I am not going to write about whether PNU or ODM, or both, are the bad guys. And I will not be analysing who won and who
lost the election, or even how we should move forward from the sorry state in which we now find ourselves.No, I want to draw attention to the many great people who, at this worst of times, display the best of Kenya, the outstanding, thoughtful selfless best.Not too long after the elections, on a Sunday afternoon, I found myself at a gathering of the newly formed Professionals and Business Forum for Peace at the Holiday Inn. Present were men and women of all ethnic backgrounds, mainly fairly young, who were determined to do more than merely observe and bemoan the unhappy national predicament.Here were people representing doctors and pharmacists, counsellors and nurses, marketing professionals and ICT specialists, architects and engineers. They were mobilising to help their beloved country at a time of great need.As I sat among these healers, these builders, these people filled with boundless energy and not a little hope, I shared both their sadness and, simultaneously, the cheerfulness with which they brainstormed together on how best to engage. They filled each other with confidence and courage, and as a result felt empowered to go out and collectively make a difference.I urged those assembled to reach out to the other groups who were already active in humanitarian,
mediation or other
constructive endeavours, to coordinate and synergise with them, and they willingly agreed. I was asked to be their envoy, and as a result I was invited to the next meeting of the Concerned Citizens for Peace (CCP).CCP, as they have come to be known, have been meeting at 8.00 every morning. Started almost immediately after the election results, the initiators also came together to see what they could do to help with the emerging situation. The first came from a background of mediation and peace building, people like Ambassador Bethwell Kiplagat, Generals Sumbeiyo and Opande, Dekha Inbrahim and George Wachira, but more and more people of goodwill gathered around them, swelling their ranks. I was introduced to a whole new world I never knew existed, of specialists in conflict prevention and resolution, who’ve been working in the most turbulent parts of this and other countries. Many came together to grapple with the causes and consequences of the ongoing clashes; they know all about the ‘shifta’ crisis in North Eastern Province; and they have been on the ground in the various cross-border disputes too. Indeed it is these earlier experiences that made them alert in the run up to the recent closely contested polls. With the ‘winner-take-all’ scenario, and with expectations so high on both sides of being that winner, the scene – for them – was set for unrest come January. They foresaw what many of us did not, and so little wonder they were one step ahead, leaping into action while others were still orienting themselves. And the action didn’t just start yesterday. For instance some months ago they took a group of Kenyan journalists to Rwanda, to see for themselves the consequences of the hateful incitement coming from Radio Mille Collines. But now, all sorts of activists have found a constructive and empowering home among them. They include priests and youth leaders who come from or venture forth each day into the hot spots of Kibera, and Mathare and elsewhere, doing what they can to calm the atmosphere; and volunteers who bring reports of what has been happening where the displaced persons have been gathering. They tell us of their needs, which in turn are matched with those who can help, whether from within the group or beyond. There are trauma counsellors and life coaches; former MPs, development partners and private sector folk; university student representatives and women who want to bring other women together; the list goes on and on. One team, which had been formed some years ago to build possible long-term scen