Tribalism can be defined as a state of organization, defense of a tribe or tribes. It also refers to a way of thinking or behaving in which people are more loyal to their tribe than to their friends.
We have witnessed through the media and the books we read, how this monster – tribalism has caused irreparable damage to our society. Let’s look at the case of Rwanda and what happened in 1994, where the Hutus who are the majority massacred a million Tutsis, a minority tribe, in a span of 91 days. To this day, people in Rwanda and the international world have still not recovered from the shock of this genocide.
Immaculee Ilibagiza, a survivor of the Rwandan holocaust, has told it all in her book entitled ‘Left to Tell’.
Immaculee describes her country as a beautiful masterpiece of God, with rolling hills; mist-covered mountains; green valleys and sparkling lakes. She describes the climate as pleasant throughout the year, which is why the German settlers who arrived in the late 1800s dubbed it The Land of Eternal Spring.
Immaculee grew up not knowing which tribe she belonged to until she went to school. Ella Buhoro de ella’s teacher’s ethnic roll call took her by surprise, for when she asked the Hutus, Tutsis and Twa to stand up, Ella Immaculee remained seated.
“Immaculée Ilibagiza, you didn’t stand up when I said Hutu, you didn’t stand up when I said Twa and you didn’t stand up now that I said Tutsi. Why is that? Your parents didn’t teach you or your siblings the story of your own country. She had no idea of the tribal animosity that has been simmering until the days of the German and Belgian colonialists. These colonialists created a blunder that will later fuel resentment between the Hutus and the Tutsis. The colonialists favored the Tutsis that they are the minority and placed them as a ruling class, so the Tutsis were assured of a better education to better manage the country, to the benefit of the Belgian overlords. This resentment gained momentum and reached its climax in 1994, where the Hutus massacred a million Tutsis in a span of 91 days. Immaculee’s family was brutally murdered and she and her brother, who was out of the country, were the only survivors. It is hard to understand how people could get into such a situation. h madness and killing only because of tribal differences.
In 1992, 5,000 people were brutally murdered in Kenya, and another 75,000 were displaced in the Rift Valley in what was called tribal fighting. This conflict was primarily between the Kalenjin and Kikuyu communities. The former head of state, President Moi of Kenya, defined tribalism as a cancer to be avoided.
The monster of tribalism has penetrated its tentacles into the public and private sectors. The element of ethnicity and nepotism has caused people’s careers to spiral downhill, while those belonging to the ‘right’ tribes climb the ladder. Take the example of Mr. Mulunzi (not his real name), who was employed in 1962 in the public sector and worked hard for years until he retired in 1997 without getting a single promotion. Therefore, the reason he remains stuck in his position is because he did not belong to the tribe that was in power at the time. He watched his less competent contemporaries climb the ladder because they belonged to the ‘right’ tribe. This scenario brought him a sense of hopelessness and despair and after his retirement it was deemed necessary for him to seek specialist treatment for depression.
Pius Omondi (not his real name) was another victim of misfortune. He did well in his ‘O’ level education. His good grades led him to get a job as a clerk in a bank that was making big profits. But he hardly enjoyed his work as he faced a series of subtle persecutions from his supervisor, Mr. Mburu. His supervisor felt that his uncle’s son, who was not as qualified as Omondi, was better suited for the job. He trudged through his job for 10 years without getting a single promotion. His work became a source of misery. He would later suffer from health problems and when he sought medical attention, he was diagnosed with a condition known as panic attacks. While he was in treatment, his problems at work persisted. His friend Sirikwa, who was self-employed, liked him a lot. At the same time, there was an investment craze that had conquered the country. It was the pyramid schemes that were introduced under the guise of Christianity. Many were lured into joining schemes that promised double the principal amount after a period of two weeks. Sirikwa was already a beneficiary of the schemes and had purchased acres of land with the proceeds of his investment. He will later lure Omondi into joining such schemes. Omondi couldn’t see why he should remain in a job rat race, with all the frustrations that come with it. He opted to retire early, which he did. He was paid a lucrative lump sum. When he finally retired from the Bank, he sang a new song. A song by a prisoner who had been released from employment problems.
Like his friend Sirikwa, he joined the pyramid schemes by putting all the money the Bank paid him into these schemes. And before the two weeks were up for him to taste the first fruits of his investment, the government ordered all pyramid schemes shut down, ending them as illegal scams. Hundreds of people lost their money that they have never recovered until today. Omondi ended up languishing and eventually went to live in the slums.
Come to think of it, all this Mulunzi and Omondi suffering tells us how evil and demoralizing tribalism can be.