THREE MAJOR CHALLENGES IN KENYA

Introduction

Kenya, like any other country has her own challenges that pull back her strategies toward success. Kenyans suffer a lot due to the lack of knowledge about their rights. It is quite unfortunate how the Kenyan leaders use the ignorance of the people to their advantage and abuse the citizens though they make it look like they are helping them.

Currently, Kenya is facing economic and political hardships which go far deep in affecting the normal functioning of the other sectors of the country. Economy is what makes or breaks a country, in our state we have a failed if mot a falling one. That then means unhappy and dissatisfied people who will stop at nothing until they grab all they can illegally. That in the end leads to greed and corruption, everyone using the shortest way possible to get to the top, wrong means towards wrong ends. The worst thing is, many helpless people are hurt and left to suffer, they are forgotten.

Background

Kenya having attained her independence in the year 1963 and successful in getting a new and working constitution last year, has a reason to believe in the future. The same constitution has brought about changes in evaluation of those who get into power changes in the judiciary that helps citizens spend lesser time in court. It will also see through to it to ensure that a government is responsible for its actions.

I believe politics has a lot to do with the progress of any state. The poor politics in Kenya has made the economy deteriorate. Many other challenges have sprung due to the state of the economy; I will be dealing with the three problems that I find to pose as the major drawbacks in Kenya.

The three are; 1.) Tribalism

                        2.) Abuse of office

                        3.) Corruption (bribery)

These are the main problems that every Kenyan experiences in one way or the other, or those that Kenyans have turned into a daily activity and culture. They are the main problem as the rest are a result of them that is they cause every other mistake and troubles that Kenya suffers today.

1.      TRIBALISM

             According to Wikipedia, It is the condition of being tribal; a feeling of identity and loyalty to ones tribe. Or, is the possession of a strong cultural or ethnic identity that separates one member of a group from the members of another group.

            On the other hand, ethnicity is a group of people who share a common identity, rituals, and, most commonly language. The social structure of a tribe can vary but due to their small size. It is a relatively simple role structure, with few (if any) significant social distinctions between individuals.

            There are more than 40 ethnic groups currently in Kenya. The indigenous tribes of Kenya fall into three ethnic groups, namely: the Bantus, the Cushites and the Nilotes. The main tribes are;

- Kikuyu (21%)                  - kalenjin        

-Luo (14%)                       - luhya           

-Meru (5                           - kamba

- Swahili                            - kisii

             The Kikuyu tribe forms Kenya's largest single ethnic group. Their closest kin are the Embu and Meru tribes. These are followed directly by the Luhya, who live in Western Kenya, the Kamba people of Eastern Kenya, the Kisii tribe from the Rift Valley region, and the Swahili, Taita and Mijikenda people from Kenya's coast.

 The major effects of tribalism are; violence, pitiful politics, poor economy, incompetent tourism, deprived leadership.

1.)    Violence

              The issue of tribalism in Kenya has caused violence, economic issues, and a giant step backwards in their progression toward a prosperous civilized nation. It was 1992 first when Kenyans forgot how beautiful it is to have a nation with such a variety in tribes and fought each other.

 The most recent case was in 2007-2008 post election violence where Kenyans literally turned into animals, killing over a thousand people and driving thousands to tents and in the cold  as Internally Displaced People (IDP). To date the IDPs still suffer for doing their patriotic duty of voting and are still lying forgotten in the tents. That is how bad tribalism can get if people don’t know the meaning of unity, peace and freedom.

2.)    pitiful politics

             The manipulation of ethnic identity by the political elite has led to a rise of tribalism. It is said that tribalism has gone beyond its origination in politics and trickled down to almost every aspect of the average Kenyans life.

              In 1992, citizens perceived most political battles to be about dividing the 'national cake' among the ethnic groups. In 2007, the cycles of violence killed 1,000 people since the election and over 300,000 fled their homes, returning to their ancestral homeland.

             It is so sad that the Kenyan politicians identify their politics with the various tribes they come from. By doing that they divide the people based on tribes, this will in the end leave people to know they can only be one if they come from the same tribe. Thus, anyone out of your tribe is an enemy and I s worth fighting so hard.

              Currently, Kenyans vote as a tribe. It is more like a competition within the tribes on which will win the top job thinking the President will only serve them and not the rest. It is very selfish and unwise of Kenyans in 2011 to still not put a country they have worked so hard for before the bitterness. Until Kenyans realize they need each other ther is still a lot to lose and all in the name of bad politics.

3.)    Poor economy

          Both post election violence and tribal discrimination in the workplace have had a negative effect on Kenya's economy. In the year 2008, the tourism sector was badly affected in such a manner that tourists feared for their safety and international Broadcasters like CNN and BBC gave Kenya such a bad picture. Tourism is Kenya’s best investor apart from agriculture, so if affected the economy automatically suffers.

                 There is a lot of discrimination when applying for a job. Many would hire based on family or tribe instead of academic qualifications or experience. This then means that it will be a tribal affair or a family one and professionalism will no longer be a priority. It is then clear to say that without professionalism in any business nothing much is expected to come out of it. That open doors to many other negative outcomes like corruption and greed which then kills any business and if many businesses are affected the economy of a country suffers loss.

4.)     A blow on tourism

                     The consequent violence would only hurt the tourism industry & make for nervous investors. The violence and tribalism points to the growing isolation of Kenya by the rest of the international community. Like I said above tourism is indeed one of the biggest Kenyan income earner thus anything that bites is, indeed bites the economy.

                  Fortunately there is hope for Kenya's battle against tribalism. The younger generations are more educated and less inclined to think along tribal lines. It is believed that once the younger generation (over 60%) is in leadership positions, tribalism will ease.

2.) ABUSE OF OFFICE

 This is no news in Kenya. It has become more of a culture to have Ministers summoned, suspended and even kicked out for no other reason than abuse of office.  I believe that most Kenyans don’t know their rights and those who do, do so little to have changes enforced.

The Kenyan leaders have taken advantage of the ignorance to abuse office and funds meant to benefit the public. For instance, how many times have you heard in the news that a specific Minister is accused of mismanaging funds and is expected to answer some questions in parliament but before then he will be suspended until proven innocent, only for you to see him/ her back in the office even before he has been cleared.

Apparently it has become a culture that many Kenyans choose not to talk about. For Kenyans, it is ‘Iam not affected so I will not say anything about it.’ We choose to go silent even when we know it is wrong. Even worse we have the power to remove such a dishonest leader from power in the next elections, but what happens? We still go back to the drawing board by electing the same [person back, after some promises which he didn’t fulfill when he had the time and power.

In the case of the few successful Kenyans who are not in politics and can help in fighting such evil happen to be greedy or ‘don’t cares’. The greedy ones will protect the leaders by having a piece of the cake that will help get them rich and shut them up. Who is then expected to save such a nation headed for the ruins if those with the voice help in the abuse of office.

Abuse of office is brought about by greed or interest in self. The poor have so much to complain about but they have no say. They are too little to be heard. In such a case you will see people protesting in the streets for change, and the next something happens and they don’t complain anymore, as they have been shut up by the same evil they were protesting about.

The media is also partly to blame for such. It happens to air more evil than the cry to change such evil. The Sonko’s are aired more trying to cover up their mistakes and exchange words with those who are apparently against them. The people who suffer such like the youths who had benefited from the ‘Kazi kwa Vijana’ funds are given very little time on air if any.

3.) CORRUPTION/ BRIBERY

According to Wikipedia, bribery is a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient.

The Black’s Law Dictionary defines it as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or other person in charge  of a public or legal duty.

On the other hand, corruption is described by Wikipedia as the payment for the services or material which the recipient is not due, under law.

The two are one and the same thing as they are all illegal shortcuts towards achieving something. People say that ‘money is the root of all evil’ and I add to it that ‘corruption is the beneficiary’. Kenya is practically a corrupt nation, in that nothing is done the right way if money is the easy way out.

For instance I need a passport in the next 4 days so bad as I have to attend a school that I have just been admitted. In the real scenario, a passport is supposed to be processed in a month’s time. What do I do? Pay the person in charge to avail it to me in 3 days. Now that is corruption.

People give bribery all the cute names so as to escape the guilt of evil. In the above case I would say I had no way out as if I did not get the passport I will miss my registration, thus not realizing my dreams. That could be true but it still is an excuse as there is always a next time.  We prefer not to be patient and not wait for so long for something and do it the right way; we would rather pay for shortcuts.

We are all against receiving such favors until we are in need of them. We all speak against it until we are face to face with it. That only makes most of us hypocrites as we don’t keep to our words. We would rather not discuss it as bad since we have all done it before and we are all guilty so making it look like a not so bad thing to do is easier than preaching against it.

Bribery has become a culture as we all do it even when we know it is wrong. From the have its and the have not’s, the places of worship to the bars, the posh places on to the slums we are all guilty as charged. It is the same reason we vote in our leaders, as long as they give us what we want. We pay someone to sit for our exams and even forge certificates for us so as we get to the top. That way I goes round and round and in the end we are all rotten, one and the same thing and we can no longer see it as wrong since we are all part of it.