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UNCLAS NAIROBI 004269 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL KE
SUBJECT: KENYA ELECTIONS: ODM RALLY ON THE COAST: FANNING 
ETHNIC RESENTMENT 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  PolCouns observed an Orange Democratic 
Movement (ODM) rally in the coastal town of Khilifi during 
which some prominent ODM leaders used explicitly anti-Kikuyu 
language, receiving roars of approval from the crowd.  Other 
prominent ODM leaders chose to appeal to reason rather than 
passion, stressing that ODM's "majimbo" (decentralization) 
agenda does not involve "chasing upcountry people out of the 
coast."  Their remarks received only polite applause.  In 
some areas of the country, such as the coastal strip and 
parts of Rift Valley Province, there is intense resentment of 
resident Kikuyus for supposedly gaining extensive properties 
through nefarious means, while many of the indigenous 
population are landless.  These passions can more easily be 
exploited than controlled.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On Monday, 22 October, PolCouns observed an ODM rally 
held in the coastal town of Khilifi, a district capital one 
hour's drive north of Mombasa.  The district is largely 
ethnic Mijikenda (Christian majority, Muslim minority).  The 
headliners at the event included Mombasa MP Balala, ODM 
Executive Secretary Prof. Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, Vice 
Presidential Candidate Musalia Mudavadi and recent KANU 
defectee Ronald Ngala.  Also in attendance was Martin 
Shikuku, both a minister and a political detainee under the 
Kenyatta and Moi governments (a rare accomplishment). 
 
Ngala & Anyang' Nyong'o: Voices of Reason 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Ngala was initially booed and heckled by the crowd, 
preventing him from speaking.  Balala then took the 
microphone and explained that Ngala (whose late father is 
considered one of Kenya's founders and was the longtime 
political godfather of the coast), had just defected from 
KANU (which is part of the pro-Kibaki coalition) to ODM.  The 
crowd roared their approval, but then responded in a much 
more subdued manner as Ngala explained that "majimbo 
(decentralization) does not mean chasing upcountry people 
from the coast."  He went on to stress that "we respect all 
those who respect us.  Everyone is welcome to the coast. 
Majimbo will permit us to develop according to our own 
 
priorities.  Through the tourism industry and our port we 
contribute massively to central government revenue, but get 
very little back in return.  Just look at the state of our 
roads.  Majimbo will give us our fair share of the national 
cake." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Prof. Anyang' Nyong'o spoke in similar terms, 
emphasizing the good governance aspects of decentralization, 
such as locally elected governments and moving resources and 
the administration closer to the people.  He repeatedly 
stressed that all Kenyans are one and majimbo did not require 
anyone to return to their home district.  "All Kenyans are at 
home anywhere in Kenya.  What we want is federalism like in 
the United States."  The Professor received a tepid response. 
 
Balala & Shikuku: Blatant Appeals to Anti-Kikuyu Passions 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU)  Balala, who can be suave and urbane in private, 
gave an emotional, populist address pointing to central 
government exploitation, corruption and neglect as 
responsible for the coast's land and resource problems.  He 
noted that "they" use control of the central government to 
funnel a disproportionate share of national resources to 
develop "their areas."  (Given known coastal sentiments, 
Balala obviously intended "they" to refer to the Kikuyu 
elite.)  Balala said that ODM's majimbo agenda was the only 
way for "coast people to take back what was stolen."  Balala 
promised that "majimbo will be implemented within six months 
of an ODM election victory." (Note:  Implementation of a 
decentralization scheme would require at least constitutional 
amendments, if not a complete overhaul.  ODM is on record 
supporting the Bomas draft constitution.  Adoption of a new 
constitution requires a referendum.  Six months seems 
unrealistic.  End Note). 
 
¶6. (SBU) Shikuku, a Luhya from Western Province who is often 
listed as one of Kenya's independence heroes, explicitly 
identified the Kikuyu community as the problem.  He led the 
 
crowd in a chant as he named every ministry or parastatal 
headed by a Kikuyu.  He claimed 65 percent of provincial and 
district officers are Kikuyu (by our count, the true figure 
is 26 percent).  He told the crowd "you send your taxes to 
Nairobi so they can spend it on 'their people' in Central 
Province, leaving you with bad roads and no services."  He 
also claimed, "All the tourist hotels on the coast are owned 
by people from Central or else foreigners; none are owned by 
coast people."  Comment:  One worried coastal Kenyan 
expressed concern at this rhetoric, commenting "this must be 
the sort of thing Mugabe said in Zimbabwe; if they keep this 
up, then Kikuyu shopkeepers in Khilifi will not be safe. 
People will feel they have permission to chase them out and 
take their goods." 
 
¶7. (SBU) PolCouns discussed political sentiments in Khilifi 
with a half dozen ODM aspirants for the local parliamentary 
seat.  They stressed that unlike elsewhere in the country, 
political rivalries in Khilifi are friendly and non-violent. 
As one of the aspirants put it, "Remember that civilization 
began on the coast."  (Later in the day, during the ODM 
rally, a woman aspirant arrived with an escort of young, 
drunk and rowdy "security youths."  The crowd and ODM 
officials reacted with evident disapproval.) 
 
¶8. (SBU) The group of ODM aspirants were unanimous on the two 
main political concerns of the coast: fair distribution of 
national resources and land allocation.  By fair distribution 
of national resources they do not mean equal distribution on 
a per capita basis or resource transfers from relatively 
wealthy areas to poor areas.  Rather, they intend that most 
of the revenue generated from a region should remain in the 
region to address local priorities, not the dictates of 
Nairobi officials.  (Comment:  This may be problematic since 
some of the poorer provinces do not have the tax base to 
sustain public services.  End Comment.)  As to land 
allocation, they claimed that many large estates in the 
region were illegally allocated by politicians with little or 
no payment, dispossessing local people.  "This began with 
Jomo Kenyatta, who gave his people (Kikuyu elites) all the 
prime beach land and sisal estates," claimed one aspirant. 
"No, it goes back further, we must review the illegal 
seizures by the British in 1908 when they stole the coast 
from the Sultan of Zanzibar," said another aspirant.  The 
aspirants differed on what basis to challenge "illegal land 
allocations," but all     agreed that the land issue must be 
thoroughly reviewed and corrective actions taken to address 
deeply felt grievances of the "coastal people." 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment:  The revenue distribution and land 
allocation issues are of intense concern to voters along the 
coastal strip of Coast Province, but much less so in the vast 
interior of the province.  The coastal strip was at various 
times in history governed by the Omani and Zanzibar 
sultanates, the Portuguese and the British.  The area's 
incorporation into Kenya was opposed by some coastal leaders 
during the run up to independence.  These sentiments linger. 
Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, did indeed acquire 
large land holdings on the coast and arranged for several 
family members and Central Province supporters to do the 
same.  Coastal Kenyans, whether Christian or Muslim, feel 
themselves to be culturally and historically distinct from 
the rest of the country.  They often express the view that 
"our traditions of hospitality and courtesy have been 
exploited by upcountry people who have taken our best land, 
run all the businesses, only employ their people and take 
away our tax revenue to spend in their home districts." 
ODM's coast campaign is largely based on these resentments. 
In 1992 the Likoni area of Mombasa suffered severe rioting, 
killings and looting directed against Kenyans whose origins 
were outside the coast, principally Kikuyus.  The violence 
was instigated by politicians.  There is a danger that ODM 
rhetoric may ignite dangerous passions that can easily get 
out of control. 
 
RANNEBERGER