KikuyusForChange

Vision

A country where one’s ethnic identity does not interfere with another person’s ethnic identity, or get in the way of all of us being primarily Kenyan

Mission

To Confront Negative Ethnicity 

The Realities we live in

1)       Ethnicity is a reality in Kenya & it plays a role in socio-political decision-making processes in the country

2)       There exists the perception (whether true or false) that there is unequal access to opportunities in political positions, trade, business, employment, education & social amenities, for various ethnic groups & that strong sentiments have developed over the years that some ethnic communities are, or feel superior to others

Core Values

1)       Acknowledgement & celebration of the diversity and uniqueness of each ethnic group & the benefits it brings to a united Kenya

2)       Belief that inter-ethnic harmony is possible & achievable in our lifetime and a commitment to actively work towards it as opposed to passively assuming it will emerge/arise on its on

Strategic Objectives

1)       Develop inter-ethnic platforms where the existing perceptions can be identified & analyzed & from which, wherever possible, proposals can be developed on how to bridge real inequalities, and strategies conceptualized on how to deal with the false ethnic-biased perceptions. 

2)       Identify existing inter-ethnic concerns whether real or perceived, and provide immediate & comprehensive responses to all the issues raised in these concerns

3)       Propose mechanisms of governance , running across from local, regional and national level, that will monitor, identify and assess all future ethnic concerns whenever they arise such that the issue of ethnicity is not misused for political purposes.

Key Activities:

1)       Organize intra-ethnic forums to analyze ethnicity, determine whether & how it is being misused politically to create socio-economic instability, and resolve what changes are required moving forward.

2)       Develop intra/inter-ethnic networks where the perceptions that negatively affect inter-ethnic relations can be identified & analyzed & through which, wherever possible, they can be dealt with.

3)     Identify, initiate & aggressively highlight all the areas, activities & events that promote nationhood as well as bring us together as Kenyans across the ethnic divide so as to build up a body of thought & evidence showing that it is far better to be primarily Kenyan, than Kikuyu, Luo, Kalenjin, Kisii, etc.

Background

Following the election violence that occurred in December 2007, & January & February 2008, it is very obvious that this country has to change the way politics is done. It was noted how effectively ethnic blocks have been mobilized for political expediency over the years. In 2002 ethnic blocks came together and determined that only by supporting one Kikuyu would they vote out KANU that had put up a Kikuyu/Kalenjin team, whilst in 2007 Kikuyus were marginalized and portrayed as the oppressors who had ruined the spirit of coexistence amongst the tribes of Kenya, and voters from all other communities were mobilized to vote them out of political office. At the same time, the kikuyu community was mobilized to vote in a certain way, based on certain stereotypes that no one bothered to interrogate.

The post election violence in December 2007 & January 2008 was a natural progression of this strategy, and it caught the young, urban, under-40 year-old kikuyu completely off-guard. They had grown up in an environment where they had studied, worshipped, done business, worked and socialized to the extent of marrying across tribal lines, and where they had come to believe that individual members of various communities were equal. However, for a moment in time they had being isolated as one ethnic group, and portrayed as the source of Kenyans socio-political problems.

Against a concerted effort by the older generation for regrouping of all kikuyus so as to establish ethnic protection mechanisms, most of the younger kikuyus felt that there was need to first analyse why it had been so easy to ignite such aggression and violence, to the extent of murder, against one community.

The analysis indicated the following: 

1)       That ethnicity was a reality in Kenya & that it played a crucial role in socio-political decision-making processes in the country

2)       That there existed the perception (whether true or false) that there was unequal access to opportunities in political positions, trade, business, employment, education & social amenities, for the kikuyu community, unlike for the other ethnic groups. This had led to strong sentiments developing over the years that kikuyus felt superior to other communities.

Though it was clear that ethnic identities are a threat to national unity, it was also realized that it was impossible to deal with the negative aspects of ethnicity on a national platform at the moment because the political elite in the respective communities need ethnicity as a tool to galvanize support on issues-and dealing with tribalism from an ethnically neutral position led to an immediate mobilization by politicians of the community against the proponents & their branding as traitors who were pushing other people’s agendas, and led to non-acceptance of the message. This meant that as much as a person was against the development of constituencies based on ethnic unity messages, the only option to fight tribalism was to start by taking up a tribal identity, from which one would develop credibility of their message internally, and then, to avoid such action further entrenching ethnic identities, reach out across to others with similar ideas in other communities, and together build the issue into a national agenda.

Kikuyusforchange was identified as the name under which the members of the kikuyu community would push this agenda. It was agreed that kikuyusforchange will operate as a movement that will lobby the kikuyu community to change FROM the existing practice where ethnicity is the basis on which political strategies are crafted & political leadership decisions made, INTO a system where determination of local & national leaders is based on the ability of each candidate to actively promote national unity.

Kikuyusforchange wants to facilitate the emergence of political leaders with explicit & deliberate agendas to promote a united Kenya as they represent their respective constituencies. It was felt that this name represented the new awakening of ethnic realities while accepting that creation of ethnic blocks was not necessarily the way to go.

THE BEGINNING:

Limuru Declaration 2008
Kikuyusforchange.com held its first event, which was a convention, on the 23^rd August 2008 in Limuru. The key agenda was to bring together a representative sample of the under-40 year old kikuyus, to deliberate on whether there was need for a specific initiative for young kikuyus, what it would do, and why. The agenda for this meeting was a discussion on ‘The Kikuyus as Part of Kenya’s Political Community: Past, Present & Future’. A structure of delegates was drawn up to represent the young kikuyu community, ad it was determined that they were in Colleges/Universities, Business, Professional occupations and Informal sector. It was also developed so as to represent the original Central Kenya districts, i.e. Kiambu, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Nyandarua & Nyeri, with additional representation from the Rift Valley. In total 76 people attended.

At the end of the convention the Limuru Declaration 2008 was made, as follows:

1)       Initiate Dialogue Initiatives:

• Intra-That there is need for self evaluation & analysis of our community as kikuyus especially as regards who, why & how we determine our political strategies. It was thus resolved that  kikuyusforchange establish platforms for such discussions & especially devolve these discussions upcountry (in the greater Kiambu, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Nyandarua & Nyeri districts) districts so that young people in the community could discuss the same.
• Inter-That there exists a perception that the kikuyu community is closed-in, in its socio-political & economic activities. It was thus resolved that forums be initiated & opportunities identified & utilized where members of the community can relate & hold candid discussions with members of other communities especially on the reasons for inter-ethnic tensions and perceptions that exist, and how they can de handled.

2)     Change in Political Leadership/Ituika:

• That our community is currently the only one in Kenya still being led by pre-independence leaders. It was thus resolved that there is need to bring understand the cultural reasons for why there was ituika every 40 or so years & to find out why it seems to be a problem today.
• It was also resolved that kikuyusforchange should identify and/or establish a socio-political platform, and the process that this generation of kikuyus could use to build up, train & equip the team that would take over leadership from the current leaders.

3)     Civic Education:

• That young kikuyus are generally not interested in politics-they would rather be out cutting business deals. It was thus resolved that programmes be identified & initiated to increase our young people’s awareness of their duty and responsibility to participate in politics, whether directly or indirectly, and to exercise their right to place, through the ballot, worthy men and women as the public/political face of the community, in leadership. It was also agreed that there is need to have leaders from the kikuyu regions who go into politics to represent their regions, which have various communities living in them, and not the kikuyu tribe.

4)     Economic Empowerment:

• That Central Kenya clearly had a money culture controlling its political elective processes, which had made constituencies in the region the most expensive in the country in which to run for political office. This also meant that gradually the region had moved away from electing political leaders, and more often than not, elected the richer candidates based on the cash-handouts given. The proliferation of rich people as the face of the community, being the representative leaders, had also contributed to the perception by other communities that kikuyus were rich, which is certainly not the case.
• It was thus resolved that a network be established linking members to programmes, resource centres & organizations offering business management education, business mentorship programmes, information on sources of capital, etc, to assist in economically empowering primarily the young people, but also the older folks. It was agreed that this would neutralize the cash-handout strategy normally used to entrap & influence voters in the region to make immediate & individual-based political decisions during elections & referendums, rather than think long-term and for the greater good of the region & the country.

5)     Socio-Economic Injustices:

• That the kikuyu community had numerous historical & current cases of injustice that needed to be resolved. This includes issues of land distribution, unrecognized independence struggle heroes, internally displaced people over the years, extra-judicial killing, etc. It was also noted that the kikuyu community had the largest gap between the rich & poor of all Kenyan communities
• It was thus resolved that programmes to lobby for government intervention in these and other cases of injustice be identified & initiated, both by kikuyusforchange & in partnership with organizations in the civil society, political arena & socio-political development, so that permanent solutions could be found.

Kikuyusforchange has two main types of membership.

• General Members: 

These are young-under-40-year-old kikuyu men & women from anywhere in the world. Membership is determined by ones ability to identify with the vision & core values of the group, as well as an individual commitment to be push the mission in one’s local environment all the time.

• Friends of Kikuyusforchange: 

These are individuals who are either not from the kikuyu community, or kikuyus above 40 years old, who believe in, & support what kikuyusforchange. It also includes the Diplomatic group (e.g. American & German Embassies), other community associations (e.g. Nyanza Youth Coalition, Rift Valley Dialogue Initiative, etc), and Civil Societies (e.g Freidrick Eibert Foundation (FES), Open Society Institute of East Africa (OSIEA), Youth Agenda, etc).

Expectations:

It is hoped that kikuyusforchange activities will lead to similar intra-ethnic initiatives across other ethnic communities based on introspection, & the specific issues in each community, because they are different. An ideal situation would then for these initiatives to come together nationally so that Kenya can start the process of detribalizing its political processes. Such an initiative will change the ability of ethnicity being the basis on which political strategies are crafted & political leadership decisions made. The end results will be the development of a system where determination of local & national leaders is based on the ability of each candidate to actively promote national unity, whilst representing their constituencies, & we can have a nation called Kenya.

KIKUYUSFORCHANGE FOOTPRINTS AS AT DECEMBER 2009

1)       Inter-Ethnic Discussions:

a)       We are part of a process that is establishing dialogue platforms where young opinion leaders from different communities in Kenya can come together & hold candid discussions on ethnicity, as well as develop strategies and activities that promote good neighbourliness, reconciliation & national cohesion, towards building national unity across communities. The first series of these meetings were facilitated by the Freidrich Ebert Foundation & enabled representatives from the Kikuyu, Luo & Kalenjin communities to meet & spend 3 separate weekends on this issue. The young leaders from these communities met and held candid and honest discussions under the theme ‘National Interests Vs Community Interests: What comes First? Several other meetings have been held and substantial progress made towards understanding the issue of tribal animosity, and answering the question “Is Kenya a Nation of Individuals or a Country of Tribes?’

b)       We have established a network with other community based groups through a programme we initiated with several other groups, called Regional Dialogues Forum. The purpose of this programme is the exchange of ideas on how to deal with issues of ethnicity.

c)       We have been a key part of a process managed by the Open Society Institute of East Africa (OSIEA) to discuss strategies & ideas that can be developed for use within each community in Kenya, to confront negative ethnicity.

d)       In April 2009 our representatives were invited as guests at a peace rally organized in Ndeffu, Njoro in Rift Valley Province (a violence hot-spot during PEV). This event brought together close to 4,000 people, comprising of kikuyus and kalenjins, and the representatives of both communities exchanged a peace torch in our presence & that of the Ambassador of America, as a sign of their commitment to work towards lasting peace in their area.

e)       In April 2009 representatives of Kikuyusforchange travelled to Kisumu as guests of Nyanza Youth Coalition during a discussion forum they had organized for over 800 young people from the Luo community. They had come together to discuss Agenda 4 and make known their concerns about the slow pace of reforms.

f)        In August 2009 we conceptualized & fundraised to facilitate 9 other communities to initiate similar intra-ethnic initiatives. Between September & December 2009 7 communities (Kambas, Luhyas, Kisii, Kalenjins, Mijikenda & Teso) held intra-ethnic discussion forums on what tribe is, how it affects relations with people of other tribes, how it affects the Kenyan identity, & a tribes requirements of Kenya. Between January & February 2010 three other communities will also hold their own (Maasai, Somali & Borana).

g)       The 9 forums were started off with a small inter-ethnic forum in Nairobi, & will culminate with a 250-person inter-ethnic forum in February 2010.

2)       National Events:

a)       In September 2008 we were part of a nationwide campaign on inter-ethnic harmony that culminated in over 1,000 young people meeting in Bomas of Kenya under Youth Agenda, in the 2008 National Youth Convention (NYCiv).

b)       In May 2009 we hosted a group of over 170 young leaders of 15 ethnic grass-root-based community organizations drawn from across all the provinces in Kenya. The groups presented their communities views on whether the implementation of Agenda 4 will unlock the issues that lead to ethnic tension.

3)       Internal Community Discussions:

a)       We have held several press conferences to respond to utterances and/or political positions by especially political leaders, where we feel such utterances promote negative ethnicity & tribalism.

b)       Intra-ethnic Discussions: We are running a program of discussion forums across Kenya for young people, especially the middle-class, seeking ways to engage them on matters of national interest so as to involve them in local & national politics.

c)       We are working with the Mt. Kenya Council of Elders to facilitate how this grass-root-based community elders organization that has a representation of over 1,600 elders in all the regions of Kenya where the kikuyu community lives, and include them in the inter-ethnic discussions that kikuyusforchange has been having with young people from other communities, so that we can have an elders-to-elders interaction as well.

d)       In December 2009 we developed a summarized analysis on the Kikuyu Community today, with suggestions on proposed ways forward towards solving the anti-kikuyu attitudes, as well as developing national cohesion all round.

e)       In December 2009 we met the GEMA Cultural Association (GCA), a kikuyu elders association drawn primarily from the business & political elite of the community, where we presented our concerns based on the analysis above. We raised issue with the fact that nothing was been done to manage the pervasive national, though localized, anti-kikuyu sentiments in most parts of the country. In December we also held similar meetings with the Rift Valley Council of Elders (kikuyu) and MOKECES (Mt. Kenya Council of Elders), where we raised similar concerns as those we had raised with GEMA.

4)       Civic Education & Engagement on National Issues:

a)       In July 2009 we organized & self-funded a discussion forum where our members met & learnt about the various funds devolved to constituencies. We also discussed how ordinary citizens can engage in the processes of managing these funds, as well as how to conduct social audits. This meeting was the first of a 29 such discussion forums we intend to hold in each of the 29 constituencies of Central province. We expect to enable our members acquire knowledge on how they can participate in grass root development programmes.

b)       On 2^nd September we presented a memorandum to the CDF Review Task Force seating in Nairobi where we presented our position as developed by our members in the discussion forum above, & in subsequent virtual-based discussions thereafter

c)       On 4^th November we presented a memorandum on our position as regards the proposed review of constituency boundaries to the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission seating in Nyeri

d)       In December 2010 one of our members developed a ‘Draft Constitution Companion’, a 25-page illustrated presentation of the 180+ draft constitution that was released to the public for debate as the country prepares to change the constitution. The companion is a simplified version that enables easier understanding of several key aspects of the draft constitution. It has been circulated on the internet to the all the networks we know of as a means of disseminating this crucial information.

e)       On several occasions we have, & continue to publicly state our positions on issues of national importance including how to deal with Post Election Violence Perpetrators, Mau Forest reservation, Ethnic Bashing, US & European Union engagements with Kenya, etc.

5)       Public Awareness:

a)       Radio- Last year we were invited on three different occasions onto Radio Simba, to speak about our message. On 3 occasions this year we have been invited to Kiss FM Radio Station’s Big Breakfast Show to share what we are doing internally within the kikuyu community, as well as with other communities across Kenya. In each session we spoke about what we are involved in, with others, to bring about national cohesion and integration for the next generation of Kenyans.

b)       Television-Early this year we were invited to KBC (DAMKA), and on 2 other occasions in July 2009 we were invited to The Louis Otieno Show on Citizen TV. In November we were invited to Fist to Five (Citizen), & twice on This is Louis, (K24) to share our views on tribalism, the youth agenda & the constitution.

c)       Newspapers-we have featured in mainstream & alternate media news articles as well as provided our views through articles written by our membership, on issues of national importance including our role in the reform agenda in Kenya, ethnicity/tribalism and various actions & decisions by the country’s leadership.

d)       Media Convergence: – In December 2009 we held a media breakfast for people from various media houses & different stations, to discuss the harmonised draft constitution & propose how the media can assist get correct information to their constituencies.

e)       Internet-Kikuyusforchange maintains a vibrant presence on the internet through a website www.kikuyusforchange.com, as well as a very active internet discussion group (kikuyusforchange@google groups.com) through which members are able to share ideas, discuss issues and provide suggestions for action on especially current issues, and thus keeps relevant continuously.

6)       Other Activities:

a)       Town-Hall Meetings- In November & December 2009, in partnership with the American Embassy we have been involved in a forum in Kiambu, that included youth town-hall meetings with the US Ambassador, as well as conversations on possible US agency-involved development projects in Central province. These are to continue in 2010, with meetings in Muranga & Nyeri in January.

b)       Listening Meetings- In December 2009, in partnership with the Royal Netherlands Embassy we have been involved in one small (10-person) forum in Nyeri, where various stakeholders (elders, youth, business people, etc) in a region seat with the Netherlands Ambassador & discuss issues of reforms, development projects, etc. These are to continue across Central Province in 2010.

Early 2010 Events:

a)       National: – In February 2010 we will be hosting a group of over 250 young leaders of at least 15 ethnic grass-root-based community organizations drawn from across all the provinces in Kenya, as a culmination to our discussions on tribes & nationalism.

b)       Inter-Ethnic Celebrating PEV Heroes. In February 2010 we also initiate a project that will identify Kenyans from a cross section of ethnic groups and sectors who defended the rights of others when it would have been easier and safer to follow the tide of hatred and violence, or at most, do nothing at all.

c)       Intra-Ethnic:-Self-Analysis: From February 2010 we start a series of discussion forums across Central province to explore whether there is a discrepancy in how kikuyus perceive themselves, & how others perceive them, and if so, why.

KikuyusforChange is a Programme of Change Associates Trust