The history of tribalism in kenya can be date back to the early postindependent years when the kenyatta and odinga led political parties were in the race to win the support of the masses. Kenya plunges into interethnic violence, says le monde. Tribalism as one of the conflict sources in north kivu. Kenya in which over 1500 people died and as many as 500,000 were displaced by intertribal violence.
Tribalism as a foiled factor of africa nationbuilding. Westen k shilaho this book discusses kenyas transition from authoritarianism to more democratic forms of politics and its impact on kenyas multiethnic society. Singing the national anthem wont help national integration, and neither will exhorting tribalists to end tribalism work. Accordingly, tribalism represents a more holistic measurement compared to ethnic diversity because it is a proxy that more closely reflects actions by individuals than ethnic diversity which reflects a situational element kodilatedika and. This is a bad mistake that the country has been tolerating for years.
We have about 42 tribes in kenya with different languages and cultures that all merge to become the unique mix of kenyan culture. The major opposing groups like luo, luhya and kisii of western kenya and the gema kikuyu, embu and meru people from the mount kenya area, had little contact with one. The 2007 post election violence in kenya is largely attributed to tribalism, due to the fact that in kenya elections are simply a matter of life and death. Understanding tribalism in kenya recent rioting, score settling, ethnic cleansing and other tribally motivated violence in kenya was sparked in the aftermath of the december 27, 2007 presidential election when incumbent president mwai kibaki, a kikuyu, flat out stole the election. I thought that by comparing case studies from a single region of africa one might discover the reason for the specifically ethnic thrust of the fastgrowing ideologies. The poor are the majority in kenya while the rich are the minority few who like playing tribalism. Government sources and critics have warned that corruption and tribalism are weighing down kenyas development and the country has become a captured state arthur chatora corruption and tribalism, deeply entrenched in the kenyan society and government have been identified as the countrys achilles heel, holding back development. This paper tends to examine tribalism as a foiled factor on africa nationbuidng and proffer useful tips to salvaging the africa land from this deadly social problem. Tribalism and ethnicity in africa 307 african and asian states, which combines primordialist and historical political arguments has been particularly influential, however.
A good leader should stand alone and move the masses to his or her side. Although tribalism and ethnicity are two different words, tribalism and ethnicity appear almost inseparable in the case of africa and they have quite different meanings compared to the western definitions. It cannot be traced to ancient hatreds or warfare from cultures clashing over the ages. Tribalism in kenya is responsible for underdevelopment, corruption, the rigging of elections and violence. Tribal violence spirals in kenya is a misleading headline for this election story, says bbc.
Africans in times past had suffered enormus attacks, injuries, losses, deaths, destruction of properties. Pdf this paper examines the ethnicity as an issue prevailing upon the kenyan society and its implication on the social, economic and political. It happens because, in kenya, there is an unholy trinity linking tribalism, politics and corruption. How tribalism hurts companies, and what to do about it. It is considered bad governance that leads to far more negative. Tribal violence spirals in kenya, screams the front page banner in the international herald tribune. Youll notice this kind of tribalism if teams start blaming each other or the customer for problems, or if theyre outright failing. Department of sociology and african studies center. The role of tribalism in kenyas presidential elections.
Tribalism nationbuilding and kenyan in the newafrica. According to geertz, it was only in the context of economic and poli. The major opposing groups like luo, luhya and kisii of western kenya and the gema kikuyu, embu and meru people from the mount kenya area, had little contact with one another before the coming of the colonialists. African tribalism, african socialism and the goal of political. Most people blame tribalism for the countrys failure to progress, alongside. Human evolution has primarily occurred in small groups, as opposed to mass societies, and humans naturally maintain a social network. In kenya, we only have two economic classes, the rich and the poor. Kenyan politicians promote and lie about tribalism in kenya.
Effects tribalism on development of kenya term paper. Kenya peoples and cultures ministry of east africa community. Kikuyu, the luo people became involved in protest organisations during the british colonial rule, and the two groups were the two greatest in supporting the kenya african national union kanu, a nationalist party70. Tribalism is sometimes a form of identity for people in a particular social group. In terms of conformity, tribalism may also refer in popular cultural terms to a way of thinking or behaving in which people are more loyal to their tribe than to their friends, their country or any other social group. Raila odinga a luo took advantage of this situation and ganged up the other 41 tribes against the kikuyu led government of mwai kibaki. Fighting tribalism in kenya the republic of kenya lies along the equator, in the far east of the african continent. This epithet also seems to combine gender discrimination with ethnocentrism. Ethnicity and tribalism have played powerful roles in previous elections, which will be a decisive factor in the upcoming elections.
The country has a land surface area of about 580,367 km2, with only about 9. Kenya has about 42 communities, that in other words. What can its background tell us about the future risks of. This apparent new upsurge in tribalism in south africa appears to be driven by a number of factors. Tribalism has negatively influenced our political, economic, education and governance systems among others. Not only does using the term tribe in this instance promote a racist conception of african ethnicities as.
Tribalism and kenyan national unity nationbuilding in the newafrica m. Recently i came across an argument supporting tribalism in kenya. Tribalism as one of the conflict sources in north kivu it intends to show people, what is mechanism which can be used so that we may end both tribalism and conflicts between people from north kivu province, it is be mentioned that throughout this blog, it is revealed. Ethnicity and political pluralism in kenya shilaho westen kwatemba shilaho kwatemba is a phd candidate in the political studies department, university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg email. Pdf development assistance has faced many challenges and achieved limited. Therefore, similarly to kenya, ethnicity became a crucial vehicle. The discourse of tribalism in kenya kenya reliefweb. Any notion which projects otherwise than this amounts to pretence of the first order.
Tribalism is the state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles. This study assesses the relationship between tribalism the tribalism index and government effectiveness per the world bank in 60 countries using crosssectional data. After which they call other elites from different tribes to merge up people for a common goal. Come browse our large digital warehouse of free sample essays. The discourse of tribalism in kenya open society foundations.
Image caption political violence soon took on an ethnic dimension after kenyas. There is a single political class in kenya that comprises tribal warlords complete with identified and wellguarded strongholds and with comparable histories of corruption, chaos and mediocrity. When kenyans cast their ballots to pick the president, the roles played by ethnicity and tribalism are likely to be decisive. In actual fact tribalism is so deeply rooted in the country that without it there would. In kenya stokes tribalism debate, the bbc presents us with the most popular excuse. Politics in kenya has been characterized by ethnic tensions since independence in 1963. In popular culture, tribalism may also refer to a way of thinking or behaving in which people are loyal to their social group above all else, or, derogatorily, a type of. African leaders see tribalism as a major problem in their countries. It is very evident that kenya as a country continues to be on the losing end due to internal divisions arising from tribalism. In fact, the major opposing groups, the westerners luo, luhya, kalenjin, kisii of western kenya and the gema kikuyu, embu and meru people from the mount kenya area.
Odinga unlike nationalism which is a new introduction to life in kenya, tribalism is as old as the land itself. The segregationist policies of the colonial administration promoted tribalism in kenya. However, tribalism in kenya has many corrupting influences. Tribalism and nepotism in kenya are predominantly becoming more acceptable. Tribe, a concept that has endeared itself to western scholars, journalists, and the public for a. A comparative analysis of the political parties in kenya.
Tribalism is why entire swaths of kenyas scenic rift valley lie in scorched ruins, why zulu gunmen in ski masks mow down xhosa workers outside a factory gate in south africa, and why thousands of hungry displaced kasai huddle under plastic sheeting at a remote train station in eastern zaire. Read this essay on effects tribalism on development of kenya. Tribalism in kenya is contributed to lack of accountability, underdevelopment, governmental corruption, and nepotism in the country. Get the knowledge you need in order to pass your classes and more. Im still not convinced as to how old people will ever grow up to be non tribal, or professors get educated enough to stop being tribalists. Kenya stokes tribalism debate by mark doyle bbc world affairs correspondent world headlines on kenya appear to say it all. The colonial government institutionalized tribalism in kenya. Tribalism in kenya is not a historical inevitability. Ethnicity, tribalism and violence in kenya scott macwilliam australian national university abstract while it is recognised that ascribing an ethnic identity to oneself and others is compatible with also being a citizen of a national state, including kenya, less attention is now paid to how identities are formed. Pundits say the politicians beat the drum while kenyans dance to the tune. This is one huge mistake some western journalists and. In 1994 the two governments were merged into the high council of republic.
A new wave of tribalism is threatening to unravel south africas infant democracy, destroy economic development and unleash devastating ethnic violence if not stopped decisively. Explaining the salience of ethnicity in kenyas multiparty. In actual fact tribalism is so deeply rooted in the country that without it there would be no foundation upon which the nation could be cemented. Tribal violence spirals in kenya is a misleading headline for this. African tribalism existed before african socialism and continues to. As with every other challenge, tribalism also affords us a great opportunity to leapfrog the. How to end tribalism and ethnicity in kenya waflay post. Consequences of tribalism in kenya hamper democracy, socioeconomic development, political and even educational spheres. List the negative effects of tribalism in kenya answers. Industrious democratizers are even now spinning rationalizations for the whole election fiasco. Tribalism is deeply rooted in kenya and has been in the country since colonial times.