Time to put an end to ethnic mobilisation

Every passing day it is becoming more and more difficult to discuss anything other than the forthcoming General Election.

Unfortunately, the overriding theme in every Kenyan election year is about the tribe “in power” (a fallacy, since there is no such thing!) doing everything possible to retain power, while the tribes “out of power” (another fallacy) unite and attempt to dislodge the ruling one.

In reality, of course, all we have are politicians jostling to use their ethnic heritage to gain and retain power.

This year is no different. We have started the year with the crowning of tribal spokesmen and the coming together of tribal leaders to form an alliance aimed at dislodging the ruling coalition from power.

The ruling coalition is perceived to consist mainly of two tribal groupings emanating from the hackneyed “tyranny of numbers” narrative of the March 2013 elections.

Politicians from these two groupings have continued to sell the narrative, expecting that the same dynamic will see them over the threshold in the coming elections.

If these two teams have anything to do with it, we shall have them as the only contesting sides in August. Their campaigns will rely heavily on ethnic mobilisation in the guise of “energising their base” when, in fact, they will be busy demonising the ethnic “others” said to be hell-bent on preventing “our turn to eat”.

The campaign will be bereft of any discussion on ideology, or policy direction, or even the successes and failures of the last four or five years. It will just be more and more of “our tribe is under siege, and only one leader can save us!” and similar stories.

Already, people in certain parts of this country are being indoctrinated to believe they must vote in a particular way in order to protect their god-given right to rule this country.

Vernacular media is full of this messaging, and a lot of it is being repeated mindlessly at numerous dinner tables around the country. In another part of this country, the politicians are priming the population to prepare to fight for their turn at the feeding trough five years from now. At the moment they are being urged to support the “other” tribe, which has promised to support them for the same opportunity five years from now. Emotions are being heightened, promises are being made, and the stakes are rising.

WIN POLITICAL POWER

Elsewhere, ethnic kingpins have banded together in order to “bring our people together” and kick the (ethnic coalition in the) Jubilee administration out of power.

As voter registration begins, each ethnic leader has been tasked with mobilising “his people” to register in huge numbers in order to increase the voting power of the ethnic coalition. The only agenda for this grouping is to win political power.

It is unclear how they intend to exercise that power, or what they want to do with it, but they promise “we” need to be in power if we are to see any goodies trickling down to “our people”. Today it is important to say another reality is possible.

Our political contests mustn’t always be based on ethnic mobilisation, given the huge risk of conflict inherent in such politics. It is possible for the Jubilee coalition to market itself based on what it has achieved since the last election, and to outline how they intend to do better after the next.

It is possible for the opposition coalition to highlight the numerous failures this country has seen under the Jubilee administration, and provide workable alternatives should they be so lucky as to win the coming elections.

It is not necessary to demonise whole demographics in order to win elections. If it is in this country, then it shouldn’t be.

The ethnic mobilisation that is going on this year leaves little doubt that the poll will be hotly contested on ethnic grounds, and the risk of violence increases exponentially whenever politicians make it a zero-sum game – “we must win this election, or our tribe is doomed”. This year, let us say no to a tribe-based campaign.

Atwoli is associate professor of psychiatry and dean, School of Medicine, Moi University; [email protected]