By Our Team
THE United States of America Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger witnessed a peace making ceremony between two warring communities in Njoro- Molo District recently in which the two resolved to live for this reason harmoniously after a long time existing rivalry.
The US Ambassador played witness in a ceremony in Ndeffo where members of the two communities exchanged a peace torch and vowed to live harmoniously. Clashes between them have left many people killed and dozens of property stolen and destroyed.
The Ambassador who currently is crisscrossing the Rift valley region in peace making escapades praised local youth leaders who organized the peace making ceremony and promised that his government would support peace agenda in the area.
He urged that youthful people were the key to the country’s stability as they were less tribal and account for more than half of the country’s population. The provocative ambassador called on youth in the country to form inter- ethnic forums in order to nurture peace and prosperity while at the same time blaming politicians for planting seeds of abhorrence among Kenyans.
On the other hand the envoy has urged Kenyans to put more pressure on the government and politicians to implement the Judiciary and Constitutional reforms. This he observed would stem out anarchy and speed up economic recovery in the country.
“KK”
This comes in the wake of efforts by both politicians and philanthropists to activate peace and bonding among the various ethnic communities living in Rift valley province. For example there have been talks between key politicians from the Kalenjin and Kikuyu ethnic communities to forge a political alliance in an attempt to nullify rivalry between the two communities. The so called “KK” - read Kikuyu/Kalenjin Aliance ahead of the next general elections has however been dismissed by political pundits in the country as a non starter. Retired President Daniel Moi said: “Mtu anaye ongea mambo ya KK anafanya sisa za 1960’s” (“Those calling for tribal alliances are practicing outdated politics”)
In January 2008 the local and international media highlighted images of bloodshed, violence and hordes of people being forced to flee from their homes in Rift valley. More than 1000 people lost their lives and properties worth billions were destroyed. Tensions have flared between the two major communities in the region over land issues for so long but have often boiled up during elections period. The worst was witnessed in January 2008 during the post poll violence that rocked the country when former ECK Chairman Mr.Samuel Kivuitu announced defective presidential results pitting Raila Odinga of ODM against Mwai Kibaki of PNU.
Initiative
The peace project that is being supported by the American government is being formulated by Citizens Assembly of Kenya (CAK) an NGO and the Rift valley Provincial Administration. It involves youth in forming inter community groups that will help to preach peace in the region. The ambassador says that his government was committed towards partnering with the government to restore peace and co-existence in the disputed province.
Local politicians led by the Molo Member of Parliament Joseph Kiuna however have castigated the envoy for indulging in internal affairs of the country. The legislator observed that it was not procedural for the envoy to initiate a peace programme in the area without involving local leaders. “Let those foreigners know that Molo is like Jerusalem, let them preach in Palestine or Galilee but leave Jerusalem alone” He asserted referring to the envoy.
This however came after the ambassador had made it clear that politicians would not be entertained in the peace initiative programme as they were the culprits of the causes of acrimony in the region. The US government has warned that it will take necessary actions to force the grand coalition government to implement the reform agenda as stipulated in the national accord.
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