MPs wrong to whip up fears over resettlement

Criticism of solutions to the problem of intern-ally displaced people is pointless if it does not come with reasonable alternatives. And it is worse than that if it is informed by petty personal considerations rather than pragmatism.

We are dismayed at remarks by Rongai MP Luka Kigen, echoed by others in the region, that Government should not resettle IDPs in his constituency because that will change the electoral district’s ethnic make-up. The balkanisation of the nation into ethnic fiefdoms is the main cause of election-related ethnic violence since 1992. In the wake of the introduction of multi-party politics, these were euphemistically called ‘party zones’. Rift Valley Province has a tradition of emptying them of potential voters ahead of polls. In the wake of the 2007/8 election crisis, however, ethnic cleansing was intended to have a more permanent effect on voter rolls.