Healing the Wound. Personal Narratives about the 2007 Post-Election Violence in Kenya: Personal Narratives about the 2007 Post-Election Violence in Kenya

Section 1. Narratives of Pain

SEC SEC SEC SEC SECTI TI TI TI TIO O O O ON I N I N I N I N I NARR NARR NARR NARR NARRA A A A ATIVES O TIVES O TIVES O TIVES O TIVES OF P F P F P F P F PAIN AIN AIN AIN AIN 14 Healing the Wound Congestion as IDPs seek safety in Naivasha. Photo by Antony Gitonga I Sensed Something Would Happen My name is Paul Mbugua and I live in Burnt Forest. Since late 1990s I have been living in this town centre. Burnt Forest being a business zone, we lived together with different communities doing a lot of businesses. We all had a good relationship; we interacted with the Kalenjin and helped each other in all ways as brothers. During the referendum we started seeing differences emerging based on ethnic affiliations. The Kalenjin said that the Kikuyu supported the Banana whereas the Kalenjin supported the Orange. They also threatened us and said that if the Orange didn’t win, they would chase us away to Othaya. However, the Banana didn’t win and we were spared. So when the general election campaigns started, there were those who said that even if PNU or ODM won the elections, it was a must for Kikuyus to go to Othaya. Problems were experienced in business because the Kalenjin started separating themselves. Some Members of Parliament moved around in this region preaching tribalism. They said that this election must be used to sweep away ‘Madoadoa’ (blemishes) which was used to refer to the Kikuyu. The Kalenjin also have had a strong believe that this region (the Rift Valley) is theirs and no other tribe especially the Bantus should be seen here. At that time the government protected us and ensured that there was tight security. If the government had done this during elections I don’t think fighting would have erupted. What I know is that the election was a reflection of what had happened during the referendum on the new constitution. The difference being that the security was enforced during the referendum but during campaigns and elections the government relaxed. Even after the campaign we didn’t think that clashes would erupt and change everything. Things changed immediately and the Kalenjin started talking about themselves and their leaders and the Kikuyu also behaved the same. When it came to voting, I was an agent and had to stay indoors to supervise the tallying of votes. During the process I realized that there was great difference between the agents. Whenever a certain vote was lifted from the ballot box, some agents Narratives of pain 15 16 Healing the Wound would shout a lot making us fear. On my side, I thought they were joking and everything would go well. So I took the reports to the presiding officers and went home peacefully. When the results were announced, everything changed. The Kalenjins started burning houses. While I went to Nakuru for a holiday, I knew almost everything that happened because my friends including the Kalenjins called me and advised me to look for another place to go because Burnt Forest was no longer safe. Though I was in Nakuru I didn’t divulge my location. I remember someone called me on a private number to threaten me. He told me that he was seriously looking for me and I was next on line. He said that the moment I am dead, he would take over my business. Although, I sensed something would happen I could not tell how intense it would be. My friends also told me to leave this place because all will not be right if the government won. I thought it would be something small. While away, my plot which I had fenced was destroyed. All the building materials I had bought were stolen and my house brought down. Q: Can you forgive the people who attacked you? A: Definitely, I have to forgive the perpetrators of violence because I am a staunch Christian and I believe there is power in forgiveness. If I meet them today, I would like to see them go down to their knees and repent so that God may also forgive them. Q: Is there anything that the government can do help? A: I don’t think the government can do anything better than what they have already done. The problem here...