Something positive came out of terrible Riverside attack
What you need to know:
Useful information and tips were shared widely, and most people were alive to the fact that the terror masterminds might have been monitoring internet and social media traffic for ideas.
Kenyans gave them little to brag about. One can only be hopeful that this trend continues, and we slowly but surely weed out of our national discourse our own local terrorists.
Over the past decade or so, Kenyan society has continued to evolve in ways that would give hope to anyone with a stake in this country. Just over ten years ago, we erupted into a cataclysm of violence over a variety of grievances, the trigger of which was the allegation of stolen elections. At that time, many Kenyans would have been happy to betray their motherland to a foreigner, and there certainly was a grand infatuation with foreign intervention. Indeed, the post-election violence of 2008 was ended with the involvement of international diplomats, and with an agreement policed by international agencies.
HINDSIGHT
This past week, an attempt was made by a terrorist group to bring our capital city to its knees. An upmarket complex housing offices, shops and a hotel was attacked by a band of terrorists whose intention was clearly to replicate previous attacks at malls and hotels in Kenya and elsewhere. They may have anticipated a long siege with eventual embarrassment of our security forces and State institutions as has happened before, but this time Kenyans appear to have been prepared for them.
The security forces responded quickly and dealt with the threat professionally and with none of the embarrassing goofs of the past. The politicians largely kept away, which, with the benefit of hindsight, was probably a good idea given their often polarising statements even during mass disasters. While there will still be many lessons to be learnt, especially about the importance of a constant flow of official information, the institutions of state performed way above expectations.
DECISIONS
However, the biggest shift in behaviour was seen among the common citizenry. While ten years ago one might have expected the entire range of emotional expression on social media, often peppered with ethnic-laced insults and innuendo, this week almost every Kenyan who went online to post a comment on the terrorist attack was clear that the country will not be shaken or divided by such events. Importantly, Kenyans sent out a very clear message that violence of any kind will no longer have any role to play in public decision-making.
The message one takes away from this unfortunate event is that Kenyans are slowly but surely making the determination that we shall not be tied to violent means to make our point. In fact, plenty of outrage was directed at an American newspaper and its local correspondent for publishing gory pictures of some of the victims of the terror attack. On social media platforms, many commentators discouraged the sharing of these photos and focused instead on ensuring the safety of survivors who were in the complex when it was attacked.
INFORMATION
Useful information and tips were shared widely, and most people were alive to the fact that the terror masterminds might have been monitoring internet and social media traffic for ideas. Kenyans gave them little to brag about.
One can only be hopeful that this trend continues, and we slowly but surely weed out of our national discourse our own local terrorists who, in the name of politics, have specialised in incitement to violence and the politics of hate. One hopes we shall pick ourselves up from this incident and continue to grow and mature as a society, and at least have something positive come out of this terrible incident.
Atwoli is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Dean, Moi University School of Medicine; [email protected]
