Feature Reflection

Repatriation

Since the announcement of the election results on December 30th 2007, Kenya experienced political violence at unprecedented level than ever before.  This gave rise to a huge outflow of persons from their homes, forcefully evicted on presumed alieness.  The government has rolled out the “Operation Rudi nyumbani” to repatriate those who have been living in the camps for the last four months or so.

We take a reflection on this operation and what it portends for the people who have been away from their homes.  How does this apparently forceful return to homes contribute to national cohesion? Full story below...

News and Events

HeroINE of Peace

Judy Chepsaba, lived happily on the same compound with her neighbours of mixed origin untill the political upheavals of December 2007. On the morning of 3rd January 2008 she heard noises and shouts from the direction of the highway, (Eldoret- Nakuru road) which is just a stone throw away from her compound.  By the time she got to her main door, her house was being torn apart by a myriad of youths shouting obscenities at the top of their voices.  Many of the young men were friends and age-mates of her own children, some were even grandchildren to her.  She had known them all their lives, now they had turned against her simply because she did not belong to their “Tribe”.  Mama Chepsaba lost everything she had owned hitherto, she has been living in Boror IDP camp that has been home to 3,000 others. She came out in an open Public Baraza and declared her unconditional forgiveness to those who sent her to material misery and unhappiness she has been going through in the last four months.

Forced Repatriation, is this the way to go?

Mike O'maera

The scenario that has played itself out with regard to the internally displaced Kenyans, and indeed scores of others outside the countries borders a national shame and a great attack on our collective conscience.  Four months after the violence that rocked the country and led to the displacement of more that 500,000 people, resettling the thousands of internal refugees is undoubtedly urgent. It is immoral that thousands of Kenyans continue to languish in camps, contending with harsh weather, poor sanitation and material deprivation just because some people do not want them to go back to their homes. It is equally dehumanising to see able-bodied adults scrambling for food rations and sharing tents with their grown-up children, or young children huddled in make-shift structures in the name of schools.

The Government’s approach to the resettlement process, use of force to bulldoze the process and the hurry in which the whole exercise is being carried out raises more questions than answers. First, is there any audit that has been taken of those willing to go back to their land for resettlement? Second, How about those who do not want to go back at all because of the traumatic experiences they went through? Third, is it enough to provide security for the resettled or secure the goodwill of the dominant communities to live in peace with them and foster long term peaceful co-existence?

The Government’s approach to the resettlement process, use of force to bulldoze the process and the hurry in which the whole exercise is being carried out raises more questions than answers.

While political differences and conflicts are natural in the evolution of a democracy, it is shocking that some leaders seem to derive pleasure from the suffering and persecution of so many poor Kenyans, just because they didn’t vote for them or do not come from their tribe. The way our entire leadership has handled this issue has brought to the fore the worst form of mediocrity.  Some cabinet ministers are on record with utterances that border on outright abuse of the right to vote. Kenyans fought hard for multi-partyism to restore respect for freedom of choice and assembly, and a minister or anybody else has no business ridiculing a section of population for exercising this same freedom.

When a section of international observers said the events in the Rift Valley had nothing to do with elections but were premeditated ethnic cleansing targeted at one tribe, there was a chorus of defensive outrage, with North Rift leaders ascribing the violence to spontaneous anger at flawed presidential elections. When resettlement of the evicted was proposed, there was a raft of pre-conditions issued by politicians from the Rift Valley.

If the displacement was not deliberate, this begs the question, why would there be any preconditions for resettlement?  These are not people who are begging for land; they legally own their land and painstakingly laboured for their property, most of which was criminally destroyed.

It’s an abdication of duty on the part of government to peg the resettlement of IDPs on the good will of local leaders who have already demonstrated lack of good faith. Security to life and liberty are guaranteed by the Constitution. The Government must uphold this freedom lest it becomes an accomplice in the plight of the IDPs.

Yet at the same time the government needs to respect the right of the IDPs to choose not to return to their original homes on sufficient grounds for threats to their safety, on the grounds of the International principle of non- Refoulement. So we cannot abrogate fundamental rights for some people under the hypocritical guise of reconciliation and historical injustices for which no concrete definition is being proffered.

In the recent past we have witnessed very worrying deterioration of security in the country   in a manner that is symptomatic of leadership failure, incompetence or just callous aloofness that can easily lead to national disintegration.

Some leaders have talked of the need to suspend the resettlement until the root cause of the violence is addressed. It sounds noble, but its nothing beyond the homage vice pays to virtue. We need concrete action plan on the agenda four of the Kenyan National dialogue and Reconciliation that is meant to address the long term issues in the country.

 

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