County power deals to curb poll violence

Communities in 27 counties considered violence hotspots are being encouraged to enter into power sharing arrangements ahead of the General Election to prevent conflict.

The idea being pushed by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission would have communities share elective positions.

The deals are being encouraged in Nakuru, where a preliminary agreement between the Kikuyu and Kalenjin is expected to be signed this morning, and in Busia, Bungoma and Migori. Other areas are Isiolo, Marsabit, Tana River and Mandera.

In Migori, the Kuria and Luo, the two dominant communities in the area, are being encouraged to share out the governor and senator seats.

The Bukusu, Tachoni and Sabaot of Bungoma County; Somali and Borana in Isiolo; Borana and Gabra in Marsabit and the Orma, Wardei and Pokomo in Tana River are also being encouraged to reach agreements.

The commission has been engaging communities in the multi-ethnic counties to go for what it calls “negotiated democracy” so that no group feels marginalised.

NCIC is working on the strength of National Security Intelligence Service reports, which have warned of election-related violence in the regions.

“Voting patterns in Kenya are predominantly ethnic and so communities with large numbers within the counties could easily lock out the minorities. In this case, the minority groups will feel marginalised. This is a recipe for conflict. We are telling Kenyans not to begin their counties on a foundation of exclusion like we have done to ourselves in the last 50 years,” Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia, the NCIC chairman, told the Nation in an interview.

He added: “You don’t want to go to elections with some groups in your counties feeling they are already losers from day one because they do not have numbers.’’

But it is not just the fear of violence that is driving the NCIC initiative.

The Constitution guarantees the rights of minorities and they can move to court if they feel sidelined, paralysing the affairs of affected regions.

“Remember also that if the county does not take care of minorities and the marginalised, they can go to court and have the county assembly declared unconstitutional.’’

Power politics

In such eventualities, the Central Government will run the affairs of the county until the matters are resolved by the courts, he said, adding: “Let us get it right in the first go by being inclusive.”

Dr Kibunjia says the violence that counties like Marsabit, Isiolo and Mandera have already experienced this year are related to power politics and things may worsen ahead of the elections and after if nothing is done.

Power-sharing was a key element in a peace accord that NCIC helped to broker in Nakuru county, and which will be signed Friday.

In the agreement, the elders pledge to “encourage political candidates and supporters, leaders and the institutions of state, to find ways of acknowledging and dealing effectively with all our concerns about being permanently excluded from governance and state functions”.

But Dr Kibunjia will find it hard hammering out the agreements and effecting them because while his idea is popular among the minority groups, some in the majority oppose it.

“We have not said that we will share seats, what we have been recommending is that as part of peace process, there should be fair distribution of resources in the county, which includes power,” Mr Andrew Yatich, the coordinator of Kalenjin Council of Elders in Nakuru, who have been in talks with their Kikuyu counterparts, says.

But his Kikuyu colleague, Mr Joseph Gichuru, disagrees.

“We cannot talk about sharing of seats as it is not our duty to see who should be voted and who should not; this is the work of voters. Our main interest as a council of elders is having peace and reconciliation between us and other communities living in Nakuru.”

Opinion in Bungoma, another county targeted, is also divided.

“The seats are elective and anyone is free to contest for any position. Those who win will definitely not step down for someone from another community,” says former Bungoma Law Society of Kenya chairman Amos Makokha.

The way forward, he said, is for candidates from smaller communities to come out strongly and contest for the seats by focusing on issues rather than tribes.

“No one will be given anything on a silver platter. All candidates need to roll up their sleeves and be ready for a gruelling battle,” he says.
But leaders from the Tachoni community support the idea.

“We had to struggle so much before we got the first Member of Parliament. We do not want to go through the same route to get representation at the county,’’ Mr Jack Nakitare, an elder says.

Mount Elgon MP Fred Kapondi, whose Sabaot community is also a minority in Bungoma, said the residents’ fears are justified because of the underdevelopment their constituency has suffered over the years.

“The area has no college, lacks good schools and has no financial institution,” he said.

“We expect all communities in the county to be part and parcel of the leadership.’’

In Marsabit, there is an uneasy truce following fierce battles earlier in the year between the Borana and Gabra. There are fears that the violence will erupt again ahead of the elections as both communities go flat out to capture political power.

At stake, many observers say, is the coveted seat of governor and the power, finances and resources the two groups believe the holder will control.

It is this prospect that is fuelling fears that those who take charge of devolved funds may marginalise the losers.

Additional reporting by Eric Ngobilo and Muchemi Wachira