Post-election violence seeds being planted

“The first time what happened was when a house was on fire, neighbors would intervene. Secondly, a house doesn't just catch fire on its own or by itself. The third point is that fire does not walk into a house to collect cows and other property within that house.

I went back to my house on the 2nd. I found that my house hadn't been destroyed but my goods had been stolen, my cows, sheep, they'd been stolen. Also, I had chickens and these chickens also had chicks.”

The above narration was made on October 8, 2013, when a witness took the stand at the International Criminal Court.

The witness was narrating the events in the Rift Valley, which saw women and children burnt by the infamous fire at the Kiambaa Church.

Recently, the ghosts of the 2007 post-election violence have been coming alive as politicians fail to guard their mouths on the campaign trail. There seems to be a deliberate series of steps to either threaten, or execute violence after elections.

The most recent were the comments by Meru Senator Mithika Linturi during a rally by Deputy President William Ruto’s UDA party. Mithika said that the people of Uasin Gishu should get rid of the madoadoa among them during the upcoming election.

Though the senator and other UDA politicians have sought to downplay the remarks and argue that they were taken out of context, the fear expressed by Kenyans is not unfounded.

During the ICC hearing, witnesses told the court that when Kalenjins and other non-Kikuyus said Kikuyus should return to their home, they used terms such as “madoadoa” and “sangari”.

Whenever we get into political competition, we appear to forget that this country belongs to all of us and it is our only home

The witnesses said they understood the word “madoadoa” to mean that “Kikuyus were literally everywhere” while “sangari” was a reference to a type of grass that grows in Central Kenya that needed to be cleared for farms to thrive.

There is also another narrative that has been worrying for many Kenyans. There have been claims of the existence of a deep state that would decide who becomes president in the August election.

This narrative is aimed at creating the perception that the election cannot be free and fair as some undisclosed and undefined group of people would make the decision for Kenyans.

The danger with this narrative is that those making the claim are of the view that Deputy President William Ruto cannot lose an election unless he is rigged out. This narrative will militarise his supporters as they will buy the idea that he cannot lose the election.

The letter by UDA to President Uhuru Kenyatta is also suspicious and seemed calculated to create the narrative that there must be violence at an election in Kenya. This is very unfortunate, especially given that we have seen politicians in the past preempt their own actions through such actions, like the one taken by UDA.

For many Kenyans, the current situation could appear like déjà vu. Kenya has been here before and things were not that pretty and it is obvious that Kenyans would not want to go back there.

Whenever we get into political competition, we appear to forget that this country belongs to all of us and it is our only home. If anything goes wrong and the country gets into a crisis like it happened in 2008, it will not choose which side we belong to as we will all be affected.

After the 2007 elections, we witnessed what can happen when we allow politicians to use us in the pursuit of selfish interests. As we vowed after1,500 Kenyans were killed and 600,000 others displaced, never again will blood be shed in the name of politics.

In the end, Kenyans only want peace. No one’s personal ambition is worth the death of innocent Kenyans. All candidates must commit themselves to peace, or we will all face the consequences thereafter.

Every Kenyan, regardless of their tribe, religious or political affiliation, is looking up to a country that will see them meet all their aspirations. Kenyans want a peaceful environment where they can carry on their lives without disruption.

 @MachelWaikenda