Kenya is a great nation, formerly a British colony but now a republic with a stable leadership and proud citizens. Kenya is a country in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa. The capital and largest city is Nairobi. The country has many national parks and game reserves, and safaris are a popular destination for visitors. The two official languages in Kenya are English and Swahili, although dozens of other languages are spoken in different parts of the country. Kenyans are generally hardworking people, kind and easy to get along with. But like any society, Kenya has had its ups and downs; and some of the lows are very embarrassing indeed. In this article, we will look at some of them while providing answers to questions about Kenya.
Questions about Kenya you never want to ask
1. Are Kenyans tribal?
No Kenyan would like to be asked if the land is divided along tribal lines. The truth is that Kenyans are free to live and own property anywhere in the country; the constitution requires it. But is that the case? If the violence after the 2007/2008 election revealed anything; it’s that Kenyans have tribal lines to some extent. I’m sorry to admit it, but if I slit my neighbor’s head open or burn down his house just because he doesn’t belong to my community, that’s tribalism.
2. Why is there always violence in Kenya during and after the general elections?
Democracies can be seen all over the worldelection campaign. No one wants to lose an election – that’s normal. But if you have to take to the streets, engage in unlawful mass actions, and break the law at will just because you lost an election, that’s unacceptable. The post-electoral violence of 1992, 1997 and 2007/2008 must be strongly condemned. However, Kenya also had a very peaceful election in 2002 and more recently in 2013 when all complaints were referred to the courts. However, in 2017 we saw a resurgence of our ugly side after the elections. Can we really say that we did everything right with our complaints after the elections? Questions about Kenya!
3. Who are the Al-Shabaab?
Al-Shabaab are living Islamic fighters mainly in Somalia, which borders Kenya to the east and north-east. “Al-Shabaab” is actually an Arabic word for “youth”. Hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees live in Kenya. Most al-Shabaab in Kenya came in as refugees. Al-Shabaab has been trying to overthrow the Somali government for a long time.
4. Why does Al-Shabaab keep launching attacks in Kenya?
Kenya, as the most peaceful country in the world region, has always done its best to bring peace to its neighbors, which includes Somalia. Since this directly disrupts al-Shabaab’s operations (Kenya supports the same Somali government that al-Shabaab is trying to overthrow), these attacks were mainly revenge attacks or a warning to Kenya to keep Somalia out.
5. Is it therefore correct to say that there is a religious war in Kenya?
Not really. There can be widespread attacks carried out mainly by the Al-Shabaab who are mostly Muslim and target Christians, but you will also find Muslims and Christians living very peacefully in other major cities such as Kisumu, Eldoret and Nakuru. This answers one of the questions about Kenya. There is no religious war in Kenya.
More embarrassing questions about Kenya
6. What about the Mungiki? Who are they and why are they always an eyesore?
Mungiki is a Kikuyu word for “multitude” or “a united people.” It is a banned sect. The ideologies behind the formation of the group are not clear, but it is believed that they were to choose where Mau Mau departed from; um to stand up for the rights of its members.Thanks to the efforts of the Kibaki Raila administration, it is no longer very active.
7. Has Kenya ever been to the FIFA World Cup?
no Kenya is a powerhouse when it comes to watching events like marathons, but football in the country is not as developed as in Nigeria and Ghana, for example. Kenya is also very successful in rugby, regularly playing in Rugby 7 World Cup competitions.
8. There have been a number of murder cases in Kenya even in the post-independence period. Why?
It is true that Kenya has lost significant numbers to assassinations in the past. It is so sad and hopefully there will be no more incidents like this in the future. In most cases investigations were carried out. Unfortunately, very little is usually used for the public, which is a real shame.
9. What about hunger and starvation in Kenya? Is it true that Kenyans are now eating cats and wild fruits?
It was all in the news, yes, it can get that bad sometimes. Certainly the government will have to find a way to provide relief supplies to the unfortunate in such disasters.
10. You always hear about money scandals in Kenya. Goldenberg, Anglo Leasing, the Triton scandal and many others. Why so?
The level of corruption in the country is so embarrassing that there is one question about Kenya that no Kenyan wants to ask. Unfortunately, these scandals usually revolve around high-ranking government officials. With the new constitution, a new police force, a more trustworthy judiciary and an ethics committee, hopefully there will be no more such costly scandals.
As mentioned earlier, Kenya remains a great country with so much to love and enjoy.