This is possibly one of the worst articles published on this matter. The western media truly outdoes itself when impoverished nations are faced with trying times. Where do they get their sources from?? Sitting in New York, the author claims to have interviewed people in the villages of Kenya?? Moreover, how does the author explain the killing of luos by luos and kikuyus by kikuyus and the others by their own ethnic groups if the killings were planned? If he did his research a little more comprehnsively, he would find that that is the case, not just random but on a bigger scale. The various tribes have gone about and raped their own women and children, destroyed their own businesses and livelihoods and the west stand there saying these things were planned!
Take Kisumu and Eldoret as an example. These areas have been worst hit by the violence. Majority of the businesses have been destroyed. Houses, shops, churches and any other building burnt down. Children starving and facing the threat of disease. THousands of people have been displaced. And to say they are all Kikuyu? No, i think not. They are from the 'tribes' that have lived in those areas for decades too. THem along with their counterparts from other ethnic groups around the country.
The trouble in Kenya has been triggered by the elections last December and nobody doubts that. However, the root cause is not who won the election or the claims of rigging. The root cause is the growing divide between the weathly and the less fortunate. This divide continues to widen as the country continues to prosper.
The kikuyus are by far the weathier of the ethnic groups in Kenya. They, along with the kalengins and a few other minorities, are also the holders of political power since independance. They are also the accused behind the various government scandals that have rocked this country. If Raila came into power, these previous leaders know they may have been held accountable for all the shady deals and corruption. Not that Raila and his team are any better but he would have sought 'justice' to some degree - satisfy the west a little on the fight against corruption. Did the western experts really think Kibaki would hand over freely should he have lost, given his record?
The experts on African politics in the west failed to notice this growing divides and of course the threat these old school politicians themselves faced. Moreover, the same experts who claim to study and offer "expert" opinions also failed to notice the tribal divide that would occur with the selection of the two main presidential candidates. Nobody saw it coming, yet it stared us in our face.
In the histroy of any nation, freedom came at a price. The only difference is that we were not around to witness the wars and conflicts that the western nations faced as they fought to get the freedoms they enjoy today. But go back in history. Ethnic clensing occured back then too - only then, that term did not exist. Terrorism existed too, but again that word itself did not exist. What happened to the vikings and the American indians and the aboriginals of australia? They didnt just drop of the face of this earth. There numbers declined as the stronger ethnic groups of their times and regions took control of the economy and stood up to them using more sofisticated weapons. Ethnic cleansing and terrorism are modern day terms used today for what we see today. Milder terms are used for what happened in the past. Rather than remember their own past and assist, learning from their mistakes and advising, the "free" world takes a stand to condem.
