COMMUNIA Workshop, Vilnius, March 31, 2008: Debate of Questionable Practices
Eric Wanjamah: Equality and Justice
Kenya is a very unequal society, it is ranked as the third most unequal in the world; a situation so much blamed on the colonial masters. Before the colonizers came, the Kenyan people were organized in clans and settled in certain geographical locations for decades, they had their own cultures and tradition as well as a form of law and order with elders as the rulers.
When the British arrived in Kenya in the 1800’s they were missionaries coming to spread the good word, the indigenous people however, had their own religion and ways of worship. As the First President would later observe, the missionaries had the bible in their hand and they asked us to pray, we closed our eyes and when we opened them, we had the bible and they had the land. As the British colonialists settled, they needed land, fertile land to practice large scale farming. They moved the local people from their ancestral land to areas like the Rift valley, these people eventually settled in these places permanently. However, the places they settled had their rightful owners which they considered their ancestral place. This would set the stage for the never ending ethnic animosity characterized by burning of each other’s houses because certain communities feel that foreigners should go back to their ancestral land.
The struggle for independence climaxed in 1963 when the British were defeated and Kenya gained independence. The settlers left and as they went, huge chunks of land were left to their loyalists without regard to the wishes of the local communities. Land continued to be distributed to those perceived as close to the powers that be, it was a form of reward to those who danced to the tune of the ruling class. This has to date resulted in some people owning thousands of acres of land while others are squatters.
Recently, Kenya experienced post election violence which many people attributed to the existing inequalities. Animosity has been brewing against specific ethnic groups that are perceived to be wealthy and dominating business and politics in Kenya. Some analysts have argued that the powers that be are willing to sacrifice anything that will make sure that they retain power. This is because they stand to lose a lot of wealth in the event that justice is done.
Numerous commissions have been set to investigate land allocation issues and the reports have never been made public. There is need for a paradigm shift within Government circles in matters relating to access to information. The public lacks knowledge that would enable it make informed choices and especially through the electoral process. The information contained in such reports would enable the electorate make informed choices. There is a blame that is always directed at the voters for being blind and not voting for the right people, the fact of the matter is that such knowledge is not in the public domain.
A few years ago, a new law was implemented that required public officers to declare their assets yearly. It was hoped that by making such declarations, public officers who had accumulated more wealth than they could have rightfully gained during their tenure, would be asked to explain how they acquired it and would be prosecuted in the event that it was acquired illegally. The anomaly with this law is that the records are confidential and not open to public scrutiny.
Corrupt deals have impoverished Kenya so much so that Kenyans cannot get access to basic facilities due to lack of public funds. To this date, some rich corrupt Kenyans have stashed colossal amounts of money in banks abroad and continue to live extravagant lives at the expense of the masses. The British Government offered to help Kenya trace the assets held abroad but Kenyan authorities have never consented to this offer.
In the struggle for justice and an equal society for all, Kenyan authorities must ensure that information that affects public opinion is in the public domain. Issues like who owns what land, why and how it was acquired are crucial. The Government commissioned reports that are gathering dust in Government offices need to be made public, as a way of creating an enlightened society. The public should know who owns what abroad and how it was acquired and if illegally, such properties should be repossessed. Since the public lacks information, there is a tendency to act on suspicion. Such suspicions turn into hatred which builds up tensions out of which conflicts are born.
Questions: How do we address the historical injustices committed by the colonialists and especially as regard land allocation? Is regional Governments the way forward?
When the British arrived in Kenya in the 1800’s they were missionaries coming to spread the good word, the indigenous people however, had their own religion and ways of worship. As the First President would later observe, the missionaries had the bible in their hand and they asked us to pray, we closed our eyes and when we opened them, we had the bible and they had the land. As the British colonialists settled, they needed land, fertile land to practice large scale farming. They moved the local people from their ancestral land to areas like the Rift valley, these people eventually settled in these places permanently. However, the places they settled had their rightful owners which they considered their ancestral place. This would set the stage for the never ending ethnic animosity characterized by burning of each other’s houses because certain communities feel that foreigners should go back to their ancestral land.
The struggle for independence climaxed in 1963 when the British were defeated and Kenya gained independence. The settlers left and as they went, huge chunks of land were left to their loyalists without regard to the wishes of the local communities. Land continued to be distributed to those perceived as close to the powers that be, it was a form of reward to those who danced to the tune of the ruling class. This has to date resulted in some people owning thousands of acres of land while others are squatters.
Recently, Kenya experienced post election violence which many people attributed to the existing inequalities. Animosity has been brewing against specific ethnic groups that are perceived to be wealthy and dominating business and politics in Kenya. Some analysts have argued that the powers that be are willing to sacrifice anything that will make sure that they retain power. This is because they stand to lose a lot of wealth in the event that justice is done.
Numerous commissions have been set to investigate land allocation issues and the reports have never been made public. There is need for a paradigm shift within Government circles in matters relating to access to information. The public lacks knowledge that would enable it make informed choices and especially through the electoral process. The information contained in such reports would enable the electorate make informed choices. There is a blame that is always directed at the voters for being blind and not voting for the right people, the fact of the matter is that such knowledge is not in the public domain.
A few years ago, a new law was implemented that required public officers to declare their assets yearly. It was hoped that by making such declarations, public officers who had accumulated more wealth than they could have rightfully gained during their tenure, would be asked to explain how they acquired it and would be prosecuted in the event that it was acquired illegally. The anomaly with this law is that the records are confidential and not open to public scrutiny.
Corrupt deals have impoverished Kenya so much so that Kenyans cannot get access to basic facilities due to lack of public funds. To this date, some rich corrupt Kenyans have stashed colossal amounts of money in banks abroad and continue to live extravagant lives at the expense of the masses. The British Government offered to help Kenya trace the assets held abroad but Kenyan authorities have never consented to this offer.
In the struggle for justice and an equal society for all, Kenyan authorities must ensure that information that affects public opinion is in the public domain. Issues like who owns what land, why and how it was acquired are crucial. The Government commissioned reports that are gathering dust in Government offices need to be made public, as a way of creating an enlightened society. The public should know who owns what abroad and how it was acquired and if illegally, such properties should be repossessed. Since the public lacks information, there is a tendency to act on suspicion. Such suspicions turn into hatred which builds up tensions out of which conflicts are born.
Questions: How do we address the historical injustices committed by the colonialists and especially as regard land allocation? Is regional Governments the way forward?
About
Badge
© 2009 Created by Andrius Kulikauskas on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
