\'Exclusion of small communities shouldn’t be cause for worry\'

By Stephen Makabila

Even though ethnicity was one of the parameters for the 2009 National Census, not all communities were registered.

Kenya is home to about 42 tribes, but the Ministry of Planning took into account only 24 tribes, leaving out 18.

Munene Macharia of United States International University says failure to classify small tribes should not be a cause for worry.

"Bigger cultural groupings have been emerging through loose merger of minorities," says Prof Macharia.

But Nairobi lawyer Harun Ndubi argues that the new Constitution provides for protection of all cultures therefore smaller tribes should be recognised and their cultures protected.

He, however, says that tribe should not be the basis of resource allocation, but regions "in this case, the counties that are to be created".

The classified ethnic groups include the Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin, Kamba, Somali, Kisii, Miji-Kenda, Meru, Turkana, Teso, Kuria, Masai, Samburu, Tharaka, Mbeere, Borana, Embu, Basuba, Swahili, Gabra, Rendile, and Orma.

The ones that were not listed include the Pokomo, Chonyi, El-Molo, Sengwer, Digo, Duruma, Taveta, Ribe, Rabai, Sabaot, and Kambe.

The El-Molo is probably the smallest group. It relies on Lake Turkana for existence, surviving mainly on fishing. The community has become increasingly vulnerable to diseases and attacks from larger tribes. At one stage there were only 500 El-Molo, living in two islands in the lake.

Inter-marriage has helped to raise their number to about 4,000. They now live on the main land near Loyangalani.

In Marakwet and West Pokot for example, the Sengwer have been fighting to be recognised as a tribe instead of being lumped as Kalenjin. Their argument has been that because they are a minority (less than 20,000), their interests have never been considered.

Although referred to as a single ethnic entity, Kalenjin is a loose collection of several Nilotic groups, including Turgen, Kipsigis, Nandi, Marakwet, and Pokot. They have a distinct tradition and lifestyle, but different dialects of the same language. The Luhya, just like the Kalenjin, is a loose collection of 18 sub-tribes.

In Coast Province, the Digo, Duruma, and Chonyi were lumped together under Miji-Kenda.

"Some groupings such as the Kalenjin, Luhya, and Miji Kenda have formed bigger communities for strength and to ensue they are recognised and taken into account," said Macharia. Part of the reason some small tribes like the Kuria and the Sabaot opposed the new Constitution was because they felt they would be swallowed by the bigger tribes under county governments.

Besides ethnicity, other parameters were socio-economic characteristics, sex, age, administrative, and political units.

Source: The Standard | Online Edition