The Sunnyvale Sun
News
Homeland violence a big source of worry
By Cody Kraatz
Two local Kenyans are lamenting the violence and tribal strife that erupted in Kenya after opposition leader Raila Odinga lost by a slim margin to incumbent Mwai Kibaki in presidential elections that many say were rigged.
They said that even in a country considered one of the most peaceful and democratic in Africa, the threat of further deterioration is real.
They said Kenyan leaders face a choice: allow Kenya to slip into a pit of ethnic violence reminiscent of the genocide in Rwanda, or resume a steady progression toward democracy, security, an open economy and multicultural harmony.
If the situation continues, "the Kikuyu will be slaughtered with machetes," said Njeri McGillicuddy, a Sunnyvale resident who grew up in the slums outside of Niarobi and now owns a kindergarten in West San Jose. "It's not really person to person. This will be a tribal war forever between the Kikuyu and the Luo."
Like Kibaki, she is Kikuyu, the largest of Kenya's many tribes with 22 percent of the population. However, she sympathizes with the Luo, who make up 13 percent of the population and supported Odinga, also Luo.
She believes that Kibaki should step down and that no one tribe should feel entitled to power.
"What I would like to really see is that they give the Luo a chance to rule, to show that they can rule, that they can protect Kenya, bring Kenya a good economy, a good democracy and eliminate corruption."
Meanwhile, Kimeli Naiyomah, a Maasai and Sunnyvale resident, has heard of attacks on Kikuyu in the region he comes from, Maasailand in southwestern Kenya.
"The Kikuyu are basically being decimated there," he said. "These are innocent Kikuyus. They are not evil. It's just that Kibaki, their tribesman, has put them in this very dangerous situation."
Naiyomah is trying to raise about $15,000 for victims of violence and displacement, to be spent on food, rebuilding homes and burial assistance for poor families near Nairobi who are from rural areas, he said. He plans to fly to Kenya in two to three weeks to deliver the funds and supervise the effort.
An Odinga supporter himself--he has met him--he said the opposition leadership has made efforts at dialogue, but the Kibaki government is not cooperative.
He said Kibaki should admit the election was flawed and call for a recount or re-election, remaining president in the interim.
Both Kenyans said the chances of a unity government or Kibaki stepping down are slim.
McGillicuddy paints a dark picture if the Luo continue to feel that they have been excluded from political power, the key to prosperity in much of Africa, including more examples such as the Jan. 1 burning of 50 Kikuyus inside a church in Western Kenya.
"The opposition leadership is the one holding the fire down," said Naiyomah, adding that the violence comes directly from the opposition's supporters. Odinga recently called for peaceful street protests.
And with the Kikuyu in charge of the government, the military and the police, violence would likely come from both sides.
"It's taken a long time for any African country to reach any of the goals that are held in the Western world...and it will still take four or five generations from now," said McGillicuddy.
"Kenya is just a beautiful country, period, and that beauty will always remain there is people don't mess this up right now."
For more information about Naiyomah's efforts through the American African NURU Foundation, for which Vice Mayor Tony Spitaleri serves as treasurer, visit www.aanurufoundation.org or e-mail kimeli@stanfordalumni.org.