Slate's Bizbox
dispatches: Notes from different corners of the world.

Who Are the Kikuyu?And why do Kenya's other tribes resent them so much?

By Michela Wrong
Posted Friday, Feb. 8, 2008, at 12:11 PM ET

(Continued from page 2)

In Central Province, Kikuyu MPs seized on the majimboist threat to foster a siege mentality. Rumors of a project to slaughter 1 million Kikuyus circulated like wildfire. "The amount of fear-mongering [texts] and e-mails was stupendous," says Kwamchetsi Makokha, a columnist for the Nation newspaper. "It became a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you set the stage where a single community has isolated itself, what follows is a feeling of resentment by others, of 'what's so special about you?' "

There was nothing random about the violence that exploded with the announcement of a Kibaki win. Deciding that the Kikuyu intended to rule Kenya indefinitely, Luos in the Western town of Kisumu looted Kikuyu shops, while Kalenjin militias drove Kikuyus from Rift Valley farms, settling scores dating back to Kenyatta's 1970s settlement scheme.

A feared Kikuyu militia, the Mungiki, is now extracting vicious revenge. But as thugs demand ID cards at roadblocks and members of the "wrong" tribe watch homes go up in smoke, majimboism is being put into crude practice on the ground, decades of Kikuyu expansionism challenged and reversed.

Many analysts see the entrepreneurship that defines the Kikuyu experience as the only hope for peace. Holding such a huge stake in the Kenyan economy, the Kikuyu have more to lose from the spiraling anarchy than any other group.

In Nairobi, groups of young Kikuyu professionals are calling for a power-sharing deal between Kibaki and Odinga. But the only individuals capable of pushing Kibaki to cede ground at talks being mediated by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan are probably his Kikuyu businessmen buddies. While they are beginning to feel the pinch as their hotels empty and investment portfolios collapse, this elderly group remains hard-line in its instincts.

Here in Central Province, a region locked in belligerent denial and memories of its insurgent past, there is little talk of compromise and no criticism of Kibaki. Retreating ever further into the chauvinistic bunker, some argue that the Kikuyu should create a mini-state of their own. "We can form a government from the Mount Kenya area, the Luhya, and some Kalenjin," James Wanyaga, Nyeri's former mayor, told me. "We can forget about the Luos and put our security machinery into Rift Valley, just as your people did under colonialism. And we would get on very well."

On one thing, however, all agree: There must be no more Kikuyu presidencies. The price of Kikuyu hegemony has already proved greater than anyone wants to pay. "Come 2012, a Kikuyu candidate will stand no chance at all here," says Gichema. "We don't want to be any further isolated."

VIEW AS SINGLE PAGE
Print This ArticlePRINTDiscuss this in The FrayDISCUSSEmail to a FriendE-MAIL
Share on FacebookPost to MySpace!Share with MixxDigg ThisShare with RedditShare with del.icio.usShare with FurlShare with Ma.gnolia.comShare with SphereShare with Stumble Upon
Michela Wrong, author of I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation, is working on a book about Kenya.
Photograph of Kikuyu refugees by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images.
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES

Remarks from the Fray:

Your writer has captured the mood from Central province, but it is rather a vista of 'kikuyu as seen by kikuyu's"

The Rift valley question arrises mainly because of the land problem. After Independence, president Kenyatta grabbed most of the land for himself and his family( this is the point which J Kenyatta disagreed with Jaramogi Odinga, who felt it was not right), and instead of settling the Kikuyu's in central province, he settled them in 'other people's land in the Rift Valley. Upto date, the biggest land owners are The Kenyatta family, Moi family and Kibaki family. These three men, who were all part of govt since indepence, failed to correct the land problems that have now become explosive, instead dividing big chunks between themselves and their cronies.

In the public service, Kikuyus are seen generally as corrupt and some institutions have been even renamed in popular parlance, such as the Kenya Revenue Authority - which every one calls Kikuyu revenue authority- after most of the other communities were sacked and replaced with Kikuyus. Kenyans claim business there (behind the scene) is conducted in Kikuyu language, thereby locking out other tribes and intimidating them.

Even where i work, although the organisation is owned by a foreign investor and has shares listed on the stock exchange, all the bosses are Kikuyu and non Kikuyu's rarely get promoted and earn less salaries.

--Akinyi

(To reply, click here.)

(2/11)

Washington Post
The Washington Post
OPINIONS
Sign of the Rove
Tom Toles | John McCain likes to tell a story about the foundation of his political faith.