Don’t turn politics into a game of dangerous ethnic scheming

In 2007, I witnessed the inter-tribal violence that rocked Kenya following that year’s General Election.

Every night we sat down as a family to watch the news, all I would see were graphic images of people being attacked and their property destroyed on the basis of their perceived political affiliation.

Then aged nine, I could hardly comprehend what was going on. I kept asking my parents why neighbours who had lived side by side for years, would rise up against one another with such ferocity. I was scared stiff when women and children were burnt to death at Kiambaa church.

Years later, I understood how young people (who were the main perpetrators of the crimes) were used by politicians in the name of identity politics.

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines identity politics as a kind of politics whereby groups of people having a particular racial, religious, ethnic, social, or cultural identity tend to promote their own specific interests or concerns without regard to the interests or concerns of any larger political group. At face value, identity politics speaks to our image of ourselves.

Because of the way historical inequities are often distributed across demographic groups, identity politics can be a powerful tool for countering marginalisation.

Indeed, it emerged as an emancipatory mode of political action and thinking based on the shared experience of injustice by particular groups — notably blacks, women, gays, Latinos and American Indians.

If well harnessed, therefore, identity politics provides a framework for evaluating and reforming the structures that replicate marginalisation.

Since the return to political pluralism in 1992, we have witnessed how competitive elections have amplified the voices of previously marginalised groups in Kenya like Muslims, women, the Somali community and others.

Ethnic groups that had been on the fringes of politics in the late 1980s, such as the Kikuyu, Luo and Luyia, largely cast their lot with the opposition.

But over time, appeal to tribe became too pronounced that, by 2007, our politics had been reduced to a zero-sum game of inter-tribal competition – resulting in the 2007 post-election violence.

More often than not, identity politics has been weaponised by those in power to maintain their status.

Gullible voters

Every so often, we hear corrupt politicians connecting with gullible voters through superficial appeals to identity. “Sisi ni vijana, na hii ni wakati wetu!” is a popular slogan by those angling for the youth vote. Once they get into power, they abandon the youth until the next election cycle.

Likewise, there are leaders who have been elected or nominated to office on the basis of their physical disability. During campaigns, they organise their fellow disabled, who vote for them hoping for better representation which never comes to pass.

The newly-minted leaders simply join the same forces of oppression and use their presence on the decision-making table as evidence of his group’s achievement.

Political violence is an extreme expression of identity politics, but there are obvious risks in a politics that appeals to people’s base instincts as opposed to policy programmes that address their material conditions.

The main one is that we all have more than one identity – ethnic, religious, sexual, gender and class identities among others.

Identity politics also obscures distinct characteristics between people of the same identity. If “identity” trumps “perspective”, dissenting views from within the group will be diminished – irrespective of the cogency of the dissent.

Powerful factions within the groups then wrongly arrogate themselves leadership for the whole group, when in actual fact their interests are inimical to the social justice aspirations of the majority members of that group.

As we head into the definitive 2022 General Election, my plea to the youth is simple: Tuchanuke.

Let us not allow identity politics to influence our choices of individuals we vote for. Instead, let’s look deeper into the aspirants’ values, their track record, manifestos and what they can do to empower us.

As ordinary citizens, we all have common aspirations for safe neighbourhoods, good schools, jobs and our dignity.

Truth is, focusing on our sexuality, tribe or age only serves to divide us and undercut our influence as a potential force for political reform.

-The writer is a student at Karatina University

Related Topics

2022 Politics