Kikuyus and Kambas Chant Sifuna Together in Kitengela: Is Tribal Politics Dead?
Kikuyus and Kambas Chant Sifuna Together in Kitengela: Is Tribal Politics Dead? For more than sixty years, Kenyan politics has followed one simple rule. People vote for their own tribe. Kikuyu vote for Kikuyu. Kamba vote for Kamba. Luo vote for Luo. Every election analyst uses the same tribal calculator. Add this tribe plus that tribe and you win State House. Last weekend in Kitengela, that calculator broke into pieces. And it broke live on camera. Picture this town. Kitengela is in Kajiado County. It is a fast-growing town full of workers, traders, landlords, drivers, and young families who cannot afford Nairobi rents. Official numbers say the biggest community there is the House of Mumbi. Number two is the Maasai. Number three is the Kamba. Your own research says the truth on the ground is slightly different. Because of the short distance to Machakos and the daily movement of workers, Kambas are actually number two now, ahead of the Maasai. Wiper looked at those numbers and smiled. T...