Kenya People : An Insider's Perspective

The Joy of Human Warmth

I sat in front of my computer wondering what to write about Kenya people. I had just finished reading Barack Obama’s book on ‘Dreams of My Father’ and I must say, it is a well written inspiring book. On page 328, he writes about the warmth that he experienced when in Kenya. In particular he says this;

‘Auma (his half sister) and I surrendered ourselves to the endless invitations that came our way from uncles, nephews, cousins......all who demanded at the risk of insult that we sit down for a meal no matter what time it happens to be or how many meals we had already eaten....

....it confirmed my idea of Africa and Africans, an obvious contrast to the growing isolation of American life.....the insistent pleasure of other people’s company...the joy of human warmth..’

I smiled as I read this passage as it reminded me of the time when we went to Kericho, the tea growing region of Kenya, to see my brother’s in-laws’.

In one day, we went to 5 different homesteads and all insisted that we have a meal. This was regardless of the fact that we had eaten full meals in the other homes.

Like Barack, I admit that Kenya people have a warmth to them. They tend to be very inviting and enjoy spending time as a family and with the community.

.........so then, why the divisions

You may have seen the news at the beginning of 2008 after we had our elections. Thousands died as hundreds of thousands were displaced. Can you imagine from owing our own home, to living in a makeshift tent with all your family members? It was a shocking!

Even more shocking was the fact that it was your own neighbour with whom you had lived with for so many years that colluded with others to kill you and destroy your property.

Here is a testimony from one of the victims

“On the 1st of January 2008 at around 10 a.m., I heard people yelling that some raiders were coming. I saw smoke coming from some houses in our village and the houses were burning. Everyone in the village started running away to the church (KAG).

My mother who was 90 years old was with me at the time. I decided to take my mother into the church for safety. After a few minutes, I saw more raiders coming towards the church….We thought the raiders would not attack the church. Many people were being pushed into the church by the raiders. The raiders threw some mattress into the roof of the church and threw more into the church. They were also pouring fuel(petrol) onto the mattresses.

All of a sudden I saw fire break out. I took my mother toward to [the] main door to get her outside, but there were many others scrambling toward the door as well. We both fell onto the floor. I wanted to save my mother from the burning church, but one of the raiders prevented me. I saw the fire had reached where my mother was. I heard her cry for help as the fire burnt her, but I could not help.”

Well, I shudder whenever I read this story. It is adopted from the Waki Commission Report – A Commission that was set up to find out the truth behind the post election violence.

I remember going to church the Sunday after the massacre and the pastor made this statement

..are we praying for things to go back to normal? What is normal? Is this not who we are....people divided along tribal lines?

His observation was true. We have over 42 different tribes all living together in one boundary as Kenyans. It was until our colonial masters – the British, came into the scene and all these tribes had to live under one administration which eventually became Kenya.

Essentially, Kenya people come from three different groups; Bantu, Nilotes and Cushites.

The Bantu migrated to Kenya from Western Africa over 2000 years ago. As an agrarian society, they migrated in search for better farming pastures and due to overpopulation pressures where they currently were. On reaching the land now known as ‘Kenya’, they spread out into three different regions.

  • Coastal area – (Pokomo, taita, makonde, taveta, and mijikenda)
  • Central Highlands – (Chuka, Embu, Kamba, Kikuyu, Meru)
  • North of Lake Victoria Basin – (Gusii, Luhya, Kuria).

The words in the brackets are the different tribes. This means that though of Bantu origin, each speaks a different dialect to the other.

Nilotic Kenya people originally came from the River Nile region, the area around south Sudan. The Luo and Maasai tribes were the first to arrive and settled around the rift valley region. Though originally cattle herders, the Luo soon settled around Lake Victoria region and took up fishing as a means of livelihood. The Masai continued herding cattle, something they have kept up until today.

The Cushites however, were actually the first group of Kenya people to arrive into the scene. They migrated from Ethopia which is North of Kenya. With the arrival of the Bantu and Nilotes, the Cushites were dispersed into different parts of the country. Many of them live in semi arid and arid areas of the country. Unlike the Bantu, they do not farm at all. They are cattle herders instead. Most of their tribes include Borana, Burji, El Molo, Orma, Somali and Rendile.

Where Did The Europeans Come in?

Remember the 1885 Berlin Conference where European powers arbitrarily divided up Africa for themselves? The British wanted to control Uganda which is the source of the Nile. They figured that if they built a railway line from Kenya’s coast, Mombasa, to Western Kenya, they would have good control and access to Uganda.

With that, the colonial government pooled a whopping £9000 from English Tax Payers money to build the railway. (You can imagine what £9000 was in the 1800’s) This did not go without condemnation by the British public.

To get some of the cost back, Sir Elliot, a governor at the time decided that Europeans would farm the lands close to the railway. This would generate revenue for the government and justify the railway cost.

................Settling the Europeans

With that said and done, they settled on the land along the railway. To do so, they had to force Kenya people off the land out and onto the corners of their new acquired land as squatters. At first, it was the Kikuyu’s that got displaced as most Europeans had settled in the agricultural areas.

That being the case, the Kikuyu’s were also the tribe closest to the Europeans. When the time came for Kenya to gain independence, most offices were left for the Kikuyu.

The Tribal Wars Began

At that point, the Kenya people began to experience tribal wars. For instance the Kikuyu disliked the Luo’s because culturally they do not undergo circumcision and the Luo’s showed their distaste for Kikuyu’s as they felt all they grabbed all the jobs and land left by the white settlers when they left.

Admittedly, there is a lot to read and understand about Kenya people and their past. I would recommend that you read Obama’s book – Dreams of My Father. I liked it because I felt that it gives an honest account of what and who Kenya people are. Some times as Kenyans we like to gloss over issues, but its better when our praise and criticism is given by an outsider.

Hope all this helps in showing you the real Kenya people.


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