Oscar Obonyo
20 January 2008
Nairobi — Roles have drastically reversed along the Kenya-Ugandan border. The traditionally peaceable Kenyans are no longer walking tall. Instead, it is the Ugandans -who have perpetually been at war-now playing host.
The hosts are even chiding their visitors about their war-torn country. There are also lectures on peaceful coexistence to boot.
Indeed, the sudden up twist of events is one that shames and shocks residents who have lived on the Kenyan side of the border. For years, they have played the Big Brother 's role of offering sanctuary to their troubled neighbours.
Now they find themselves on the other side of the fence thanks to last December 's controversial presidential polls.
"Why can 't you people stop killing each other like chicken. We did it during (Idi) Amin 's time and a few years thereafter but achieved zero, " offers a World Vision-Uganda official at Busia-Uganda Integrated Primary School where displaced Kenyans have pitched camp.
"Whether he rigged himself in or not Kibaki is your president. And now we hear Raila has taken control of the National Assembly and might also control the cities and town councils. Since the power already seems shared, why can 't you continue that way instead of either group wanting to have it all? she poses.
Mr Patrick Ogessa, a barman in Samia Bugwe says: "We have been there before (internal strife) for such a long period and understand what you people are going through. It is pain and sacrifice that you must go through, before you can finally settle down as we have done. However, do not express your anger stupidly. "
Indeed, this is the attitude of most Ugandans. Everyone has something to say or lecture Kenyans on. This was hardly the case one month ago.
Now, the Ugandan media are awash with pitiable stories about the former regional power-house that is quickly tumbling.
In one of the articles, a columnist in a leading Ugandan daily declares that only Tanzania genuinely enjoys the honours of being a haven of peace in the region.
Kenya, he writes, was all along a pretender, and just like Uganda, the country effectively belongs to the club of war-riddled Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Rwanda and Burundi.
While this might not be the apt interpretation of the situation in the country, the reading of the post-election violence is very different indeed.
The Sunday Standard has established that there are more than 5,000 Kenyans holed up in makeshift camps, living with friends or in dingy hotels in Uganda. About 2,600 of these are at Busia 's Integrated Primary School while 1,430 are in a camp near Malaba.
Ugandan troops
Museveni echoed the magnitude of the problem. And judging from the reactions of his audience, it was equally evident that tension was high between the locals and their Kenyan counterparts.
President Yoweri Museveni was confronted by locals who wanted to know whether he played a role in rigging in President Kibaki.
Before the elections, ODM politicians had alleged that pre-marked presidential ballot papers were sneaked into Kenya from Uganda.
But Museveni said it is the Electoral Commission of Kenya Chairman, Mr Samuel Kivuitu, who made Kibaki President of Kenya.
The Ugandan president was obviously surprised by the question considering that there is general belief among locals that he may have played a role in Kenyan polls.
Museveni 's rush decision to sent Kibaki a congratulatory message - so far the only world leader to have done so - has not made the situation any better.
But what has sent many into panic at the border is the unending rumour that Ugandan troops have been deployed along the Kenyan borders. Some soldiers are even said to have crossed to the country to help combat poll protesters.
Last week, a Ugandan daily claimed that Kenya had appealed for a further 3,000 Ugandan troops. The claim that has been denied by former Internal Security minister, Mr John Michuki. He said the country had enough security personnel to deal with the situation.
Residents at the border have lived in panic since ECK 's announcement of Kibaki as the presidential poll winner.
On one of the nights, a resident of Burumba estate in Busia recalls how nearly 100 families fled from their houses and spent the night in cold for fear of being invaded by Ugandan soldiers.
In Port Victoria, on the shores of Lake Victoria, the presence of Ugandan troops - who have been sighted by fishermen - has triggered panic.
While some believe they are the usual personnel patrolling in the Ugandan waters, their increased number is raising eyebrows.
Mr Douglas Wafula, a high school teacher, says: "They must be doing whatever they are doing in the interest of the security of their citizens. In any case, they are routinely on the alert each time there is a security scare on either side of the border. "
A Ugandan Customs official concurs: "Our soldiers are on guard because there are fears that the violence in Kenya could spread to our side. Besides, we have to be on the lookout for a possibility of the ODM supporters pursuing their political rivals in the Ugandan camps."
Meanwhile, tension remains high as political hostilities among Kenyans appears to have been exported to the neighbouring country.
Here, the usual embrace of a fellow countryman is not automatic and one has to be extremely cautious.
Pretenders
Warns Ogessa: "You have to be careful what you say, how loud you say it and to whom. Last Tuesday, one of my customers was molested by a group of fellow countrymen from the community that is now settled in refugee camps here. "
The locals watched in disbelief as the Kenyans sorted themselves. Later, the barman intervened. Says Mr Saul Kang'ethe: "It is under such times that one realises that all along we have lived as pretenders, cheating one another that we are friendly countrymen when down deep in our hearts, we hold lethal tribal animosities."
Kang 'ethe, a businessman who has lived in Malaba for the last 20 years, regrets the aftermath of the elections.His state notwithstanding, Kang 'ethe has no intention of going elsewhere besides Malaba.
"Just why is my family being subjected to this trauma in the name of politicians who do not know me and who care less about ending our current suffering? he poses.
Some people often flee to Uganda and only return to their homes in the night after the rowdy events of the day.
One such person is a teacher at Bulanda Primary School in Kenya. This writer met him at a hotel about 15km from the border.
"I have been coming to this place daily since schools opened and may continue doing so until calm returns at home. You see, I am PNU-friendly and some of my colleagues have shouted about it to the locals, "he told The Sunday Standard as he sipped a soft drink.
The post-election violence has equally had economic ramifications and Ogessa moans the loss of his business.
"Ordinarily, the bar would not be as empty as it is today. Most of my patrons are from Kenya and a few locals who show up after earning a few coins from border business across," he says.
Kenyans are now adjusting fast, though grudgingly, to the reality that scales have been tilted and that there is a new Big Brother in town.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The East African Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
