As very few of you likely know, Kenya is having elections at the end of the year. Everything, from the presidency to the divisional councils, is up for grabs. Kenya is a very poltically conscious country, and this week it's been impossible not to hear about the campaigns.
The big national story, which has gotten some airtime internationally on the BBC and CNN, is the Mungiki killings near Nairobi. The Mungiki are a secret organization with the raison d'etre of promoting radical Kikuyu nationalism and female circumcision. Although banned by the government, they claim (dubiously, most people say) to have a membership in the hundreds of thousands. Usually they spend their time strong-arming minibus drivers into paying protection money and conducting mass circumcisions, but around election time their portfolio expands. In a country where voting goes along ethnic lines, the ability to suppress the voting by minority groups is beneficial; consequently, the Mungiki are sometimes stirred into action to kill some non-Kikuyus and intimidate others into staying home from the polls. It's also alleged that the Mungiki have been hired by some leaders to assassinate rival politicians. When six bodies turned up beheaded around Nairobi last week, the blame immediately fell on the Mungiki. The resulting investigation has resulted in two former MPs being arrested for their connections to the group, and two current MPs are being questioned. The Mungiki have vowed to assert themselves more in the coming months, and have announced some sort of rally for next weekend, though one might question why a secret organization would stage a mass rally.
Speaking of mass rallies, the big news in Dol Dol this week is President Mwai Kibaki's vist to town this coming Tuesday. This will be the first presidential visit to Dol Dol. Everyone I know in town is dashing between meetings to prepare for the event; Kibaki will be greeted by a whole day's worth of Maasai dancing, singing and theater prepared by the community groups. The local government has been making its own preparations. The last few days, tractors and huge trucks carrying fresh dirt have rolled into town, ready to repair and grade the cracked, rutted roads for the VIPs' arrival. This has actually embittered many local residents, who are pretty hostile to this government to begin with.
If Kibaki comes with a political present, he might get into the Maasai's good graces, however. The exact nature of this present is the subject of much speculation. A few have suggested it might be the deed to some of the white-0wned land bordering on the group ranch. The more popular prediction, however, is the promotion of Mukogodo from division to district (akin, in a sense, to promoting something from a municipality to a county). This would give the Maasai their own district, which is something they greatly desire, as they make up just 10% of Laikipia District's population and are dominated politically by the Kikuyu and other sedentary groups. As a district, the area would get more funds, more schools, electricity, communication and transport links, and prestige. As much as the locals think it will happen, though, it seems terribly implausible to me. Laikipia is a relatively small district, but it has about 330,000 people; Mukogodo, by contrast, has about 20,000. Dol Dol, the only real town in the division, has about 1,500 people and is only linked to the rest of Kenya by a tortuous, 45km road that takes over an hour to drive and is sometimes impassable in the rainy season. Still, the people in Dol Dol hope.
At the very least, the visit has already made village life more interesting. On Tuesday, I was in a store talking to some friends when a police officer came in and asked me what I was doing in town, whether my documents were in order, and how long I was planning to stay in Dol Dol. I took this as the routine questioning of foreigners in a town that sees very few, and though it was much more forward and tactless than I've come to expect to from Keynans, I didn't think much of it. However, the rumor quickly spread around town that I had been questioned because of police suspicion that I was there to spy on the president. I swear to you, God and the Mukogodo Divisional Police Officer that I'm not a spy, but so long as I'm not locked up on Tuesday, I'll post here about the presidential visit next week or the week after.
