Lucy Mwelu

Kenya

The Horrors of Tribalism

There is a certain seduction in graduating. The degree in your hand is a leeway to incredible wealth. Finally, years of immersing my feet into chilling water to study would pay off, or so I thought.

In my country, there are forty-seven tribes, and as much as these tribes are spread within Kenya, each county has a dominant tribe. There has been an ongoing war between these tribes for decades, and the magnitude of this problem manifested itself during the presidential elections held in 2007. Individuals hacked each other to death, torn apart by the fact that the ruler of the country might not emerge from their “superior” tribe. I had only been a child back then, detached from the tactile horrors of tribalism.

As an adult hungry to apply my skills, I came face to face with our country’s behemoth. In a county where my tribe was not dominant, I spent three years finding a job. My refusal to leave my home to search for a job in a place where I can use my native language to land me said job is my stance against this horrific monster that is successfully dividing our country.