An excerpt from one of Dot and Zar’s conversations: ‘Terrible impacts of tribalism in Kenya’

Dot and I were having an email conversation about this guy she just met from Kenya and on their first conversation he asked her about the tribe she comes from, at which point she flipped. Being a South African Indian I explained to her that in many cases it is a point of departure for getting to know more about a person and trying to find perhaps people or places in common.


It was at this point Dot felt the need to give me another one of her very passionate lessons on Kenya which goes exactly like this:

“Let me give you the second lesson about Kenya. The tribe and area you come from determine who you become in future. It’s almost like, if you are born in some certain tribes, you are guaranteed wealth and prosperity, and if you are born in others, you will never amount to anything. And it’s amazing how we Kenyans have become so socialised to a point of believing that that is how things should and always will be. The unrest and killings that happened in Kenya in 1992 and most importantly in 2007 were based solely on tribal beliefs and misconceptions that people were fed by certain politicians. How can you kill your neighbour because they do not hold the same cultural beliefs or speak the same language as you?

So when someone asks me about my tribe, I think about all those people in Kenya that have died as a result of tribal clashes, and beliefs that some tribes are more superior than others. I think about the discrimination that I faced in 2006 while looking for work because I did not come from the right tribe or I did not have the right surname. I think about the people in Kenya who are still internally displaced, as a result of the 2007 post election violence, because someone decided that their tribe was inferior and did not have any rights to land in a particular area. I think about people who do not have the option of leaving the country like I did and have to constantly endure discrimination based on their tribal affiliations. I just cannot stand it when someone plays the tribal card on me as a result.

In Kenya the tribal question is about much more than knowing about which area someone comes from and the resultant commonalities for both parties. Why is it not enough that we are both Kenyans or just Africans? I much prefer the latter!!”
After reading this I realised that this is not just a Kenyan issue. I began to think about my own heritage and culture, in India the ‘untouchables’ are still regarded by many as inferior human beings, while here in South Africa our cast system has still not completely dissipated. It is sad to see that after Gandhi, Mandela and so many others that have fought for equal rights, many of us still have ingrained notions about others. Whilst these notions are eroding, let’s hope that it happens sooner rather than later.

To give you more insight to tribalism in Kenya check out these fascinating and eye-opening articles:
'In Kenya, Tribalism Starts at Thirty' and 'The tribalism that colours Kenyan life'