EMO Chairman Speech On Post Election Violence

SPEECH READ BY THE CHAIRMAN JAMES BETT DURING THE INTERDENOMINATIONAL PRAYERS AND PEACE RALLY AT ELDORET SPORTS CLUB – ELDORET ON 2ND MARCH 2008

Your Excellency The Ambassador of United States of America Michael Ranneberger and all members of your delegation from the US Embassy, Patrons of EMO and Bishops of leading churches, Honorable Members of Parliament from many constituencies in Rift Valley, His Worship the Mayor of Eldoret Cllr Samuel Rutto, Chairman of Wareng County council and other local leaders, ladies and gentlemen all Kalenjins and other Kenyans listening to us today via Kass Fm Radio wherever they are, Chamgei! Happy New Year! (we hear Kenyans now have a new calendar where the new year begins on 1st March)

Your Excellency, when you agreed to reschedule your trip last weekend to this week for the sake of attending this meeting, you gave a condition; that I guarantee you will get to speak with 1000 Kalenjins under a tree. I must apologize sir, because what you are sitting under is not a tree and the people in front of you are slightly less than 1000 (the crowd was estimated to be over 20,000). Nevertheless, feel welcome to the Rift Valley and the town of Eldoret. (which has been receiving many visitors lately for the right and wrong reasons)

We want to thank you for joining us today for this Interdenominational Prayers and Peace Rally coming at the backdrop of the successful mediation leading to the signing of a political power sharing deal by the two sides under the able chairmanship of former UN Secretary General Koffi Anan. When we planned this meeting two weeks ago, we did not know that the agreement would have been reached by this time but continued with our plans in faith even when things appeared uncertain in the middle of the week when we thought the talks had collapsed. But we had faith in God and continued with our plans, in faith, and gave God all the glory when the breakthrough was arrived at. We are here today therefore for prayer and thanksgiving.

We would like to thank you and the American people most sincerely for the genuine and consistent support to our country particularly at this our time of need. Indeed it is at such times when one knows who their true friends are; there were times during the last two months when many felt that Kenyans left on their own would engage into a self-destruct mode mainly because of hard-line positions adopted by some leaders. We value the friendship of the American people.

EMO Community Development Society is a community organization serving people from the Rift Valley with the aim of empowering them spiritually, socially and economically. Our vision is to see “a strong community in a strong Nation” and we strongly believe that Kenya can only be as strong as its constituent communities. We believe in creating an environment of peaceful co-existence of all communities in Kenya in order to build a stable and prosperous Nation.

The Kalenjin people have always made their decisions through broad based consensus. We have therefore over the last two months, organized various discussion forums to arrive at a consensus on the real causes of the crisis and develop a way forward. These views are therefore collated and are representative of our entire community; they are not my personal views.

We reiterate our believe that unlike other provinces, Rift Valley has some unique characteristics that require a sober approach even as we try to end the current crisis which, though political, may not necessarily end with a political solution. Many people have talked of serious underlying issues that were only triggered by the disputed presidential poll that include land, historical injustices, economic disempowerment, ethnic mistrust and unemployment among others.

But Your Excellency one disturbing and irritating thing to our people is the deliberate misrepresentation and misunderstanding of our community. We believe that genuine and long term peace can only be obtained if people are honest with each other. Starting with a wrong premise will lead to wrong conclusions which in turn lead to wrong diagnosis of the problem and wrong prescriptions or solutions.
In the interest of correcting some of these biased misconceptions, our community would like to state as follows;
There is no dispute that the electioneering process right upto the voting day was largely peaceful. Many Kenyans were satisfied with the process of voting, counting and declaration of results at the polling centers. The unprecedented and spontaneous violence that rocked most parts of the country was precipitated by the announcement of disputed presidential results by Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK). Most people in Kenya who watched the announcement of the presidential tallied votes live on TV and radio were concerned on the un-explained withholding of results from certain constituencies and subsequent differences in the results announced at constituency level and at KICC tallying centre, which led them to suspect that there was manipulation of presidential elections in the tallying process.

The violence was therefore spontaneous and NOT premeditated as has been reported by some. The theory of the violence having been planned is just that – a theory. Yet it has been so well spun that even the international community have bought it wholesale! One diplomat was recently quoted saying “it may have been spontaneous in Western, Nyanza and Coast but at least in the Rift Valley it was clearly planned”! Why this singling out of one community for selective condemnation? What would make it spontaneous in all other parts of the country “except” the Rift Valley? After the signing of the deal last week, spontaneous celebrations erupted in major cities including Mombasa, Kisumu, Nairobi, Kericho and Eldoret among others. Would it be right to say the celebrations were “spontaneous” everywhere else except in the Rift valley towns?
Even our athletes of International repute have been smeared with this dirt. Our athletes are respectable and honorable people. Since they started participating in world sporting events in the 50’s has anyone heard of them being involved in antisocial activities in western cities or anywhere else? They go, they run, they win and then they come home! Our people love their home and are peaceful.
We categorically deny that there was any form of planning, training or financing of youth to engage in violence. Your Excellency let me give you just a few points why the violence could NOT have been planned.

Just a few days ago there were reports of 200 youths undergoing militia training in the farm of a former MP being arrested in the same manner a number of oath-taking mungiki converts were arrested in Kayole. Sometimes ago youths being trained for suspicious mission were nabbed in the coast province. Many times we also hear of robbers being arrested before Kenya is reputed to have one of the best intelligence networks in the region. Indeed together with the military intelligence and police network including that of informants, nothing escapes the watchful eye of Kenya’ big brother. Claims have been made that the violence was planned as far back as six months in advance! It is utterly unbelievable that such a planning involving probably thousands of people could have escaped this elaborate network. Otherwise we may have to ask why the government failed to beef up security in Rift Valley when it “expected trouble”. Why did they instead deploy one of the strongest security operations ever seen in the country around KICC? What had been planned at KICC?
There were many PNU candidates and even voters in Kalenjin land. If perhaps the whole community was in a conspiracy of silence so that the intelligence network missed this vital information, how about the numerous parliamentary, civic candidates and voters in PNU their family, friends and relatives within the community? Didn’t even one person learn of the planning and whisper a warning to the authorities?

Majority of the Kalenjin youth who participated in the violence in most urban areas of Rift Valley were unarmed and carried little more than sticks and stones. Only a few had arrows or other weapons. Any Kalenjin man (even a respectable Bishop!) can attest that it will take less than 15 minutes to make an arrow! If this thing was planned for six months, why didn’t the youth just make as many arrows as they needed? If people were paid monies for “ethnic cleansing” why not use just a little of that money to buy a few kilos of 6” nails and make enough arrows before the elections? Let us also remember that our boys learn to make and use arrows from when they are young and play with them as toys. No adult Kalenjin man needs to be “trained” to make an arrow.
Many articles in local and international media have claimed that communities are now arming themselves in readiness for war “should Anan talks fail”. It would be understandable if those arming themselves were those who were unprepared prior to the elections and had therefore been taken by surprise; but one wonders why Kalenjins who according to the theory “prepared long ago” should be buying guns after and not before the war they themselves planned? If it is that easy to acquire these firearms, then why didn’t they do it during the “six months preparation period”? Does one wait until a war that one was prepared for has started before arming oneself? This is absurd!

These planners must have been so naïve that they did not understand the repercussions of the war they were starting. Otherwise they should have known the importance of evacuating their own from areas where there was likely to be revenge attacks from the affected community. There is no sign that Kalenjins living outside their ancestral land were evacuated or prepared to evacuate at short notice. In addition many Kalenjins traveled to their rural homes to vote and traveled back on 28th, 29th and even 30th to Nairobi, Nakuru, Nyeri and other “dangerous” areas just when their brothers were “preparing to go to war only to become and IDP in a police station two days later!

Many phone text messages that went around after the crisis have warned people to stock up essential items such as food, fuel and even airtime in anticipation of escalation of the crisis. If the Kalenjins planned a war before the elections, someone should have noticed some panic buying and stocking of these essential items amongst the planners. Can the police too check with the banks and see if there were suspicious cash withdrawals in Rift Valley on or around the voting day suggesting people were preparing for something? I was in Eldoret during the first one week of this fateful year and saw the desperation of everybody as people were grounded for lack of fuel, could not communicate by phone and almost all essential items went missing in most homes. Poor planners these Kalenjin people!
Kalenjins love weddings, get together parties and other social events especially during Christmas season. From time immemorial, it was not acceptable to have any of these events during a time of war. Circumcision ceremonies for instance were not done during such times but postponed to another year. There is no indication that this was done in Kalenjin land in the run-up to the elections. People went about their social life as usual. In fact the Kalenjin diary on 29th December which fell on Saturday and the whole new year period all the way to the 5th Jan 2008 was full of weddings, boys graduation ceremonies and many social events with no sign of imminent disturbance. If these claims of planning were half true shouldn’t the Kalenjins have cancelled or postponed these events if they knew there was a “planned” war looming?
Opinion polls for a whole six months straight showed ODM and Raila Odinga ahead of his competitors. Initial results trickling in from midnight of 27th also confirmed this. It is true that the Kalenjins expected ODM which the majority of them voted for to win. There was therefore no reason at all to start a war when you should be celebrating! If there was any need to plan anything it would be how to celebrate not to fight.
Kalenjins are very humble people who are known never to attack but only react to provocation. In fact one day when the truth will finally be told, people will realize that in almost all the cases without exception, the violence started with someone attacking a Kalenjin first. We have many reports where someone from a different community attacked a Kalenjin and immediately called the police who arrive just in time to find the Kalenjin people coming to the rescue of their tribesman only to be shot as the agressors.
Many Kalenjins risked their lives protecting, hiding and assisting Kikuyus to escape death. Why did people who had planned all these not warn their kikuyu friends and neighbors to flee before instead of risking their own lives by protecting them after the violence began? There are over two million Kikuyus in the Rift Valley. If anyone had planned an ethnic cleansing targeting them then surely the death toll would have been much higher.

This was definitely not planned nor was it ethnic cleansing. We are not defending this for the sake of any one Kalenjin individual, we are saying this to defend the truth and the dignity of one of the most peaceful, welcoming and hospitable communities in Kenya.

Violent clashes have rocked Rift Valley severally in the past. In many instances the Kalenjin people were perceived as the aggressors and not as victims. This has happened again this time round. Indeed all the attention is on the Internally Displaced persons (IDPs) from other communities. The impression has been created that no Kalenjin lost his life or was displaced or is suffering in any way as to require assistance of any kind or compensation. To the contrary there are many Kalenjins, and other communities who have died and many displaced and now living with relatives and friends. The Kalenjin community has been adversely affected, yet they are being blamed wholesomely as the killers. Demonizing of a community that has been so magnanimous as to turn their ancestral land into the only truly Kenyan Province with all tribes living peacefully and owning property should not be allowed. Rift Valley is not cosmopolitan because it is BIG, but because its people have BIG HEARTS!

We would like to express our sadness in the loss of life and maiming, destruction of property including burning down of churches. While this act is deplorable and should be condemned, we call upon the government to carry out thorough and impartial investigations to determine the claims by the local residents, that in one of the churches, certain criminals with weapons had taken refuge and were using it to launch their attacks of killing innocent people. In fact it is the feeling of many that such and other issues such at those relating to land be left to an independent commission such as the proposed Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission so that the real truth may be known.

As we embark on finding long term solutions and rebuilding our country, we will be counting on the support of friends such as the USA to assist us. Of special concern right now and right here your Excellency is the issue of farm inputs. This region is undoubtedly the breadbasket of Kenya and the majority of people around here earn their livelihoods from farming. The month of March is usually a beehive of activity as the planting season starts but for obvious reasons, this time around much of that is not visible. The other reason is the cost of inputs especially fertilizer which has more than doubled almost guaranteeing that some farmers will not plant this year. Sir, this is a grave matter not just for food security but also as part of long term peace building since people without a livelihood are more easily drawn into conflicts due to resource constraints. We know the US Government can help with this matter.

We will also be writing to you on several other issues touching on sports and agribusiness development for our youth and many other initiatives we have started for economic empowerment in this region without which genuine peace will not be guaranteed.

Finally, we applaud the signing of the power sharing deal and thank God for saving us from almost certain disaster. We want to thank the members of the National Mediation team from both sides for their tireless efforts and the panel of Eminent Persons under the chairmanship of the very patient Koffi Anan and of course the principals who took the hard decisions, Hon Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki. We also thank the international community including the US government, UN, EU, AU under the new chairmanship of Tanzanian President Chakaya Kikwete, and all other friendly people who gave us the support to see us through this difficult time of our history. We pray that God will help Kenyans navigate the remaining part of the process so that we may achieve genuine long lasting peace and together build this country.

Thank you