ICC told how tribal mistrust built up

By Felix Olick

The Hague, Netherlands: The 2005 referendum vote by the Kalenjin community against the proposed constitution was a revolt against retired President Kibaki, the ICC was told yesterday.

And the sixth prosecution witness at The Hague-based international criminal court also said that during the 2005 plebiscite, politicians in the Rift Valley used the word madoadoa (stains) and kwekwe (weeds) to refer to members of the Kikuyu community.

 The witness identified only by the pseudonym P268 said the hate language was used at a ‘No’ referendum campaign rally in Nandi Hills attended by former Premier Raila Odinga, Deputy President William Ruto and former deputy PM Musalia Mudavadi.

“Kenyan politicians have a tendency of using hate speech. You could hear words like madoadoa, words like kwekwe in reference to a community they didn’t want,” he noted.

According to the witness, the word madoadoa and kwekwe was used by politicians to refer to Kikuyus occupying land in Kalenjin region.

Lost government jobs

The witness claimed that Kalenjins overwhelmingly rejected the proposed costitution as a protest against Kibaki for sacking senior members of their community from government after taking power in 2002.

“It so happened that after Kibaki took over, many Kalenjins lost major government jobs,” the witness said during his examination-in-chief yesterday.

During the referendum they (Kalenjins) wanted to settle scores in the sense that many had been purged from government jobs,” he said.

He also told Trial Chamber V judges that Kalenjins also rejected the proposed law because of the land problem in the Rift Valley.

According to the witness, Orange party leaders rallied their supporters to reject the proposed constitution, warning that their land would be taken away.

He said the land question was rife in the Rift Valley and at the Coast as the opposing camps campaigned across the country.

Live peacefully

“What ethnic group were going to be affected by the land issue,” asked Prosecution Counsel Lucio Garcia.

“The battle of the constitution was against Kikuyus and other tribes seemingly,” he responded.

He, however, pointed out that despite the ethnic dimension the plebiscite had taken, President Uhuru Kenyatta, former ministers Joseph Kamotho and Joe Nyagah both from Central Province were on the ‘No’ side.

The witness maintained that every election year, politicians exploit the land problem in the Rift Valley to galvanise support, adding that the major casualties are usually the Kikuyu living in the region.

“When there is no election, communities tend to live peacefully,” he said.

“But during elections, particularly elections that put Kikuyus and Kalenjins on different sides, there is likelihood Kikuyus are going to be threatened if they don’t vote the way leaders from the Rift Valley would like,” he said.

He also pointed out that Kenyan politicians have a tendancy of galvanising support by rallying people together over an issue that the people fear most.

“Kalenjins have a history of dearly protecting their land and politicians tend to exploit that issue during any other election probably to their advantage,” he observed.