Road Show Highlights the Case for Reform
Young artists bring the reform question to the Rift Valley.
This summer a caravan of popular young artists crisscrossed Kenya's expansive Rift Valley province, animating towns with live music and dance performances. Such excursions are often seen in conjunction with political campaigns, but Kenya's next election cycle is scheduled for 2012. So why were they there? What was this talented cadre of young artists clad in red, white, black, and green—Kenya's national colors—up to?
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| A crowd listens to musicians promoting Kenya's reform agenda.
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USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) partnered with GTZ (German Development Cooperation) to award a series of grants supporting efforts to present Kenya's reform agenda to the public. The activities sought to attract and secure the full participation of the country's youth in the up or down vote on Kenya's new Constitution by harnessing the energy and talents of young artists. The initiative targeted Naivasha, Mai Mahiu, Eldoret, Burnt Forest, and Kapsabet with the reform message—five towns that were hotspots during the 2007-8 post-election violence.
Chanting the slogans Kenya ni wajibu wangu (Kenya is my responsibility) and Saisa in yao, mageuzi ni yangu (Politics is for politicians, but change is for me), the young artists rallied over 50,000 spectators. In addition to the music and dance, the reform road show included exhibits of photos of the post-election violence, speeches by prominent personalities, skits, poetry, and dialogue tents where people could talk about the issues facing the country.
In Kapsabet, a resident viewing the photo exhibit said, "Seeing these pictures has made me very sad. In the 'No' and 'Yes' vote on the constitutional referendum, let's not fight… We had problems… The police were lax, and the judiciary failed. What democracy is this where people were forcing others to follow their parties?"
The dialogue tents were popular with residents seeking a place to talk about the post-election crisis and to vent their frustrations and fears about the slow process of reform. And facilitated discussions on the post-election violence gave people an opportunity to reflect on what went wrong in 2007.
For many attendees, the discussions brought the realization that vigilance will be required to bring real change to Kenyan politics. A resident of Naivasha said, "We must take responsibility as citizens and not look upon our politicians, as they only care about their own welfare. They have always misguided us for their selfish interests."
As the shows ended and the amplified music waned, residents in the Rift Valley were left with many questions to ponder: not the least of which was how to re-invent Kenya and avoid repeating the past.
For further information, please contact:
Megan German, Program Manager - Kenya, 202-712-1997, mgerman@usaid.gov.
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