Word: kikuyu
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...Kenya," mutters Preston, my driver. We come to several more roadblocks manned by men sitting by the side of the road. Their breath smells of banana beer, and they want money and news of Nairobi. Some of them check Preston's tribe. I congratulate myself for swapping my usual Kikuyu driver for Preston, a Luo, at the last minute. By now the road has deteriorated to a heavily potholed gravel track. "Look at this road," says Preston. "Look how bad it is around here. This is why they are fighting." At the next roadblock, a telegraph pole laid across...
Preston, an American colleague, and I are driving to Eldoret, the vortex of the tribal violence that has swept Kenya. Four days ago, a mob surrounded Kyamba church just outside Eldoret where hundreds of Kikuyu villagers had sought shelter. The mob barricaded the church doors with mattresses and set them alight. The flames spread through the building and, according to reports at the time, between 30 and 50 people were burned alive before the fire burst through the doors and the rest were able to escape. The Kikuyu, the biggest of Kenya's 42 tribes, became targets after the Kikuyu...
...tear gas. But on the outskirts, the tribal violence that has raged in Kenya for five days claimed scores more victims. A mob from the Luo tribe rampaging through the township of Mathare stoned one unidentified man to death before stealing his shoes, hacked another man from the Kikuyu tribe about the head with a machete and set a gas station on fire, gutting the buildings, pumps and five vehicles. By the end of the day, the toll had risen from just more than 300 to 346, according to media reports. But fears of far more bloodshed were averted when...
Though regarded as one of Africa's most stable nations, violence has often accompanied elections in Kenya. That's because political rivalry often reflects tribal divisions. Kibaki's Kikuyu are the largest of the country's 42 tribes and have dominated politics and business since independence in 1963. Odinga is a Luo, the third largest tribe. Luos, who have never had a President, have been the most vocal in their criticism of Kikuyu dominance...
Fueling particular anger is how corruption reserves much of Kenya's riches for the Kikuyu elite, and condemns millions to poverty. Despite an economy that grew at 6.2% last year, 55% of Kenya's 36 million population live on less than $2 a day. Though Kibaki was elected on an anti-corruption ticket in 2002, he proved a disappointment: graft and cronyism have thrived and his anti-corruption tsar John Githongo fled to London in 2005. Githongo never explained why he left Kenya. He reportedly had begun to doubt the government's commitment to tackling corruption and had received death...