By Ephraim Njega
I had decided not to post anything over this long weekend to allow our Muslim brothers and sisters enjoy a quiet Idd ul Fitr. However I feel constrained to respond to some grave developments in the ongoing election campaigns.
There is a group of Kikuyu popular gospel and secular musicians who are singing songs full of genocidal rhetoric as they campaign for the increasingly desperate outgoing Jubilee regime. It is a shame that even well respected musicians like Kamaru have succumbed to this nonsense.
Some young musicians such as Dennis Mutara are also shamelessly engaged in this crap. Don’t these guys owe anything to Kenyans from all tribes who have over the years supported their music?
As these people sing songs calling and characterizing other communities as enemies of Kikuyus does it occur to them that Uhuru Kenyatta’s son is married to a Luo?
The songs are creating a siege mentality and spreading baseless fears that if Kikuyus lose power they will be evicted from other parts of the country and that no Kikuyu will be employed in NASA government. Do these people remember the long list of Kikuyus who Raila has worked with in the past and continues to work with currently?
How many Kikuyus earn a living by working for government anyway? Is it not a constitutional requirement for all communities to work in government both national and county ones?
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission must take its work seriously. NCIC was formed to ensure that 2007/2008 never happens again. Kaparo must move with speed to arrest and prosecute these hatemongers. I am deeply pained, shocked and devastated to see this nonsense being propagated openly in what is supposed to be a civilized and advancing country.
Kikuyu supremacist ideology has no place in this country. No tribe is superior to any other. No tribe has any entitlement to monopolize state power in Kenya. A Kenyan from any tribe has an equal opportunity not only to aspire to lead Kenya but also to vie and be elected in that capacity. Nobody deserves the enemy label for doing that or for supporting such a candidate.
Jubilee leadership has lost it by sponsoring these divisive songs that isolate Kikuyus from other tribes. This petty and desperate campaign is going to backfire badly. Kikuyus are under no obligation to support Uhuru Kenyatta. They are completely free to decide whom to vote for without fear mongering and intimidation.
Every Kikuyu of goodwill must say no to these primitive and ethnic extremist songs. Remember the person who is paying these musicians has the resources to flee the country should a civil war break. Kikuyus interact and co-exist peacefully with other Kenyans daily in every part of this country. No one should try to sow seeds of discord for their selfish political ambitions.
Kenyans must know that ethnic supremacist ideologies are what caused the 1994 Rwanda genocide. I urge these mistaken musicians to think about Kenya and not what they are being paid, to do dirty bidding for politicians. The musicians must vacate this hate campaign immediately. Kenya will be there regardless of who wins the forthcoming general election. No politician is worth destroying this country for.
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