Why the Luhya nation needs unity, assertive 'tribal' king

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna during Linda Mwananchi tour in Kitengela on February 15, 2026. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

Let me begin with the immortal words of the late Philip Ochieng, that towering giant of Kenyan journalism whose mind cut through nonsense like a panga through overgrown bush in the thickets of Nambale. I shall not quote him verbatim - the dead deserve better than lazy verbatim - but I will capture his essence: He once wrote, "When you present yourself before the state to apply for an identity card, they will demand several particulars. But there is something particularly particular about the particulars they will ask. That particular thing is your tribe."

Ochieng, in his infinite wisdom, was not celebrating tribalism. He was stating a fact so obvious that only the intellectually dishonest pretend not to see it. The Kenyan state, for all its pretensions to nationhood, has always wanted to know where you come from, who your people are, which linguistic cluster you call home.