Stopping tribalism. [Photo: stopthehate.hrc.org]
Tribalism and politics are not strange bedfellows - throw in the number 7 and the story acquires a "vuruteni stool" appeal.
Tribes in Kenya are associated with long-standing stereotypes; Luos, have their flashy lifestyles, Queen's grammar and their ritualistic Christmas exodus; Kikuyus are synonymous with their love for money, bodily (un)proportions and culinary challenges (recently christened, mashakura); Kamba's are associated with their loyalty/subservience and prowess in the boudoir; the list is endless.
I, too, have personally experienced tribalism despite being a "born town"!
Most of these stereotypes are obsolete as the lines have continually blurred with modernity.
Stranger still is the connection between tribalism and the number 7 in Kenya.
The 2017 elections have opened raw ethnic divisions. These divisions turned awry earlier in 2007 when the hatred was graphically articulated in violent outbursts.
Incidentally, politicians set the stage ten years earlier with hurried electoral reforms through the Inter-Party Parliamentary Group (IPPG) reforms in 1997 further entrenching ethnic division in the country when political parties were formed on the basis of tribe.
Funny enough, 1977 saw the father of NASA Presidential flag bearer, the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, barred from contesting a national post by the then ruling party, KANU.Aside of the political arena, tribalism has permeated the workplace and I'm not talking political appointments. I was surprised the other day as I walked past a construction site in my neighbourhood and the labourers toiling in 27°C midday heat whistled in unison to a popular Kamba tune, quite harmoniously I might add; incidentally the site foreman, I came to discover, was a Kamba, and so was every other mason/painter/welder/electrician on the site!Tribalism is also ingrained in our popular entertainment spots. This polarisation is best illustrated by two well-known pubs in Umoja, Harry's Tavern and B Center; the two pubs lie on opposite sides of the Kayole Spine Road - the former is primarily a "westerners' joint while the latter is frequented by " sons of the soil".In my personal opinion, the solution to ethnic division in Kenya lies in our ethnicity. Sounds strange, right?
Well, a Congolese buddy was the inspiration behind this epiphany of unity in diversity - according to him, there are 450 tribes in his motherland, a country so ethnically diverse that tribalism is simply lost on its citizens.Looking back home at Kenya, and revisiting the number seven, I believe Kenyans should use the year 2017, not as a year of omen to further divide the nation along ethnic lines, but a year of ethnic healing where we realise that we are so different yet so similar.
Seven should be our lucky number; there are seven days in a week, seven notes on the musical scale, seven seas and seven continents. We should embrace 2017 as the turning point for ethnic healing in our land.Let it be the year where we realise we can be proud of our diverse ethnic heritage without it causing divisions among us.
#TribeKenya #OneNation #OnePeople #Peace.