ARE YOU A TRIBALIST? Do not look at her legs.....

We must continue to pursue the terrorists. We must not tire to ‘hunt down’ the criminals who regard themselves as ‘holy warriors". But who is pursuing the tribalists? Kenyans must track and pursue this threat to our security and nationhood. We must diffuse the tribalists ‘bombs’. We must ready ourselves for overt and covert operations to counter-tribalism. Young Kenyans must annihilate ethnic manipulation and assume their responsibilities. They too must appreciate the gravity of this threat. The fact that hope for nationhood rest with the young is undeniable. But the young must now rise up to the challenge.

Hassan Omar Hassan —The writer is a commissioner with the KNCHR

My grandmother is one jolly lady, I like visiting and spending time with her on the western shores of the beautiful Rusinga island. She always tells me with a light touch that I should not bring her a lady who is not endowed with fine legs. To my people, a pair of well curved calves is a beauty statement. This is usually meant to nicely discourage me from marrying my 

sisters from the slopes who in most cases are never endowed in this area.

This tribal mistrust is a fact in many people of her generation. I will be doing a disservice to my education and exposure if I flowed with her mentality. I do not condemn her, having grown up and lived her active life when information was rationed and what was served was censored, she cannot know any better. This social and security threat has spread to the younger generation. It is unfortunate that the people Hassan is calling to arise are caught up in the same trap.

I have traveled in most areas of this country and I can say without a shadow of contradiction that no region can claim superiority over another. Every region is endowed with resources that can be tapped. The poor in Central Province are so poor that the affluence among them is stained with destitution. The other regions cannot blame Kikuyus’s for their misfortune because someone will only ride your back if it is bent. The only people who need affirmative action are our people in the former Northern Frontier Districts. The rest of us  need to learn from each other more instead of hating each other.

That aside, the word of God says in Mark 12:31 “The second is this love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” This verse reminds me that I can only love others as much as I love myself. To have a dislike or hatred for another is to first have a problem with loving and accepting yourself. It is never about the other party, like in marriage, pray for your spouse and work on yourself. It is the only way we will get Kenya out of this cancer that is eating us up slowly. Come to think of it, it takes a tribalist to elect a tribalist.

 kenyatta otieno © since 1978