Kenya massacres expose ethnic divisions

Kenya risks reopening the faultlines that led to a wave of ethnic violence and brought the country to the brink of civil war six years ago.

A series of massacres this week claimed by al-Shabaab militants has exposed deeply entrenched ethnic divisions in a country that has not recovered from the civic breakdown that followed elections in 2007 – when more than 1,100 people were killed and 600,000 displaced.

Diplomats and political observers were surprised this week when President Uhuru Kenyatta blamed “local political networks” for the massacres of at least 57 men rather than the Somali al-Qaeda-linked jihadists who admitted responsibility, and for appearing to point the finger at his rival and opposition leader Raila Odinga.

“Our people are vulnerable to reckless leaders and hate-mongers, who manipulate them to create hate, intolerance and fanaticism,” Mr Kenyatta said in a televised speech on Tuesday. “Reckless leaders propagate the unlawful message that some are more or less Kenyan than others.”

Diplomats have also criticised the defeated presidential candidate Mr Odinga, who returned to Kenya in May after a three-month absence promising a series of rallies against the government.

One diplomat worried that both sides were “stoking the fire of ethnic hatred”. Another said: “It is worse than 2007, because this time they should know better.”

Mr Kenyatta’s team believes this week’s massacres deliberately targeted Kikuyu – his own ethnic group that dominates politics and business; he referred on Tuesday to a campaign to “portray certain people . . . [as] perhaps fair game for brutality and abuse”.

Many saw this as a reference to widespread anti-Kikuyu sentiment in the country. There have been calls from some lawmakers for Kikuyus to rally round and “protect” the government.

Boniface Mwangi, a political activist, said: “It is not very coded language. There is a lot of hate going online.”

Mr Kenyatta’s connection to the attack on the town of Mpeketoni, a largely Kikuyu coastal settlement which was the scene of Sunday night’s massacre, is also personal. His late father Jomo, Kenya’s founding president, gave away prized land at the coast, traditionally the preserve of Muslim Swahili people, to Christian Kikuyus from central Kenya in the 1960s – one of many ethnicised bitter land disputes that have never been settled.

Mr Kenyatta also cemented his political power as Kikuyus grew to see him as their defender during ethnic violence following the disputed 2007 polls. He was subsequently indicted for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court for his alleged role in financing ethnic kill squads.

He denies the crimes and has since mounted vigorous attacks on the ICC and its western backers, souring relations with diplomats who are now nervous to speak out in public.

Some say Mr Kenyatta, whose government has backed the arrests of thousands of Somalis this year in exactly the sort of ethnic profiling he said he abhors, now appears to be speaking as leader of the Kikuyus rather than of the Kenyans.

Maina Kiai, a Kenyan lawyer and human rights campaigner, said: “It is like the only time he cares is if Kikuyu are attacked. It is dangerous to talk about ethnic profiling . . . they are creating a platform for state violence.”

Mr Odinga has organised a series of rallies and called for a so-called “saba saba” day of peaceful protest on July 7. It was on that day in 1990 that the original “saba saba” (“seven seven” in Swahili, a reference to the date) protests helped to bring multi-party politics to Kenya. Mr Odinga’s supporters believe the government is now cracking down on pluralism and peaceful dissent. Some in Kenya’s government worry Mr Odinga is seeking regime change.

Mr Kenyatta must also juggle a fraught alliance. His deputy William Ruto is an ethnic Kalenjin also standing trial for alleged crimes against humanity at the ICC. The former foes united in “a coalition of the accused”, but some Kalenjin now feel let down, something that threatens to fray the ruling coalition. Any attempt to re-establish Mr Odinga as a common enemy may backfire.

“There is a panicky mood because more and more people are realising how dangerous this is,” said a western diplomat. “It could turn into an uncontrollable spin.”