Stay peaceful,spare journalists the trauma

To say that only 1,000 people died in Kenya’s worst post poll violence in 2007/2008 could be reduced to a verbal slur and to state that only 300, 000 were affected is an understatement.

Kenya was literally on fire and as the ashes settled, the nation was redefining itself in the effigy of tribes. A sorry state, that turned the once Island of Peace into a quagmire of chaos. The dead were buried but their kin feel the pinch, especially when politicians pretend to be dead to the factors that led this nation to the worst post poll violence ever, in her history of independence.

Victims of the 2007/8 post election skirmishes were tagged as IDPs (Internally displaced persons), and have been languishing in dilapidated camps for as long as they can remember the last general election. Bread winners were lost and their dependants had to eke a living whichever way. Learners who were in school have moved at least five classes ahead and the children born in the camps have now joined school.

Another group that suffered and continues to suffer to date are the professional lot, who attended to the injured – the medics as well as those who had the first hand experience of the violence - the journalists.

If the censored pictures that were viewed on the television screens were gory and distressing, then one can be sure that the above professionals had more than enough for their eyes and brains to stand as they handled raw wounds and captured raw footage, respectively.

While we may want to assume that the nature of their jobs hardens their hearts, the memory of the bloody scenes has thrown some of these brains out of work, literally, while others remain traumatized to date. Recently, nurses went on strike demanding better pay. While some thought they had turned their backs on human suffering and violated their own professional ethics, others believed they were justified to ask for what they deserve.

The media on the other hand has invested so much in the forth coming general election, which is only weeks away. More employees have been hired, more sophisticated equipment bought and transport modes improved, including acquisition of choppers, and new shows have been tailored to give airtime to politicians to argue their cases.

The media is often in the heart of every action that interests the public. People stay at the comfort of their homes watching news and features that journalists toil so much to get. Recent attacks and harassment of journalists have been worrying especially as we head to the big political day.

During the post election of 2007/8, journalists risked their lives every time, in order to spread news to every corner of this nation and beyond. In the chaos, some journalists watched fellow citizens being hacked to death; some were constantly surrounded by death threats while others watched their own relatives slain in cold blood. In the blood-spattered mess, some lost their psychological stability and consequently their sources of livelihood. Is this the Kenya we want?

A lot has happened but Kenyans do not really seem to have borrowed a leaf from the 2007/8 atrocities.

Kenya failed to establish a special tribunal that was expected to try the suspected perpetrators of post election violence here at home.

However this came into view as a blessing in disguise for many citizens who had lost hope in Kenya’s judicial system. The wheel of cases then rolled to the Netherlands, stopping at the gates of the renowned International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague. Even the ICC proceedings have been politicized and suspects have in the recent past been treated as special, spotless and ransom lambs especially within their tribal or clan cocoons.

Unfortunately, some IDPs, who would be considered as innocent victims, joined in the heckling. They unknowingly were opening another chapter that may define the happenings beyond the much anticipated March 4th general election. Two former ministers, whose names were among the four summoned to The Hague, have since formed a collabo to beat their opponents in the March presidential duel. Again, they have made milestones with the media extending an olive branch to their campaigns.

Manifestoes have been floated from all quarters. Another stage has been set. A stage that is fully decorated with all the bright colors that one could possibly think of, complete with actors who are doing their best to woo the largest chunk of audience their way. Each presidential candidate has selected a running mate from a different ethnic background as his.

While some may consider this a useful tribal inclusion in the coalitions, others argue that it marks the greatest height of tribalism, its ‘good’ intentions notwithstanding. It is important for Kenyans to get off their slumber and refresh their memories about what happened in the last elections, in order to reverse it or to abet it. It is a pity we now see ourselves as tribes and not able individuals who can work together for a prosperous Kenya. At a recent national peace prayer meeting initiated by the Christian Women of Kenya, Bishop Winnie Owiti of Voice of Salvation and Healing Church (Kisumu) lamented that ‘tribe has now become the cancer that is eating into Kenya’s well being’.  

It is therefore every Kenyan’s personal responsibility to ensure peace and stability of this great nation, even beyond the general election. Efforts to put a check on hate speech and incitement should not be left to the National Cohesion and Integration Commission alone. After all, the staffs of that commission do not engage in such ills. In all a peaceful Kenya is the best for not one or two tribes, but for everyone, foreigners included.

Ray Polo, Programme Coordinator, Urban Journalists Forum.