KENYA ELECTIONS: ODM RALLY ON THE COAST: FANNING

UNCLAS NAIROBI 004269 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL KE SUBJECT: KENYA ELECTIONS: ODM RALLY ON THE COAST: FANNING ETHNIC RESENTMENT ¶1. (SBU) Summary: PolCouns observed an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) rally in the coastal town of Khilifi during which some prominent ODM leaders used explicitly anti-Kikuyu language, receiving roars of approval from the crowd. Other prominent ODM leaders chose to appeal to reason rather than passion, stressing that ODM's "majimbo" (decentralization) agenda does not involve "chasing upcountry people out of the coast." Their remarks received only polite applause. In some areas of the country, such as the coastal strip and parts of Rift Valley Province, there is intense resentment of resident Kikuyus for supposedly gaining extensive properties through nefarious means, while many of the indigenous population are landless. These passions can more easily be exploited than controlled. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On Monday, 22 October, PolCouns observed an ODM rally held in the coastal town of Khilifi, a district capital one hour's drive north of Mombasa. The district is largely ethnic Mijikenda (Christian majority, Muslim minority). The headliners at the event included Mombasa MP Balala, ODM Executive Secretary Prof. Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, Vice Presidential Candidate Musalia Mudavadi and recent KANU defectee Ronald Ngala. Also in attendance was Martin Shikuku, both a minister and a political detainee under the Kenyatta and Moi governments (a rare accomplishment). Ngala & Anyang' Nyong'o: Voices of Reason -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Ngala was initially booed and heckled by the crowd, preventing him from speaking. Balala then took the microphone and explained that Ngala (whose late father is considered one of Kenya's founders and was the longtime political godfather of the coast),had just defected from KANU (which is part of the pro-Kibaki coalition) to ODM. The crowd roared their approval, but then responded in a much more subdued manner as Ngala explained that "majimbo (decentralization) does not mean chasing upcountry people from the coast." He went on to stress that "we respect all those who respect us. Everyone is welcome to the coast. Majimbo will permit us to develop according to our own priorities. Through the tourism industry and our port we contribute massively to central government revenue, but get very little back in return. Just look at the state of our roads. Majimbo will give us our fair share of the national cake." ¶4. (SBU) Prof. Anyang' Nyong'o spoke in similar terms, emphasizing the good governance aspects of decentralization, such as locally elected governments and moving resources and the administration closer to the people. He repeatedly stressed that all Kenyans are one and majimbo did not require anyone to return to their home district. "All Kenyans are at home anywhere in Kenya. What we want is federalism like in the United States." The Professor received a tepid response. Balala & Shikuku: Blatant Appeals to Anti-Kikuyu Passions -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Balala, who can be suave and urbane in private, gave an emotional, populist address pointing to central government exploitation, corruption and neglect as responsible for the coast's land and resource problems. He noted that "they" use control of the central government to funnel a disproportionate share of national resources to develop "their areas." (Given known coastal sentiments, Balala obviously intended "they" to refer to the Kikuyu elite.) Balala said that ODM's majimbo agenda was the only way for "coast people to take back what was stolen." Balala promised that "majimbo will be implemented within six months of an ODM election victory." (Note: Implementation of a decentralization scheme would require at least constitutional amendments, if not a complete overhaul. ODM is on record supporting the Bomas draft constitution. Adoption of a new constitution requires a referendum. Six months seems unrealistic. End Note). ¶6. (SBU) Shikuku, a Luhya from Western Province who is often listed as one of Kenya's independence heroes, explicitly identified the Kikuyu community as the problem. He led the crowd in a chant as he named every ministry or parastatal headed by a Kikuyu. He claimed 65 percent of provincial and district officers are Kikuyu (by our count, the true figure is 26 percent). He told the crowd "you send your taxes to Nairobi so they can spend it on 'their people' in Central Province, leaving you with bad roads and no services." He also claimed, "All the tourist hotels on the coast are owned by people from Central or else foreigners; none are owned by coast people." Comment: One worried coastal Kenyan expressed concern at this rhetoric, commenting "this must be the sort of thing Mugabe said in Zimbabwe; if they keep this up, then Kikuyu shopkeepers in Khilifi will not be safe. People will feel they have permission to chase them out and take their goods." ¶7. (SBU) PolCouns discussed political sentiments in Khilifi with a half dozen ODM aspirants for the local parliamentary seat. They stressed that unlike elsewhere in the country, political rivalries in Khilifi are friendly and non-violent. As one of the aspirants put it, "Remember that civilization began on the coast." (Later in the day, during the ODM rally, a woman aspirant arrived with an escort of young, drunk and rowdy "security youths." The crowd and ODM officials reacted with evident disapproval.) ¶8. (SBU) The group of ODM aspirants were unanimous on the two main political concerns of the coast: fair distribution of national resources and land allocation. By fair distribution of national resources they do not mean equal distribution on a per capita basis or resource transfers from relatively wealthy areas to poor areas. Rather, they intend that most of the revenue generated from a region should remain in the region to address local priorities, not the dictates of Nairobi officials. (Comment: This may be problematic since some of the poorer provinces do not have the tax base to sustain public services. End Comment.) As to land allocation, they claimed that many large estates in the region were illegally allocated by politicians with little or no payment, dispossessing local people. "This began with Jomo Kenyatta, who gave his people (Kikuyu elites) all the prime beach land and sisal estates," claimed one aspirant. "No, it goes back further, we must review the illegal seizures by the British in 1908 when they stole the coast from the Sultan of Zanzibar," said another aspirant. The aspirants differed on what basis to challenge "illegal land allocations," but all agreed that the land issue must be thoroughly reviewed and corrective actions taken to address deeply felt grievances of the "coastal people." ¶9. (SBU) Comment: The revenue distribution and land allocation issues are of intense concern to voters along the coastal strip of Coast Province, but much less so in the vast interior of the province. The coastal strip was at various times in history governed by the Omani and Zanzibar sultanates, the Portuguese and the British. The area's incorporation into Kenya was opposed by some coastal leaders during the run up to independence. These sentiments linger. Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, did indeed acquire large land holdings on the coast and arranged for several family members and Central Province supporters to do the same. Coastal Kenyans, whether Christian or Muslim, feel themselves to be culturally and historically distinct from the rest of the country. They often express the view that "our traditions of hospitality and courtesy have been exploited by upcountry people who have taken our best land, run all the businesses, only employ their people and take away our tax revenue to spend in their home districts." ODM's coast campaign is largely based on these resentments. In 1992 the Likoni area of Mombasa suffered severe rioting, killings and looting directed against Kenyans whose origins were outside the coast, principally Kikuyus. The violence was instigated by politicians. There is a danger that ODM rhetoric may ignite dangerous passions that can easily get out of control. RANNEBERGER