PLO Lumumba poses for a photo with Mount Kenya University students after his address at the Mwai Kibaki Convention Hall.
Renowned legal scholar and governance expert Prof PLO Lumumba has raised alarm over the rising cases of tribal rhetoric and political polarization in the country, warning that the country risks slipping into dangerous ethnic divisions if the trend is not urgently contained.
He said the recent political outbursts witnessed in the country have reignited ethnic-based exchanges that threaten national unity and development.
Speaking during the third annual African Youth Leadership Forum at Mount Kenya University (MKU), Lumumba warned that the tribal discourse, coupled with the heightened political temperatures despite being two years away from the next general election, paints a grim picture of a nation trapped in toxic identity politics.
Lumumba called on the youth to reject manipulation by politicians who exploit tribal sentiments for personal gain. “If you read todays Kenyan newspapers, you might think we have a general election tomorrow yet the elections will be held in 2027,” he said.
Tribalism
Lumumba regretted that in Kenya, everything is looked at from a tribal prism. In some local universities, he noted, students organize themselves in tribal groups. “How primitive can a people be?” he asked. “Each time a national Cabinet is constituted or judges are appointed, we ask how many are from our tribe? Even when lawyers and doctors graduate, we ask how many are our tribesmen? We must liberate ourselves from tribal manacles!” he cautioned.
Prof Lumumba was speaking as the chief guest at the Africa Youth Leadership (AYLF) Summit at the main campus of Mount Kenya University (MKU)’s Mwai Kibaki Convention Centre in Thika town. The theme of the Third Annual leadership summit was; Building a New Africa for the 21st Century’.
Lumumba challenged young people to get involved in leadership and governance, saying they must rise and shape the nation’s future instead of waiting for change to happen. He urged the youth to take an active role in demanding accountability, transparency and good governance.
Prof Lumumba emphasized that politics should be about development and transformation, not ethnicity or hate speech. “The youth must liberate this country from the chains of tribalism. Don’t allow yourselves to be put into tribal cocoons. If you permit poor governance, you will pay the price. Lamentations won’t help,” he warned.
He charged the students to ask themselves how Africans can liberalise themselves. He cautioned against continued neo-colonialism which ensures continued racism against Africans. “African problems cannot be solved by holding international forums. We are holding too many workshops and meetings, but not enough symposiums,” he added.
Professor P L O Lumumba urged Africans to double-down on plans to use the 21st century effectively so as to re-define the future of the continent. He said though Africa is rich in natural resources and it’s a blessed continent, the biggest challenge is bad leadership.
He noted that Africans are nearly dominated in their own country by other people from other continents bringing back the colonial era as a result of bad governance. He urged African leaders to embrace their national languages and to stop involving matters of tribalism in every aspect, including speaking their own mother tongues in public gatherings.
The youth, who attended the forum led by Leona Chebet and Harrison Njoroge, said the discussions transformed their mindset and understanding of leadership, governance, and nation-building. The youth, however, emphasised that there is a need for them to be included in leadership positions and key decision-making spaces so they can play a role in addressing the challenges facing the nation.
‘The youth are looking forward to a better Africa but need better representation in leadership,” said Chebet.
They lamented that despite having the capacity and skills to handle various issues and offer solutions, they are rarely given opportunities to showcase their abilities in meaningful roles. “We need to change our mindsets, to look for new solutions. We have talented people, intellectuals. The youth should get jobs and opportunities for training so that barriers can be overcome,” said Njoroge.
“My prayer and hope is that this assembly of youth will not be enticed by ethnicity as the basis for making judgement,” concluded Prof Lumumba.
The Africa Youth Leadership Forum (AYLF) is a Kenya-based collaborative initiative that brings together university students, their leaders and alumni from both public and private universities, for mentorship, training, networking and capacity building. It seeks to advance values and principles that promote transformational and servant leadership.
It aims to be a movement of friends to nurture a new breed of leaders in Africa, by focusing on developing young leaders in Kenya through programmes such as student leadership development and university debates based on Christian values.
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