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I am always perturbed whenever I come across tribal jokes which dominate most of the chats in most social media platforms. These jokes although humorous are demeaning the target tribe. Could these jokes be slowly promoting tribalism? Or are they of any value to our society?
Take for instance a Luo who have a 24 inch plasma screen and a Mercedes benze outside his old grass thatched hut. The joke sends a message that they are extravagant and poor investors. And it also sends the message of poverty among the Luo community. While Maina,Kiprop or Kituva will be bursting into laughter , Otieno who the joke targets his tribe will get exasperated and will develop hatred toward other tribes.
When it comes to pronunciation almost all tribes are victims. This is mainly based on accent and inability to bring out the intended meaning. Take for instance a funny joke targeting Kikuyu community where a phrase ‘niibie kawibo’ means niimbie wimbo (sing for me a song).
Should we allow these jokes to trend although they are true manifestation of tribalism? Policies should be put in place to control this kind of jokes because no matter how humorous they are, they still hurt in away.
Jokes that target some particular tribes should be avoided as they create resentment among the people who the joke targets.
