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Deafening silence from politicians on displaced people raises eyebrows

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Published on Saturday, 05 November 2011 18:27

This week the media reported that internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kisii would stage protests to highlight the neglect and abandonment they have suffered since 2008.

About time, I say. One of the mysteries around the crisis has been the loud silence of political leaders from the affected communities on the plight of “their people.”

Except for the Kikuyu political leadership that has run with this issue so much so that the term “IDP” has become synonymous with “Kikuyu.”

Hundreds of thousands of Kikuyu were displaced during the crisis (and many more from the state-sponsored violence in Rift Valley in 1992, 1993 and 1997).

But even this original concern for Kikuyu IDPs has dissipated somewhat, with many leaders more focused on “protecting” one of the Ocampo Six.

Regime in power

The response of the regime in power has perpetuated this narrative of Kikuyus as the IDPs and victims, focusing on Kikuyu IDPs as the first priority, inadequate though that response and focus has been.

For instance, the Sh10,000 stipend was first provided to Kikuyu IDPs in Eldoret and Nakuru as early as May 2008, with Luo IDPs getting theirs a year later.

I am not aware if Kalenjin, Kisii and Luhya IDPs and victims ever received theirs. The gap was so huge that at first non-Kikuyu IDPs were referred to as “returnees”.

It is proper and just for the regime to respond to the plight of Kikuyu IDPs and victims, and in fact do better.

It should also begin the process of resettlement on their land, rather than seek alternative lands as that affirms the continued balkanisation of Kenya. 
I was in Kisii last week, and this issue continues to be raised in all discussions I have with ordinary people in the villages.

They report that they never received the Sh10,000; that the provincial administration has been brushing them aside, unable to respond to their questions on why they have been excluded; and that their political leaders do nothing about it.

And yet, the Kisii community’s suffering was unique in the crisis, being the victims of the Luo in Kisumu, the Kalenjin in Kericho and Eldoret, and of the Kikuyu in Naivasha and Nakuru.

In fact, while Luo, Kikuyu and Kalenjin communities also perpetrated substantial violence during the crisis against “others”, the Kisii have not been reported to have been involved except as victims.

So why the silence from political leaders from Gusii-land on these issues that directly impact the people they represent?

Similarly, in Kalenjin-land there are narratives of young men who disappeared, with poor mothers not knowing if their sons are in jail or dead and if so, where their bodies were buried, which would bring some form of closure.

There are reports of many people who were shot dead, use of excessive force by security forces while dispersing protests, including shooting bystanders.

These mothers are victims too — no matter what we may think of their sons — and are in anguish seeking answers, bodies and information.

Yet, we don’t hear the same levels of public protestation from Kalenjin political leaders as we do for one of the Ocampo Six. Surely, their constituents deserve as much protection and concern as the MPs they protect.

This same loud silence is repeated in Luo-land and Luhya-land. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced from their homes in Naivasha, Nakuru, Limuru, Kikuyu and other places, eventually ending up at their ancestral homes, adding new stresses.

For these displaced had been providers of remittances from the areas they were kicked out from but are now dependants.

This silence from political leaders baffles the mind. Some of them calculate that as long as they have the support of their tribal political chieftain, they are set to capture or recapture their seats, whether they speak for their people or not.

This is the natural consequence of “voting as a bloc” which favours the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor, weak and marginalised.

If nothing else, for ordinary Kenyans to get the services, advocacy and protection that they need from political leaders, this is the one thing we must end in 2012