The Parliamentary Select Committee on constitution has far exceeded its mandate. It is mandated to discuss about the contentious issues in the harmonised draft but instead it has decided to rewrite the draft and messing up an otherwise good draft. Its proposal to remove chapter five from the harmonised draft constitution is regrettable, to say the least. I suspect this decision is brought about by lack of understanding and appreciation of the meaning of culture, especially in the context of national freedom, values and development.
As rightly put by the draft, culture is the foundation of our nation, Kenya. Kenya is composed of a diversity of ethnic groups, languages, religions, customs, geographical locations and ways of lifes -which is culture. Culture is all that has been created and continues to be created by human beings as distinguished from that human beings find in nature. It is about life and society, history on earth. All human activities that manifest their conscious existence on earth is culture. This means that in the process of producing their material needs, people create and recreate culture.
In other words, in the struggle for survival, freedom and development, which is in fact increasing ability to make a living from nature, human beings are ever engaged in the activities of producing and reproducing material culture. And while producing material culture they, simultaneously, produce intellectual culture. Intellectual culture is the manifestation of peoples’ consciousness in nature and society. It is the historical achievements of people in science, education, literature and art. It is about the morals, customs, philosophy, beliefs, values and relations of the people concerned. Intellectual culture is also embodied and expressed by language that also contains and manifests the psychology of a people. It is for this reason that the draft constitution seeks to conserve and develop Kiswahili as our national language and the languages of our various ethnic groups.
Culture can therefore be summarised as the sum total of material and intellectual achievements of a society constituting its traditions and level of civilization that forms the basis for further development and progress. All Kenyan ethnic groups have, over time, created their material and intellectual culture to a lesser or greater degree respectively, depending on the historical, environmental, geographical and other material conditions that exist at a particular place and time. That is why all ethnic groups have always had something to contribute to Kenya’s national culture while assimilating the cultures of others into their own. It is also for the same reason that we should be proud of and celebrate our ethnic and cultural diversity.
Perhaps the recent post election violence may have influenced the MPs in Naivasha to remove the chapter on culture that celebrates the diversity of Kenya’s ethnic groups, languages and cultures. Some people conclude and suggest that doing away with our ethnic identities, cultures and languages and, instead, adopting the use of only Kiswahili and English will end tribalism.
During the national census there were attempts to misadvise Kenyans to avoid answering the question about their ethnic identity. In other words, Kenyan ethnic diversity is seen as a curse rather than a blessing and is even blamed for the post-election violence. Yet the fact is that there is nothing wrong with a person’s ethnic identity. On the contrary, it is not only inevitable but also desirable. What we should fight against is negative ethnicity – ethnic chauvinism – that destroys our common nationhood, humanity, democracy and peace by making us hate, despise, exploit, oppress and discriminate against other ethnic groups.
The truth of the matter is that negative ethnicity has always been used by the elites of Kenya since the time of colonialism to perpetuate themselves in power. Just before, during and after national elections, the political and economic elites of the various ethnic groups deliberately provoke negative ethnic feelings and even organise and sponsor violence against other ethnic groups in order to propel and maintain themselves to elective positions.
They do this by pretending to be champions of the political, economic, cultural, land and land resources interests of their ethnic groups, districts or provinces that are purportedly violated by the members of other ethnic groups. And since it is the ideas of those in power that dominate in a given society at a given time and place, ordinary citizens also imbue and even embrace the ideology of tribalism.
Our ethnic and cultural diversity has never been the cause of tribalism. It is the underdevelopment and myriad of injustices and social problems created by the current political and economic system that is to blame. Chapter Five of the harmonised draft should, therefore, remain to conserve culture and cultural diversity that forms the foundation of our Kenya.
Mwandawiro Mghanga, Nairobi Thursday, 21 January 2010
About the Author
Kumbe mzee hata Kimombo yako ni nzuri sana !
KSB: Please, Ndugu Mwandawiro is a former MP and former student leader at Nairobi University. Did you think that he’s just another odiangabuk?