Zaya Yeebo
3 July 2009
(Page 2 of 2)
Kenyan civil society in its broadest sense, in spite of its strength and vitality, can still learn a number of lessons from these events. The first lesson is that only Kenyans can bring about the change they desire. Leaving this to politicians and their parties alone will stall the process. Political parties represent the interests of Kenyans, and are therefore vital to this process, but the definition of parties should go beyond the leadership. Reading Kenyan newspapers, one gets the impression that political parties in Kenya do not have branches, and if they do, these branch officers have no opinions to offer. It is always this MP or this leader. Where are the voices of grassroots membership?
Secondly, foreigners - foreign 'experts' and ambassadors - can talk about Kenya and change, they can write and pontificate, they can hector the government, and pretend in their arrogance that they have the antidote to Kenya's (indeed Africa's) problems, but ultimately, the voters of Kenya - the people of Kenya - are the only ones with real power to bring about popular democracy and radical change.
Thirdly, Kenyans must resist the temptation to run to the international community every time there is a political challenge. The Kenyan leadership must also not allow itself to be 'blackmailed' by threats from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Kenyan leadership must stand up to the international community and defend the national interest.
Kenya is endowed with huge natural and human resources, so please use them. In my lifetime (I may stand corrected on this), I cannot remember anytime in Ghanaian history when we called on the 'international community' to intervene in any shape or form to bring Ghana back on course. We fought as a nation, and defined what we would like to see Ghana become. It is a journey, but we have started. I would imagine that if the US ambassador in Accra behaved like the one in Nairobi, Ghanaians would have a lot to say to him, and it would not be pleasant. It is about having pride and confidence in what you have as a nation - the people - what Kwame Nkrumah called the 'African personality'.
Kenyans must believe in the power of their own institutions, including traditional ones, and their own power to help resolve intractable political and social problems, including poverty and social deprivation. Outsiders can offer advice, support - both moral and financial - counsel (and it is needed), and the occasional insight, but to turn that into an art form is mind boggling and sometimes counterproductive. Have we abandoned the counsel that too many cooks can spoil the broth?
Finally, Kenyan civil society in its broadest sense should rise up to the challenge. For civil society to have an impact and be able to influence political and developmental reforms positively, it needs to redefine its role and rethink its strategic relationship with the government, political parties and other stakeholders of development. Kenyan civil society has been recognised as one of the 'most dynamic' in Africa today. Yet such dynamism could be wasted without clear direction and a sense of purpose. Civil society needs to reinvent itself as broad-based, as a people-based community and as people-driven, and become a genuine voice and representative of the voiceless - those stuck in timeless potholes of grinding poverty, abuse and deprivation - and be able to engage the grassroots with a view to building a movement from below.
Building a movement from below requires expertise from civil society, political will and a broad consensus within Kenyan society that it is the best way forward. Only popular pressure from within Kenya can drive the reforms that are required. There is nothing new here since the days of Harambee, the Mau Mau resistance, and civil society efforts leading to the NARC (National Rainbow Coalition) era. What is required is to build on these past people-based successes and to find more innovative ways to reignite the movement from below.
THE NEW APPROACH
One of such initiatives is led by the UNDP's (United Nations Development Programme) Civil Society and Democratic Governance facility, aimed at helping community-based grassroots movements with the organisational skills, the expertise and the financial support to lead change from below. This is not only aimed at financial support, but practical capacity building and people-to-people engagement which enable community-based and civic groups to network, share information and knowledge, and build a nation founded on the principles of equality, social justice and fairness. The underlying reason behind this is that change can only come from below and through solidarity with peoples from other nations. This initiative seeks to give a voice to citizens to enable them to benefit from the reforms. Only an empowered and motivated people can demand accountability and transparency from institutions (both public and private), human dignity and security. This facility believes that existing Kenyan institutions have the capacity to deliver change and promote effective participation of the broad masses. However, the people should be empowered to demand and receive the change they need.
There is also the recognition that there is a great deal of interest among community leaders and activists in community-based organisations to contribute to this movement from below. Sometimes they are successful, sometimes they are not, but overall they are motivated by public good and selflessness. Enabling community grassroots organisations to work with the more experienced and financially endowed groups in urban Kenya will eventually lead to a mass movement for change which can engage with the political class to bring about the Kenya that people deserve. What is required is a process that is national and which recognises ethnic and cultural diversity, but which enables civil society to reclaim its role in society. The view that civil society is made up of 'well-to-do middle-aged professionals who passionately despise the privileged class' might not hold true, but it will become so if civil society itself refuses to engage the other half in the equation.
This can sometimes be achieved by pressurising through popular non-violent action, persuading where necessary, and cajoling when this fails. The aim is not to get into a confrontation as to who is right and has the moral authority or can impress foreign nations, but to engage with it for the common good. That will be the continuation of the building of a new democracy built around popular participation, popular power and social justice.
The founding fathers of Africa have demonstrated time and again that a committed leadership with a national vision can reform a country and bring about the desired changes that Kenyans deserve. But it has to be a popular movement from below, reflecting all ethnic, social, cultural, gender and faith groups. Either Kenyan civil society is committed to a change and emancipation or it will continue to serve other people's agendas. I believe that Kenyan civil society is capable of reinventing itself as leaders of the new African agenda and that it has the will and confidence to work with government to achieve its goals.
As Issa G. Shivji posed: 'Who are we, Pan Africanists committed to African liberation and human emancipation, or neo-liberal impostors serving "imperialist" vultures?' Frantz Fanon put it another way when he said: 'Every generation, out of relative obscurity, must discover its own mission, fulfil it or betray it.' This is the moment for the youth of Kenya to seize the time. Kenyan civil society should carve for itself a niche that enables it to build a prosperous and dynamic country which does not pander to the whims of bullies, but lives to the expectation of its founding fathers. Dedan Kimathi and other heroes did not die for Kenya to return to the gambling house of colonialism. Kwame Nkrumah said on the dawn of Ghana's independence: 'Ghana is out of the gambling house of colonialism and will not return to it.' I believe that is the adage of our time. Kenyans deserve a better future and a Kenya that Africa can be proud of.
Zaya Yeebo is programme manager for the Civil Society Democratic Governance (CSDG) programme. He writes in his own capacity.
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