iFollowing the tragic and heinous
Mpeketoni attacks, social media have taken the simmering online clashes a
notch higher. A quick search on popular Kenyan blogs, Twitter handles,
Facebook accounts, Listservs, amongst other online resources, reveals a
deeply divided nation.
The amount of, and energy
behind, some of the posts betrays how troubled and divided we are as a
nation. It seems to confirm that Kenya is simply an amalgamation of
tribes assembled together by a colonial geographical experiment that is
now threatening to explode.
We keep wondering why we regularly feature in the annual list of failed states.
Some of the indicators cited for a failed state include ineffective or
little control by government over parts of its territory, non-provision
of public service, widespread corruption and criminality and involuntary
movement of populations.
ETHNIC VITRIOL
This
description seems to be taken straight out of Mpeketoni, Baringo or
Wajir and forms the basis of the inflamed emotions currently sweeping
the online space. There are two distinct groups fighting online; each
group is characterized along the tribal cleavages that constitute the
bulk of the two leading coalition parties — the governing Jubilee and
the opposition CORD coalitions.
With around 50 per cent
of the Kenyan population online, the government faces a big challenge
in reacting to the ever-diminishing gap between the online and offline
activities of Kenyan society.
It is clear that the
increasing production and consumption of ethnic vitriol manifested
online is bound to spill onto Kenyan streets and neighbourhoods.
We are, as a nation, facing an online threat whose magnitude is greater than we are willing to admit.
HATE SPEECH AND THE LAW
How
should government respond to this threat? Should we shut down the
blogs, Facebook and Twitter accounts of perceived ringleaders? Already
some online bloggers and Twitter users have been called to account by
the police and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission.
Some
may face charges in a court of law for hate speech or something
related. But are these measures sufficient to hold or push back the
increasing ethnic tensions reflected online?
Perhaps
not. Even if we shut down the Internet and arrest the bloggers, Kenyans
will continue seething underneath along politically motivated tribal
lines, with potentially more explosive repercussions in the future.
Clamping
down on political bloggers may suppress the messenger, but it will not
inhibit the message. A better approach would be to establish the genesis
of the ethnic divisions and arrest what is obviously providing fodder
for politicians to use in their selfish endeavours to ascend to, or
remain in power.
POLITICAL GAIN
Essentially,
the self-declared online armies from either side of the political
divide are being used by those in or outside power for short-term
political gain.
It is important to frequently remind
ourselves that the political configuration at the top is very fluid,
short-term, and not worth dying for. Why die for someone who, in four
years’ time, will form a coalition with your current “enemy”?
This
is the type of messaging that civil society, the government and the
rest of us need to start spreading as an initial measure to reduce the
increasing ethnic tensions manifested online.
Thereafter,
the government should quickly address, or be seen to be addressing, the
historical injustices revolving around land, social inclusion, and
equitable distribution of resources, amongst others.
Fortunately,
all these pertinent issues and how to address them have been well
captured in our new Constitution. We just need to implement these
guidelines more expeditiously, and hopefully this will dampen the
rampant online wars and hate speech witnessed in recent times.
Mr Walubengo is a lecturer at the Multimedia University of Kenya, Faculty of Computing and IT. jwalubengo@mmu.ac.ke Twitter:@jwalu
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