AFRICA/KENYA - Archbishop of Mombasa denounces renewed attempts to use ethnicities for political purposes

Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - “We wish to condemn in the strongest possible terms this latest attempt by the political elite to drag Kenyans into ethnic conclaves,” said Archbishop Boniface Lele of Mombasa (Kenya) in a statement sent to local newsrooms. Archbishop Lele pointed out that negative ethnicity was one of the causes of post-election violence.
According to the Catholic news agency CISA in Nairobi, in recent days, there have been plans of establishing a political alliance between the Kikuyu and Kalenjin communities in preparation for presidential elections in 2012. The Kikuyu were the main target of the violence that engulfed Rift Valley province, ancestral home of the Kalenjin, following the flawed re-election of President Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu, in 2007.
In early 2008, Kenya saw one of its most violent and dangerous crises in its recent history, after opposition candidate Raila Odinga accused incumbent President Kibaki of having used electoral fraud in his victory in presidential elections held on December 27, 2007. For at least two months, various parts of the country experienced conflict between supporters of the two parties and the police force, in which ethnicity played a strong role. There were hundreds of deaths, and hundreds of thousands were forced to go to refugee camps (where there are still thousands living) and the national economy took a hard hit. The crisis was resolved through the mediation efforts of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who managed to create a national unity government presided by Raila (who became Prime Minister, a role not originally called for by the Constitution, but inserted through an amendment), while Kibaki remained Head of State.
“Our political leadership has perfected the art of using ethnicity to instill fear of the other in citizenry and exploit the same in their drive and greed for power,” he said. “The church cannot remain silent and watch as negative ethnicity and impunity took root in the country.”
The Kenyan Bishops have for some time been warning their citizens of the risks of using ethnicity for political purposes (see Fides 16/1/2009).
“The time has come for political leadership and Kenyans in general to transform their ethnic attitudes and embrace nationhood,” Archbishop Lele said. He reiterated that political leaders should be elected on the basis of ideology, merit and performance rather than ethnic background.
According to African history scholars, a large part of the “ethnic groups” on the continent were created by colonists who used the rule of “divide and conquer.” This division was later ingrained into the conscience of the people, so much so that it continues to mark the post-colonial history of various countries, also for its use for the political purposes of local politicians. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 6/4/2009)