The Rev. Nicholas Sichangi outlines the situation in Kenya for students

The Rev. Nicholas Sichangi, an Anglican priest from the Diocese of Kitale, Kenya, spoke to students, faculty and staff this afternoon in the Gahagan room. Supplementing his speech with a power point presentation, Mr. Sichangi strove to explain Kenya’s incredibly complex and combative political system, which involves 42 distinct tribes and roughly 200 political parties.

Since Kenya gained independence from Britain in 1963, the political arena has been dominated by the country’s two most populous tribes; the Kikuyu and the Luhya. Kenya’s first president was Jomo Kenyatta, a Kikuyu and the leader of the Kenya African National Union (KANA). In 1960, Daniel T. Moi founded the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU), in favor of a federal constitution, to challenge Kenyatta’s party. When, at the start of his presidency, Kenyatta suggested to Moi that KANU and KADU be merged and appointed him Vice President, Kenya became a single-party state.

Moi succeeded Kenyatta after the latter’s death in 1978, and was elected unopposed until 2002, when constitutional law prevented his running for another term. Mr. Sichangi described Moi as a cunning politician whose tactics were shrewd and often corrupt. “The problem is unopposed leadership,” he said, “Once a leader is in place, it is very difficult to oppose them. They appoint their own people.”

In addition to cronyism, both Kenyatta and Moi were known to swiftly quiet any opposing or potentially threatening individuals. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who was Vice President under Kenyatta before he resigned to form the Kenya People’s Union (KPU), was detained for two years without trial for speaking out against Kenyatta’s government. 12 years later, his son Raila, suspected of having participated in an attempted coup, was charged with treason and detained for six years without trial by the Moi government.

Upon retirement in 2002, Moi selected Kenyatta’s son as his successor, but Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu, won office. In Kenya’s 2007 election, Kibaki was opposed by Raila Odinga, whose candidacy was widely supported. Despite strong evidence of electoral malpractice, Kibaki was declared the winner, and Raila’s accusation of fraud led to widespread violence and displacement. A compromise was devised to quell this uproar, and Odinga was named Prime Minister. The country is still rife with political tensions and Kenyans are tired of the resulting discords, delays and disagreements.

“[In Kenya] it isn’t just the government that is corrupt. Every system is corrupt,” explained Mr. Sichangi. “In Kenya, you cannot have a meeting with more than nine people without obtaining a permit. What does that mean? A family of 14 would not be able to sit down to dinner?” Nancy Kim ’10 asked if such a law applied to church congregations, to which the speaker responded that priests are licensed by the government, with the caveat that if sermons oppose the system in any way, the preacher is in danger of being removed or even killed as a consequence. “A person goes missing and weeks later a body is discovered in the woods,” said Mr. Sichanga. “The inquiry is set, but the report is never presented.”

History teacher Wilson Everhart asked if, in light of Kenya’s current corruption, Mr. Sichangi had hope for the future. He responded with a firm yes, asserting the need for a radically changed constitution (which remains from the days of British colonization) and the entrance of informed young people capable of challenging the stubborn favoritism has long determined many appointments. “There are appointees to parliament who cannot even write their names. How can such a person be expected to understand the complex issues plaguing the country?”

Asked by science teacher Dan O’Connell what might happen if he were to give the same lecture in Kenya, he replied, “I would be very, very cautious about what I said. I would be in trouble.”

Mr. Sichangi is a Luhya. He and his wife, also a Luhya, but from a different region, were raised speaking different mother tongues. With each other and with their three boys, they speak Swahili and English. Mr. Sichangi’s wife teaches English to prison inmates.

Mr. Sichangi chats with Dave DeSalvo about his experience in America.

Over the course of three years in America, Mr. Sichangi has returned to Kenya to visit his family a few times, but he does not know when his next visit will be. Obtaining a visa is extremely difficult, and there is no knowing if, once he has returned, he will be able to leave again.

Asked what he enjoys most about living in America, he replied, “The freedom. The freedom to say anything you want.” Sitting in front of Founders Hall, he gazed at the rows of parked cars. “When I came here, I couldn’t believe the number of vehicles. There are as many as people! In Kenya, if I had a pick up truck like that, people would be lined up outside my house every morning to ask for a ride. And they would pile 15 people on.”

Mr. Sichangi also remembered being amazed at first hearing the complaints of Americans against their own government. “You are so lucky!” he cried. “But everything has its own context. The standards here are simply different.”

Mr. Sichangi articulates the failures of Kenya’s political system as patent facts. “People know [the system is corrupt], but they have no power. With each election, they can only hope things will go right.” And despite the many conflicts, his eyes acquire a nostalgic glint as he describes his homeland. “All the same,” he says, “Kenya is still a beautiful country.”

Mr. Sichangi talks with Headmaster Roach and a student after the lecture.