Employment record in public bodies points to ethnic bigotry

Are Kenyans generally ethnic bigots? It would appear so. Not just in our voting patterns in General Elections or elections in our professional organisations. Or the blatant ethnic bigotry we saw recently when some governors raided a public university to have one of their own tribe in place. It does appear that the practice runs deep in all our institutions. The usual tribal inclinations that dominate our chat rooms and bars appear to manifest strongly in the management and leadership of our institutions.

The National Commission and Integration Commission (NCIC) published three damning reports this week that seem to paint a grim picture of a nation steeped deeply in tribalism. From reports published by the Public Service Commission (PSC) earlier, we knew that our national civil service and public universities were ethnic enclaves in recruitments, promotions and staff establishment. Years of political patronage and corruption had bred massive inequalities and imbalances in these institutions, resulting in deprivation of some minority communities. The top six largest tribes often dominated the service disproportionately.