Does Kenya really interfere in Somalia's affairs?

Does Kenya interfere with Somalia affairs? Are there countries out there that do not want Somalia to have a stable and fully functioning government? If there are, is Kenya one of them? These are questions that I always ask myself whenever I meet some highly educated Somali who thinks they very well know what ails Somalia. To this lot, the civil strife in Somalia is solely as a result of the wicked machinations of external forces, mostly Somalia’s neighbouring countries. To them, Ethiopia is the devil incarnate and Kenya trailing not so far behind.

The only reason they mostly pick on these two countries is the fact that they both have a sizable indigenous Somali population. With the issue boiling down to Somali Irredentism and the how it causes both Ethiopia and Kenya to shudder at the very thought of having a powerful neighbour in the name of Somalia. So, in their opinion, the most prudent thing for these states to do is to ensure that peace never prevails in Somalia and whatever government is installed remains largely powerless and ineffective.

However, as regards the issue of Somalia’s neighbours, their analysis in most cases, of the debacle that is Somalia, is flawed. They don’t seem to get the picture correctly. One thing that anybody with an objective mind needs to understand is that Somalia between 1993 and 2006 has had no foreign forces. This was the period immediately after the infamous ‘Black Hawk down’ but before the Ethiopian invasion. Thus, the fact that Ethiopia, acting as a proxy for the American ‘war on terror’, did get involved in internal Somalia affairs by toppling the much affable Islamic Courts Union (ICU) does not justify lumping Kenya in the same group as with Ethiopia.

Granted the ICU was arguably one of the best efforts at reinstituting the Somali State. The only other initiative that came close was the Djibouti one that installed Abdiqassim Salad as the president. These were the only efforts by Somalis themselves, if you consider Djibouti as a Somali nation. However, in both instances there were sizable opposition forces present within the country, whose only objective was to derail these good works and selfishly seize power for themselves.

Though America was involved, during the short-lived reign of the ICU by funding some of the warlords opposing the Islamists, the blame should thus be apportioned where it rightly belongs; these mercenaries for hire. If within Somalia there exists elements that care not about the welfare of the masses but concerned only with their pockets, and how to enrich the same, then no other country deserves blame in this case. Any right thinking Somali should therefore, with whatever possible, fight these lowly turncoats.

Even in the case where there is evidence that shows that Somalia’s neighbours are hell-bent in denying the good people of Somalia their deserved right then the Somalis themselves should come up with strategies to defeat these scheming. However, the Somalis never ever see their own shortcomings and are always quick to judge others. Somalia’s Achilles’ heel – clanism – is rarely mentioned as another contriving factor that has denied Somalia the much needed stable and effective government.

Therefore, whereas the motives behind Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia is understandable; a sizable local population that wishes to secede from the same either as an independent state or join Somalia, Kenya does not share the same problem. On the other hand, Kenya, unlike Ethiopia, has never gone to war with Somalia. Furthermore, almost all the residents of North-eastern Province of Kenya are happy with their current status of being Kenyan nationals. They have no qualms with being Kenyans unlike their cousins in Ogadenia or Somali Galbeed. Another important distinction is the fact that the Transitional Federal Government formed in Kenya preceded the ICU’s rose to prominence. Therefore, the intent here matters; whereas Ethiopia went to topple the ICU, presumably because of her fears, Kenya’s only intention then was to end the vacuum created by the expiration of the mandate of the Transitional National Government. Lastly, Kenya has never sent any troops to Somalia either to topple or support an existing government.

As an ethnic Somali and a Kenyan I think what the Somalis should do to is stop the blame game and see to it that the present government of Sheikh Shariff is supported. I do not believe that Kenya, and the West as well, would be comfortable with an Al Shabaab government in Somalia; they would rather have him (Shariff) forever there than accept the al Shabaab miscreants as an alternative. How, for example, will Kenya gain from such an eventuality when it is not lost to her what Al Shabaab did in Uganda recently? Somalis should tackle their clanism and fight the traitors within them while abandoning these conspiratorial narratives. In their pursuit of a Utopian State Somalis should be contented with whatever little they have and however imperfect it is. Thus propping the current regime should be an essential obligation as they strive to make Somalia better and more governable.

Nepotism in Kenya

In the past, the Ministry of Health used to have problems recruiting staff for the remote and desolate areas of the country. To solve this, therefore, the government came up with the idea of decentralizing the issue of recruitment. That’s why, in 2003, when the Ministry of Health advertised for tens of positions cutting across several cadres, one of which I was eligible for; all the candidates had to report to their preferred provinces for the selections. Thus, if your region was your favourite working place, just like me, then you had to present yourself at the respective provincial headquarters for the interviews.

In my case, the issue was more or less straightforward, or so I thought. My home district and the province in general, were in dire need of health professionals. Staff shortages were the norm rather than the exception in almost all the cadres. Thus, I didn’t even have to think twice about where I will attend the interviews at. So, I chose Garissa and presented myself at our local MTC on the appointed day. The interview went on well and I thought there was nothing to fear about. A job with the ministry was mine to take.

It took several months before the appointment letters were finally issued. Sadly, my name was not among the selected candidates. Not because I was unqualified for the job but due to corruption at the central level - Nairobi. Only candidates who had godfathers were chosen. I will later learn that many MPs canvassed for either their relatives or constituents with out regard to merit.

It, indeed, was a sad realization for me. I became bitter about the whole issue. I was unhappy at the fact that corruption was still rampant in the country. Mark you this was less than a year after the historic inauguration of Kibaki - in 2002. To make the matter worse the ministry sent a staff to Garissa who did not even attend the interviews in my home town. The lucky chap was from Nyeri, the home district of Kibaki.

Later, in Nairobi, I will bump into the chair of the panel and the first question he asked me was where I was posted to. I was stunned at the fact that he recalled me. I told him that I was not selected and that I was still jobless. This made him feel unhappy because, as he will tell me, I was one of the best candidates. He actually said that he was very impressed with my performance. Anyway, he promised to ‘fix’ me somewhere. Thus, less than two months later I will get my first real job ever. I was very grateful at that gesture. I know I will never forget that particular favour.

However, I do not begrudge the guy who was recruited for my home district. One key requirement of the job then was that we had to stick to our posting station without possibility of transfer. With a lot of hindsight I think I might not have fulfilled that condition. I seem to be very mobile when it comes to jobs; maybe it’s because of my nomadic roots. Anyway, I am happy the gentleman was still serving my people when I last checked.

By the way, I wasn’t the only one from my province who applied for the vacant positions then. All of my colleagues with the exception of one were selected. Incidentally, the one who was unlucky like me is now the provincial head, leading some of the guys who were chosen after the interview. I am happy for him too.

Now, coming to why I remembered this story. I currently live in Dubai and rarely get Kenyan newspapers. Yesterday evening, I got the Daily Nation for the previous day. Since I didn’t have much to do, and the fact that such papers are a treasure to me, I read from cover to cover.

While going through the pages, I came across names of some shortlisted candidates for secretarial positions with the government. The names were listed as per the respective province the candidates were to attend their interviews. However, I was shocked when I saw only one name that seemed ‘local’ among the ones listed under Northeastern Province. Curiously, I checked Coast and was surprised there were no apparent Swahili and Mijikenda names. Central Province was interesting; all the shortlisted names appeared to be very indigenous. The other provinces, luckily, did not have any particular community predominating.

I know we have just started our post referendum Kenya. It is too early, therefore, to expect miracles to happen. And I believe it will take time before we rid our country of corruption. However, I am confident that nepotism and other forms of favouritism will cease to happen in our New Kenya in the near future. Anyway, corruption is a learned habit and the same can effectively be unlearned.

Have a corruption free day.

The Constitutional rights of a Kenyan-Somali

I am both a Kenyan and a Somali. I am a Kenyan by birth and descent, whatever the latter stands for. I have been a Somali all my life, too, but only in the ethnic sense. However, with the promulgation of the new Kenyan Constitution - later this month - the way I identify myself will definitely change. Since the new constitution will allow for dual nationality, I will hopefully look for a Somali passport. Not that I can use it anywhere in the world but just to exercise my constitutional right. Thus, I will legally be a Kenyan citizen and a Somali national at the same time, without any conflict of interest.

For the Somalis, however, this has been, all along, an important issue. From the very beginning, the drafters of the Somali Constitution had the dream of a Greater Somalia in mind. This was the desire to bring all Somali inhabited regions under one nation. Thus, they sought to make it easy for all Somalis - the acquisition of Somali citizenship - regardless of where they were born. Besides the inhabitants of the two regions that formed the Somali Republic, two other provinces were essentially targeted in this quest; Ogadenia in Ethiopia and the then Northern Frontier District (NFD) in Kenya – currently North Eastern Province (NEP).

Sadly, the vision of the Somali Irredentists was never to be. In 1977, Somalia went to war with Ethiopia to reclaim one of the missing regions (read: Ogadenia) but that wasn’t accomplished. There were some hostilities between Somalia and Kenya, as well. Luckily, that never escalated to a full blown war. Later, a pact was thus signed, between Jomo Kenyatta, on the one hand, and his Somali counterpart, AbdiRashid Sharmaarke, on the other; Somalia was, therefore, to disown the secessionist movement in NFD and cease, thenceforth, all support accorded the same group.

Another important issue for the beleaguered Somalis has been post Siyad Barre’s Somalia and how it affected the populace. A huge number of Somalis went to foreign countries as refugees. Among these new homes for Somalis are countries mostly in Europe and North America, with Australia and New Zealand partaking in their fair share of Somali 'loot'. Though a minority, there is a significant number of Somalis in some African countries. Notable among this latter group is Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. However, unlike their European and North American counterparts, it hasn’t been easy for them to grant citizenship for the dogged Somalis within their borders. Kenya, also, unlike these other African countries has a huge indigenous population of ethnic Somalis. Moreover, the Somali refugees who fled to the Middle East and other Asian countries have mostly been faced with the same predicament - not getting the citizenship of their host nations.

All these issues were never lost in the minds of the members of the numerous Somali reconciliation assemblies. They, too, like their earlier compatriots had to acknowledge the number of Somalis in the Diaspora. Thus, dual nationality for the Somalis was treated as an inalienable right. However, the Somalis have not at anytime bothered to distinguish between genuine Somali nationals and ethnic Somalis of other countries. Therefore, a Somali born in Kenya, or even the Djiboutian President, are Somalis and thus should be treated as such.

This brings me back to the Kenya Constitution. I think it would be fair for me to go out there and, just for the heck of it, acquire a Somali passport, since both constitutions allow for that. Am not sure where my loyalty will lie, though. Can I be a patriot of two neighbouring countries at the same time? Did the CoE and the PSC think of these issues, by the way? Anyway, I didn’t draft any of these constitutions and neither did I have the chance to vote. Regardless, I would still voted 'green'; the pundits are agreed on the superiority of the document. Anyway, I am not in anyway faulting the new constitution but this is just a though that occured to me. Have a constitutional day! Wont you?

We should respect the wishes of the majority

The referendum is over. The ‘greens’ won. The only thing remaining now is the promulgation of the new constitution. Yes, I have to admit I have already learnt some vocabularies; ratification, plebiscite and promulgation, among others. Anyway, the issue of vocabularies is just a by the way.

The important issue, here, is the new narratives that are emerging from the ‘no’ brigade. It is claimed by this group that the voice of the 2 million plus voters should not be wished away. They say that these voters have an axe to grind with the new constitution. This stems from the fact that they, in the first place, voted ‘no’ because they were unhappy about some paragraphs of the new constitution. Key of these clauses is the one on the Kadhi’s courts and another one that supposedly legalises abortion. There are others, too, who have a bone to pick with the provisions on the land issue. Notably, among this latter group is former President Moi.

I respect the rights of all Kenyans to vote whichever way they deem good for themselves. However, I thought the very reason why we go to vote, in the first place, is to know the opinion of all eligible voters. The opinion, in this case, is thus measured by either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ win as in the referendum, or the candidate who carries the day in general elections.

Luckily, unlike what happened in 2007, the winning side not only carried the day but did it with a huge margin. Thus, we avoided the instance of a Samuel Kivuitu, or a Johann Kriegler if you like, telling us that the winning side can not be determined. I am also glad that the ‘yes’ side achieved the so called threshold the ‘reds’ wanted to dupe people with. With 70% of the electorate voting and 70% of them voting ‘yes’ their ‘international standard’ was indeed put to shame.

Now, what next is the issue. What do we do with the ones who are insisting that amendments have to be done before promulgation of the new constitution? Do we have to accede to their demands? Do they really have justifications for that? Anyway, in my not so schooled mind, I think they do not deserve to be given a hearing. Theirs isn’t a worthy cause anymore. They had their time. And with all the propaganda they spewed, they still could not convince the majority. I am glad Kenyans could see through their hypocrisy and the unholy alliance formed by the church and the oppressors of yesterday. The same guys who subjugated us under a tyrannical hold adopted the moral high ground to preach to us what is good and what is bad. What a shame!

Anyway, they are entitled to their opinions and I am glad the new constitution safely protects that. But they should not try to stop Kenyans from achieving what they have been clamouring for all these years, over two decades now. I have to give them credit, though, for trying all their best to derail this very achievement. They pulled all sorts of tricks under their sleeves but, luckily, none seemed to have worked.

The ‘no’ side should also let bygones be bygones. They should give us peace and allow us to move forward. Although we also need them, in our endeavour to forge ahead in the rebirth of the nation, it does not mean they have any valid reason to deny Kenyans their much awaited constitution. The time for the New Republic is now!

My biggest worry now is if we accept theirs, wouldn’t we be setting a bad precedent? Suppose in 2012 we go for elections and the winner gets 90% of the vote. Would the losing candidate be justified if they asked to govern for 10% of the time? This informed by the fact that 10% of the voters voted for their side. Of course that would be impossible and would go against the very spirit of democracy. The losing side has to gracefully concede defeat. Otherwise, the whole exercise becomes a big joke.

I am not much of a believer in democracy, also. I get disappointed, most times, when we get to choose between some devils’ incarnates. Of course, you can choose the less harmful, between the not so appealing ones. Sometimes, though, the choices can be very depressing. I have this feeling that the very best in Kenya - the ones whose integrity is above reproach, the ones who rightly deserve to lead us to prosperity - shun the dirty world that is politics. And it is for this reason that I am, in most cases, a sceptic.

However, if you enter a field and play a game, you must play by the rules – pre-match, post-match and whatever happens during the match itself. That’s what any self-respecting person should do. Otherwise, they need not be competitors and waste people’s time. Most importantly, the people of Kenya were well aware of the strengths and weakness, if any, of the new constitution and endorsed it, all the same. Thus, the wishes of the majority must be respected and the constitution promulgated as it is.