Kenya oppositon stages rally

Saba-Saba ("Seven-Seven" in Kiswahili) - July 7 - is steeped in symbolism in Kenya. On July 7, 1990, opponents of President Daniel arap Moi launched mass protests against his regime, paving the way for democratic elections two years later.

This historically charged anniversary was chosen by Kenya's current opposition leader former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as a deadline for the government to enter into a "national dialogue."

Odinga wants the government to address Kenya's pressing problems, such as poor internal security. He warned there would be consequences if his ultimatum wasn't met, beginning with a mass rally in the capital Nairobi.

"Every party is entitled to call a public rally," said Koigi wa Wamwere. The veteran politician and journalist is well known for having openly criticized Kenya's first president Jomo Kenyatta. His outspokenness landed him in prison several times. Wamwere is worried by the language being used by Odinga's opposition alliance. "It is disturbing to hear them saying the president is in for a rough ride, there will be a tsunami and deliverance for all Kenyans," he remarked. Nobody knows what to make of these warnings.

Struggles for political power in Kenya evoke unpleasant memories. After Raila Odinga lost the 2007 presidential election to incumbent Mwai Kibaki, supporters of the two political leaders went on the rampage and assaulted one another. Kenya descended into ethnic violence in which 1,200 people lost their lives. Many Kenyans were expecting a resurgence of clashes this Monday (07.07.2014) and have been taking precautions. In Rift Valley, many residents were preparing to flee after receiving anonymous hate leaflets.

Some Kenyans have little sympathy for Odinga's campaign. "These big rallies have nothing to do with the interests of the citizens," wrote Kanyora Kanyos from Nairobi on the Facebook page of DW's Kiswahili service. Political analyst Brian Wanyama from Masinde Muliro University said the campaign is solely about "the political aspirations of certain leaders." But the questions Odinga is raising are matters that should be of concern to government and opposition alike - such as national security, Wanyama added."The threat of Saba-Saba protests should not be necessary to bring such problems out into the open." However, the government's reluctance to enter into dialogue has also raised tensions.

Islamism or ethnic hatred

The debate about national security acquired fresh intensity after a series of attacks on the coastal town of Mpeketoni in June. Even though the Somali Islamist al-Shabab rebels claimed responsibility for the deadly raids, President Uhuru Kenyatta said a few days later that local politicians had called for his ethnic group, the Kikuyu, to be targeted. Margit Hellwig-Bötte from the German Institute for International Affair in Berlin said Kenyatta is evidently playing the ethnicity card and it is fraught with danger. "Kenyatta is creating the impression that the Kikuyu are the only victims of the violence. Whether they really made up the majority of the victims in these particular attacks is actually irrelevant," she said.

In Kenya's coastal region, ethnic rivalries date back to the immediate aftermath of Kenyan independence in the 1960s. President Jomo Kenyatta, father of the incumbent president, allocated land to Kikuyu settlers, including the Mpeketoni area. "There were clashes with the indigenous groups who were left with the impression that their land was being taken away from them," Hellwig-Bötte said. To this day these groups believe they have been systematically disadvantaged.

The problem of land distribution was also taken up by Kenya's Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission which was set up to probe the 2007/2008 post-election violence. Hellwig Bötte said the commission voiced severe criticism of the government's settlement program in Mpeketoni in its closing report. But no new measures have been announced by the government. "The report has been locked away and hasn't been touched," she said.

But Kenyan historian Tom Odhiambo believes the government is interested in rectifying past injustices. Over the past few months, President Kenyatta has handed out title deeds to people - irrespective of their ethnicity - who have lived on the same plot of land for generations. Uncertainty over land ownership rights said Odhiambo was "the greatest injustice of all." At issue was not so much ethnicity, but the unequal distribution of wealth. "People are not born tribalists, tribalism is something you pick up when you are an adult," he said.