allAfrica.com: Kenya: Whatever Else Kibaki And Raila Do, They Must Unite Kenya (Page 1 of 1)

So president Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have finally got round to meeting our very own refugees. It is to be hoped that they understand that the once-in-a-lifetime handshake is not good enough to elevate you from a leader of the garden variety to icon.

The best loved leaders in the world have been those that connect with the aspirations and needs of their people. Whatever else these two men do, they must bring Kenyans together. It is a toss-up whether they deserve sympathy or congratulations. By the time this government of national unity saga is over, they may well find that they have lost more than they gained in their struggle for power.

If they are not taking a bashing over ministerial appointments, they are getting flak for letting golden oldies cling to jobs they should have relinquished ages ago - and this at a time when there is no shortage of younger and more vibrant professionals. The common thread that underlies the big debates of their joint leadership is the tribe factor - how to cut it down to size and how to turn it into a positive force rather than the negative influence it has been. The internally displaced people they met in the Rift Valley Thursday are in the camps for one reason: their ethnic origins. So are the ones in makeshift homes elsewhere and those who were forced to abandon their workplaces and return to their homes of origin after decades away.

And that's not to mention the ones who paid with their lives for being in the right place at the wrong time. But all that has gone before is child's play compared with the mountain we must now climb. Cabinet and top positions in government are the province of just a handful of Kenyans. The war over the resettlement of internally displaced people, especially in the Rift Valley, is the ultimate test of the place of the tribe in our national fabric.

Their task will be made harder by the fact that it has taken a long and sustained effort to entrench the tribe as the supreme god, and that they are themselves creations of that mindset. Nevertheless, they have been presented with the opportunity to undo the damage of yesteryear. All the mind games we have played in the recent past notwithstanding, they have no choice but to seize the moment if they are to keep this country intact. This is the time to show us what stuff they are made of.

Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga will be up against divided loyalties and the grumbling of their foot-soldiers. But they must ignore the sabre-rattling in the Rift Valley and Central provinces and do what's right for this nation. THE IDP CRISIS GOES BEYOND THE selfish interests and threats of a few people in places of power. They should go forth with courage, regardless of any collateral damage. While we should not gloss over the issues underlying the crisis, the solution will not be found in tantrums and blackmail. And ramming the law down the throats of people who have been conditioned to think that there is one Kenya for them and another for the rest will only breed more resentment. This is not to say that criminal elements should be allowed to get away with it. No one is sacrosanct. We can only hope that this principle will be upheld, and that all those involved in instigating and fuelling the violence will be dealt with without fear or favour.

But while we cannot hope to chat our way around decades of socio-political conditioning and injustices, at least not with immediate results, we can do something about the fundamental principles of nationhood and systematically cut down the pillars that have held up negative ethnicity.

This is where the rubber meets the road. The two men can expect resistance in equal measure from those who have benefited from skewed development and those who harbour deep resentment at being left out of the loop. The "them" versus "us" mentality will be difficult to root out, especially when there have been no clear signals that the leadership is keen to break the cycle.

We can shout from the rooftops that all Kenyans have a right to a home anywhere in this land, that home need not necessarily be where the bones of your grandfather are buried, and that they should feel free to live and work anywhere within these borders. But it is in the practice that the difference will be made. The flow of traffic should be encouraged as much as possible, so that someone from the Rift Valley sets up home permanently in Nyeri and another from the lakeside can settle in North Eastern and not have to be transported 1,000 kilometres for burial.

Whereas we have encouraged immigration, we have not put enough effort into integration. We cannot possibly hope to gain acceptance of the idea of being Kenyan if all that immigrants do is set up their own exclusive colonies and fail to connect with their neighbours except at the superficial level. Even slums in Nairobi tend to have ethnic identities, for pity's sake!

Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga can bring their unique strengths to bear on the situation, but they will qualify for statesmanship only when they slay the tribal dragon. Good luck, gentlemen.

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