In Kenya, a tribe has all but vanished as ethnic cleansing continues in the region. Members of the Kisumu tribe, Kenya’s biggest tribe, have disappeared by the thousands; making it the first but perhaps not the last city to be ethnically cleansed.
19 year old Daniel Odongo said on Wednesday as he wielded his machete in front of hundreds of young men that if any Kikuyu’s were found they would be slaughtered or burned alive.
It is estimated that approximately 20,000 Kikuyu’s fled their homes in three days.
The Kikuyu people are a minority in the western city resented for their domination of politics and the economy. Kikuyu homes were burned and the residents ordered to leave, or face death.
About 150 Kikuyus remain in the city and are camped across from the police station for protection.
People have had to flee their homes without a chance to bring anything with them except memories and hopes of a brighter future. “If this continues, I can say goodbye to Kisumu,” said Donise Kangoro, sadly. Kangoro, a 50 year old trader, has lived in Kisumu for two decades. He had not eaten for two days. His children fled to their mother’s people, the Luyha tribe. Kangoro decided to wait out the initial madness but once he was houses being torched and people dying he knew he had to do something.
The violence in Kisumu began when protestors started looting and police responded by firing into the crowds. Dozens were killed. The Luos, the main casualties, were the first to die in the city
1 comment:
What is it about the slaughtered tribe that offends the other so much? Why is this happening?
Is this about religion?
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