agreed on was explicit that no property of any description shall be compulsorily taken possession of, and no interest in or right over property of any description shall be compulsorily acquired from any Kenyan anywhere.

The import of that is that even if a Truth and Reconciliation Commission is set up, it is doubtful if its mandate will be to extinguish the right to property in the name of correcting historical injustices.The saddest thing about the land situation in Kenya is that the largest culprits actually are amongst some of our political elite and are the same ones who manipulate the peasantry to unleash terror on perceived ‘foreigners’ amongst them.

That a section of Rift Valley Members of Parliament, piqued after failing to clinch Cabinet posts, are actually using the internally displaced people in Rift Valley as a bargaining tool with the government, is not only morally unacceptable, but also highly alarming and extremely myopic.One of the reasons why Kenya is facing a looming food shortage is that thousands of farmers cannot till their land as they are afraid of going back to their farms after being chased away due to the outcome of the just concluded election.It is therefore very irresponsible for political leaders to use these people as political bait to further their personal ambitions. That is the height of sadism.

But more so, this is a grim pointer to the levels that our politicians have gone to achieve their aims and what precedent such actions portend for the future.It is clearly emerging that a new style of political ransom is slowly taking root in Kenya, where disgruntled politicians use all means at their disposal, legal or illegal, to score political goals.This is a bad precedent for Kenya. This time round, the Government should not negotiate with the disgruntled MP’s who want their fellow country men to live in sub-human conditions. The supreme law of the land is clear and it should be followed to the letter.

The President and the Prime Minister should put their feet down and refuse to be held hostage by a group of disgruntled politicians and move swiftly to ensure that the internally displaced are quickly and securely resettled.Similarly, any politician who is found to be inciting the population to chase away and make it hard for the internally displaced from settling down, should face the full wrath of the law without mercy. The culture of political impunity should be brought to an end in Kenya and no one should be allowed to hold a group of people hostage like this.

We all understand the genesis of the land inequity in Kenya and we cannot simply wake up one day and seek to undo history. The colonial notoriety of land acquisition and the subsequent land redistribution mess under both Kenyatta and Moi regimes will not be tackled by torching houses, chasing and killing innocent people.

Finally, it makes sense for the Government to quickly step in and assist in compensating Kenyans who were affected by the political turmoil that beset this country.These were Kenyans who were paying taxes on the belief that the Government would do its part and ensure their property is secure but the Government has failed to fulfil its end of the bargain and should thus step forward and compensate its tax payers.That is the way forward.

By Mary Ndungu

Wamuraya and Waiyaki
Wamuraya an unsang heroin.
You will go unnoticed

You are a woman of Great intentions
A woman of Divine intentions
Wamuraya you have set an example
You offered land for a community school in a prime area
Others were starting private schools!

The school is serving Njiarwa and will serve Njiarwa na Njiarwa
A testimony that mboco no igwe thi andu menyurane!
Your spirit is linked to PDIs

Let’s follow Wamuraya
Let us re establish the umbilical cord with PDIs
Help them to relive their Divine mission
Do like Wamuraya did

Waiyaki can you lead us!
The rest: Kaihwa na gucukuru will follow
Wa ten! Wa ten!
Wa giciko! Wa Giciko!
Wa mutungi! Wa mutungi!
Wa Rwiga! Wa Rwiga!
Wa Ihiga! Wa Ihiga!
Wa Lori! Wa Lori!
To restore the umbrical cord
So that people can cease to be managi!

The Kofi Annan brokered deal signed in February 2008 in Kenya brought President Kibaki and his political opponent Raila Odinga together in what seemed like an inevitable conclusion in a country reeling from an electoral stalemate that saw over 1,500 Kenyans dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.Internally displaced people in a camp in Eldoret. Priority must be given to the prompt and unequivocal resettlement of the displaced families.April 21, 2008: The Kofi Annan brokered deal signed in February 2008 in Kenya brought President Kibaki and his political opponent Raila Odinga together in what seemed like an inevitable conclusion in a country reeling from an electoral stalemate that saw over 1,500 Kenyans dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.Some semblance of peace has been restored, although for all its intents and purposes it creates more of a power maze in Kenya’s already redundant political lexicon.

However even within this maze, it is really ironic that for the Kenyan leadership, the first order of business is not a full redress for those who bore the brunt of the post-election clashes, but an adjudication and division of power.As the tensions simmer it is sad that the bickering on how to accommodate who in what position has over-taken the immediate agenda of rescuing the country from more certain violence.Violence in Kenya runs deep. It is the only constant in the country’s memory. This is precisely because violence is symptomatic of the country’s major ailments stemming from the political, economic and social inequalities. Indeed it is about landlessness 42 years after independence, the abject denial of access to the means of production and sustenance, lack of adequate housing, comprehensive health and human dignity.

It is also about justice.

There are many atrocities and political crimes that demand resolution if the country is to actually move forward and avoid a repeat of the post-election violence. Justice is a sure way of beginning to heal a nation. The authors of the Wagalla massacres where 400 Kenyan men were butchered must be prosecuted.Those who planned and executed the ethnic clashes in 1992 and 1998 (where about 1,500 Kenyans were killed and thousands displaced) must be prosecuted and punished before the law.Who will answer for the hundreds of lives lost after the December 2007 elections? The reported cases of battery and rape of women on campaign trails preceding the December elections must also be fully investigated without prejudice or fail! The internationally sanctioned and euphoric bugle of forgive and forget, rampant in Kenya’s history, must of necessity be brought to a halt. The peace deal should not be about by wiping out memories, tragedies or betrayals. Rather it can be a chance platform from which to punish the instigators and perpetrators of the ethnic violence.The country’s past is filled with injustice and now would be a good time to revisit that chequered history right to the beginnings of the formation of the nation-state, including the betrayal of the freedom fighters. Indeed it is important to politically dissect the Jomo Kenyatta era and debunk the myth of the founding father.The inequalities, state murders, land-grabbing, detentions without trial, ethnic isolation and massacres which greatly defined his rule must be fully addressed and resolved.

The violence must be looked into by addressing the root causes and bringing to book those who engineer these crimes. This could act as a deterrent and also serve some justice to the families who have lost loved ones.A wounded nation cannot heal unless medication is administered to the sick and preventative measures taken to avoid contracting the same ailment. It is no longer prudent to set up commissions of inquiry to investigate whether a commission of inquiry on crimes against humanity is needed.They do not serve justice and they do not work. In fact they only buy time until the next crisis for which another commission is appointed and the partisan and unproductive cycle begins again.

*In the meantime priority must be given to the prompt and unequivocal resettlement of the displaced families in Kenya. This is urgent!