#FRONTROW: Bursts of  patriotism do little to hide our deep-rooted tribalism

Kenya conquered Britain last weekend. You should have seen it because it was delightful. Eliud Kipchoge set a new course record in London on Sunday, and was just eight seconds off the fastest ever marathon time. Stanley Biwott was second, running his personal best time of 2:03.51.

Jemima Sumgong fell in the early stages of the women’s race but picked up quickly and still went on to win in 2 hours 22 minutes and 58 seconds. Another Kenyan, Florence Kiplagat was third.

It gave Kenyans everywhere a second straight weekend of excitement to see the flag’s red, black, green and white colours on top of the world. Patriotic congratulatory messages flowed from State House all the way down.

Maybe the excitement didn’t equal that of the Kenya 7s team winning the Main Cup in Singapore, but a grateful nation’s appreciation cannot be understated.

Television stations led with the news of the marathon on the evening news and their pictures made the front pages. They made us look good in front of a global audience and we were rightfully proud. Though all the winners were Kalenjin, everyone claimed them as Kenyan without questioning.

It is easy to do because they have made a habit of turning up at races all over the place and winning them all. For a country often short of good news, we never get tired of hearing of a Kenyan

winning another obscure marathon we’d never heard of. 

REPURPOSED FOR OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN

“Everyone knows, you don’t run against a Kenyan and win,” is a common refrain that was even repurposed for Barack Obama’s two campaigns.

Even when London mayor Boris Johnson referred to the American president as “part-Kenyan” ahead of his UK trip, we didn’t take offence. We have always claimed him as one of ours anyway.

We haven’t forgotten how he memorably said he was the first “Kenyan-American” to win the US presidency. We liked that. Yet I remember a noted commentator once saying that if Obama ran for

office in Kenya, he probably wouldn’t get elected because he was Luo. Yes, ethnic identities quickly come into the equation when politics enters the conversation.

Even those city types who can barely speak their mother tongue still identify with their amorphous tribal backgrounds.

Yet these are some of the same people who will pounce on anyone who crosses Kenyans. Whether it is Nigerians on Twitter, the American news channel, CNN, or some other unfortunate individual, they stand ready to pounce to defend Kenya. But the notion of nationhood is only skin-deep and collapses like a house of cards if you scratch beyond the surface.

After declaring their pride in their country and its world-beating athletes, they rapidly change gears to the same stereotypes about tribe and re-arrange their prejudices.

Tribe and politics are so deeply conjoined in Kenya that the two Siamese twins might never be separated.

POPULAR MEME

A popular meme after the 7s team hoisted President Kenyatta high outside State House was a picture of Raila Odinga throwing a rugby ball to a smaller rugby team. In the comments, humanity’s worst side shone through with all out tribal wars breaking out.

One side took pride in claiming that most of the rugby team was made up of just two tribes while the other countered with insults aimed at the opposing side or their perceived support for Raila. In Kenya these days, every action is soon followed by a tribal meltdown.

It is part of the split personality that most Kenyans seem to possess; patriotic when it is convenient while remaining deeply tribal when the occasion calls for it.

Even with more cross-cultural interactions that expose how alike people really are, there are those who still thrive in amplifying supposed differences and playing up stereotypes to divide.

With an election just over a year away, the tribal rhetoric is growing to a crescendo and citizens who should know better are lapping it up, as if the aftermath of the 2007 election didn’t happen.

What is truly perplexing, though, is how the exact same people can pretend to be patriotic at  opportune moments yet retain their tribal biases. The selective patriotism Kenyans show after global sporting successes somehow co-exists with deep-seated tribalism.

It might not be politically correct to make tribally insensitive comments in polite company, but that doesn’t mean they’re not thinking it. Even within diaspora communities, Kenyans still fall neatly

into ethnic boxes and often group themselves according to where they come from and associate within those smaller sub-categories.

They will go out to watch the Berlin Marathon or the Las Vegas 7s proudly wearing Kenyan colours while still hanging on to their prejudices. “For the nation to live, the tribe MUST die,” tweeted

Ramah Nyang. “A lesson which Kenya is, tragically, yet to learn.”

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PAPA WEMBA SINGS HIS LAST NOTE

His father went away and his mother sang at funerals, and that was his first influence into music. On Sunday, Congolese megastar Papa Wemba sang his last note and dropped dead. It was a tragic denouement for a man who gave us 46 years of great music.

“I am 65 but youth is 7 to 77, so I am still fine,” he told me two years ago when I interviewed him on #theTrend and inquired about his tattoo. We were surprised that he came on the show because stars of his stature tend to change their minds about interviews at the eleventh hour.

I asked which was his favourite song of his career and he couldn’t name one. He loved all of them because they were a part of him. It was a short conversation, speaking through a translator as I spoke no French and he didn’t speak much English.

He still left a big impression on the team and me. He was polite and patient, posing for pictures with everyone on the production crew without complaining or snapping. He was a true pro who understood the irritations that came with his job and took them in stride. Repose en paix, grand-père

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HOW COULD JAY Z CHEAT ON BEYONCÉ?

Any man in the world would adore her and go out of their way to please her in every way. She is, after all, Queen Bey, commander of the Beyhive, singer, activist, mother, feminist and icon.

Beyoncé can do no wrong.

The rumours have been swirling for a while about her husband Jay Z’s alleged infidelity with women such as Rihanna and Rita Ora. She kept quiet, until now. In her surprise new album, Lemonade, she tackles the marital strife head-on and forcefully.

She calls out one of Jay’s mistresses “Becky with the good hair”, who might or might not be Rachel Roy, based on the fashion designer’s semi-confessional Instagram post.

How could the rapper cheat on probably the world’s most desirable woman?

Beyoncé still shows who’s the boss, including in the title which quotes Hattie White, Jay Z’s grandmother, on her 90th birthday: “I was served lemons but I made lemonade.“

FEEDBACK:  On the actions of KFCB Chairman Ezekiel Mutua

I am disappointed with your article, starting with the headline. You say Ezekiel Mutua won’t annoy “us” for long. At least he has a mandate and a constituency to represent, I wonder who the the “us” you purport to represent comprises.

Secondly, it is true that the Coca cola advertisement was edited. Is it true that it had some moral issues? I say yes. I might sound like I’m  trying to be all holy but I’m not. The thing is, I was not comfortable watching the now edited part in the company of my younger siblings. It perplexes me that everyone refers to it as a kissing scene. It was not. Was I the only one seeing things being wrapped around legs. That was a sex scene.

If you have a personal problem with Ezekiel Mutua, that is your problem; don’t make it our problem.

Dick Otieno

Thanks for your article on the attention-seeking Ezekiel Mutua. He thinks we are in the Stone Age: Kissing is bad, so is Netflix, and condoms, which are credited with drastically reducing the number of new HIV infections in the country. At this rate he might ban mini-skirts or figure-hugging outfits in movies. He is insecure and wants to be seen to be working. Mutua should not use a public platform to campaign.

Emanuel Seth

I have a movie shop. I went to  the KFCB offices on Monday, April 1, to have my certificate renewed. I raised the same question about movies and series ratings because the last time I checked their Facebook page — after being in the business for a year — they had rated only one movie, the God’s of Egypt, in January this year. So where should we be looking for the ratings, if not at KFCB? And if they are not rating movies, why are they selling stickers to customers?

Joseph Njoroge