Kenya, The Runners, The Politics - 2007/2008
By John Elliott
Violence Rocks Kenyan Runners and More
We heard about the violence in Kenya following the December 27th elections. We heard how Kenyan athletes were being attacked, how the Kenyan training camps were being closed, how athletes could not leave the country to attend events. We started to write an article about that, and as we learned more and more and more, our article turned into a full essay on the history of Kenya. The situation in Kenya deserves and can only be understood in context. As a running web-publication, we should perhaps apologize that this is only marginally an article about running and runners. But, as we delved into the issues, we thought that a fuller understanding of Kenyan history and politics was required. And don't worry, after the history lesson, we do talk about Paul Tergat, Lornah Kiplagat, Rodgers Rop, Haile Gebrselassie, the Rock N Roll Arizona Marathon and even Barack Obama...
The Tribes, The Kikuyu, British Colonialism
photo: Patrick Cowden/MarathonGuide.com
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Kenya is a country of diverse groups and is split across more than forty tribes with three of special interest for this article: the Kikuyu (22% of the population), Luo (13% of the population) and Kalenjin (12% of the population). During British colonial rule of British East Africa (the pre-independence name of Kenya), much of the land appropriated by white settlers was in the central highlands - the area inhabited by the Kikuyu. While some Kikuyu managed to prosper and consolidate their own land holdings, many were displaced and either worked for their colonial landlords or migrated to the cities. As the group with the closest connection to the British - although contentious - the Kikuyu were given the greatest educational opportunities and became a significant portion of the administrative and urban working class. In 1953, following World War II, the majority of the Kikuyu - a number of whom had participated with British troops in the war and had gained a knowledge of the world - staged an uprising, the Mau Mau Rebellion, which lasted to 1959. While the uprising was not successful, it is generally credited with setting the stage for Kenyan independence. The Kikuyu who were part of the rebellion had much of their remaining land confiscated and as many as one million were displaced to internment camps or "villages". The 10% of Kikuyu who had remained as loyalists to the British side or opposed the rebellion were given even more power.
The First Governments
Jomo Kenyatta, a member of the Kikuyu, spent 1931 to 1946 in England lobbying about Kikuyu land affairs and also studied at the London School of Economics. In 1946, Kenyatta returned to Kenya and assumed leadership positions in the Pan-African Federation and Kenya African Union parties - and was sentenced in 1953 to seven years of hard labor due to alleged involvement in the Mau Mau Uprising (which was later proven to be untrue). Following his release in 1961, Kenyatta rejoined his party and, following indepencence from Great Britain in 1963, Kenyatta was elected President of Kenya by creating a unity party that included the Luo tribe and made gestures to the Kalenjin. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, a Luo, was Kenya's first Vice President, but he did not agree with Kenyatta's policies and resigned in 1966 to become opposition leader, founding the Kenya People's Union. Daniel Moi, a Kalenjin, became the country's second Vice President. During the time of Kenyatta's rule, Kenya became a de facto one-party state and politics were dominated by the Kikuyu. On Kenyatta's death in 1978, Vice President Moi was elevated to the Presidential post and Mwai Kibaki - a Kikuyu and one of the drafters of the 1963 constitution was appointed Vice President. Kibaki would fall out of favor with Moi and was dropped as vice president in 1988.
The Two-Party System Returns
In 1982, Moi was the subject of a failed coup attempt and used the opportunity to purge the government of his opponents and to change the constitution to create a single-party state. While originally supported by the West, Moi became increasingly seen as a despot following the cold war and aid was withheld as the USA pressed for the return of a multi-party state. In 1991, the constitution was changed to state that the winner of the presidential election was required to and elections were held in 1992 and then again every five years. The constitution was changed to require the presidential winner to take at least 25% of the vote in 5 of 8 provinces, ensuring that only a party with a national base could win. Moi was elected in 1992 with 36% of the vote and won again in 1997 with 40% of the vote during elections marred by political killings and claims of voter fraud. Mwai Kibaki, Moi's ex-Vice President finished third in the 1992 election and second in the 1997 election (with 30% of the vote).
As part of the constitutional changes that returned the two-party system, Moi could not run again in 2002 and chose Uhuru Kenyatta - the son of Kenya's first president - as his preferred successor - sidestepping Odinga Raila, a Luo and son of the first Vice-President, who was serving as Energy Minister (and note that Raila was also detained for 6 years for his part in the 1982 coup attempt against Moi). Raila - generally referred to by his first name to avoid confusion as he was a member of parliament at the same time as his father - founded a new party, the Rainbow Movement which becamse the LDP. Raila signed a memo of understanding with Kibaki, which stated that on a successful election he would be granted a prime minister position and that half of the minister positions would go to LDP members. With the understanding in place and strong support, Kibaki merged his party with Raila's to form the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) and handily won the 2002 election gaining more than 63% of the vote. Following his election, however, Kibaki did not give Raila a position as Prime Minister and appointed just one-quarter of the minister positions to LDP members. In 2005, Kibaki pressed for a constitutional amendment to give more power to the president, but the ammendment was opposed by Raila and did not pass. Subsequently Kibaki purged his cabinet of Odinga and his followers.
The Politics Leading into the Election
By economic standards, Kibaki's tenure as president has been a success - the economy has grown at a strong and steady rate, education reforms have been put into place which among other things guarantee free primary school education, and Kenya has stood as one of the most stable countries in Africa. However, the politics and tribal conflicts had led to a decline in popularity for Kibaki and by early 2007, he was running far behind his rival Raila in the polls. In late 2007, Kibaki formed a new coalition party (the Party of National Unity), which included among others Uhuru Kenyatta his rival in 2002, and by election time in December 2007, polls showed that the Kibaki and PNU had caught up to Raila and his OMD (Orange Democratic Movement) Party. The stage was set for a close and contentious election among bitter rivals.
The Election
On December 27, 2007; elections were held in Kenya and results were slow to be announced, with numerous irregularities. On December 30th, the government announced the results of the election: Kibaki won with 4,584,721 votes, Raila Odinga was second with 4,352,993 votes and Kalonzo Musyoka (a Kwamba and head of the ODM-Kenya Party - the Kwamba make up 11% of the population) well behind in third with 879,903 votes. Violence and rioting began immediately as the PNU and Kibaki refused to acknowledge any irregularities and as the ODM and Raila called for protests.
Days after the election, Kibaki appointed Musyoka as Vice-President and appointed half of his ministers - leaving little room for Raila's followers to become part of the government. Following the appointment of Musyoka, violence against the Kwamba tribe began to break out. To add additional complexity to the political situation, Raila's ODM party won 95 of 210 parliament seats, while Kibaki's party won just 43 seats in elections held on the same day as the presidential election - suggesting that Kibaki will find it hard to govern without making some concessions to Raila.
The Rift Valley
photo: Ian Walton/Getty Images
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The Rift Valley is a prosperous highlands and agricultural area that during the colonial period was specifically set aside for settlement by the colonists, but is primarily inhabited by the Kalenjin. Following the departure of the British, the colonists' farmlands were abandoned and the Kikuyu who had been displaced from their own lands and were newly in power were able to move into areas left behind by the colonists. In the area, there has often been tension between the native Kalenjin's and the Kikuyu whom they view as living on land that should rightfully be theirs.
The political tension - the Kikuyu, of course, voted for Kibaki; while the Kalenjin predominantly voted for Raila - was just the spark to ignite the flame that was already in place in the Rift Valley and it was obvious that something could happen. In fact, the 2008 violence is mild in comparison to the violence following the 1992 elections when an estimated 1,500 were killed. Violence also followed the 1997 and to a lesser extent the 2002 elections - as terrible as it is, this is nothing new to Kenya, and could be expected.
The Violence
Violence has been spread across Kenya, including areas which particularly support Raila: his home town of Kisumu and the Nariobi slum areas of Kibera which is in a district represented by Raila. But the most publicized and, perhaps, worst violence is occuring in the Rift Valley where long-seated land issues and tribal jealousies have been rekindled.
Among the first incidents reported from Kenya was an attack by a gang of Kikuyu in Eldoret. Luke Kibet, the winner of the 2007 World Championships Marathon was attacked and hit by a rock and later was rushed to a hospital with a deep wound and concussion. Three hours later, a group of Kikuyu - perhaps the same group - hacked to death 20 Kalenjin including a prominent farmer, Lucas Sang, who was a member of the 1988 and 1992 Kenyan Olympic teams. Following that attack, a group of 800 to 2,000 Kalenjin retaliated and killed close to 100 Kikuyu in and near Eldoret including 40 who had taken refuge in a church which was burnt to the ground in the primarily Kikuyu village of Kiambaa five miles from Eldoret. Much of the subsequent violence has been Kalenjin against Kikuyu, again based on long-seated land issues.
The violence, predominantly in the Rift Valley has continued to spread and there are estimates that the death toll has reached 500 with more than 250,000 displaced from their homes. It has been reported that the Kenya Red Cross has stated that the toll is too high and it is feared that some bodies have been consumed by animals and birds of prey. The situation is a mess.
The Runners
The Kalenjin are the group in Kenya that are most widely known for their distance running prowess - and there are estimates that 40% of the major distance running medals have gone to this group. The Kalenjin group includes stars such as Paul Tergat, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Bernard Lagat (now American), Moses Tanui, Kip Keino, Luke Kibet, Tegla Loroupe, Lornah Kiplagat (now Dutch) and others. A few well known runners are Kikuyu, including Catherine Ndereba and Sammy Wanjiru.
Beyond the direct violence against Sang and Kibet, stories were reported from Lornah Kiplagat's High Altitude Training Camp in Iten, a half hour from Eldoret. Kiplagat was in residence in Iten preparing for the upcoming Dubai Marathon when the rioting began and Toby Tanser, reporting from the camp, told of seeing flames from the burning buildings nearby. Kiplagat and others were able to charter a plane from Eldoret to Nairobi and board a KLM flight to leave the country. The New York Times reported that Simon Wangai and Peter Muthuma who competed at the Xiamen Marathon had to walk the final miles into Nairobi as roads were closed leading to the airport. The United Kingdom had curtailed all flights to Kenya and there is a shortage of travel options available to those trying to get out of the country. Reports have suggested that Rodgers Rop - who will be pacing Haile Gebrsellasie in his world record attempt at Dubai - was having trouble getting out of the country. And, the Rock N Roll Marathon, in a press release, was attributing a shallow field to the failure of Kenyans to get out of Kenya to attend their race.
In Conclusion
We started this article because, as runners, we had heard about the atrocities in Kenya affecting the marathoning community. In researching this article, we learned about issues that continue to plague coutries around the world - and we realized, our arrogance in thinking that the story was about running and the travails of Kenya's athletes. The story is more complicated than that, but if running - in addition to making us healthier and stronger - can lead us to a better understanding of the world and politics, then that is a good thing. And so, on MarathonGuide.com today, you find a historical piece where you might otherwise see a running article....
Oh, we mentioned Barack Obama in our opening paragraph. That is because Obama's father is Luo from Western Kenya - and there is a joke in Kenya at the moment that the USA may elect a Luo before Kenya does. But will we see Obama running a marathon? Only time will tell...
Other Press
Recent articles:
- Kenyan Training Camps Shut Down
- Lucas Sang Killed Luke Kibet Attacked, Lorna Kiplagat's camp threatened
- More Description of the Troubles
- Kenyan Athletes Cope with Unrest
- Fears Increasing for Kenyan Runners
- Kenyan Runners Flee
- Additional on Luke Kibet
- Röthlin Makes Difficult Exit from Kenya
- Masai Stranded in Kenya
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