Pain of being a "kenyan somali"

[Lamagoodle]

Maybe, get some f...brains (I am respecting the rules of this website but you deserve to be addressed as a child with words that contain the f-word). 1. The history of the NFD never begun with Somalia's or Kenya's independence! The political history dates back to as far back as the 1800; read and come back 2) You are obviously in the dark and don't understand the policy of divide and rule which is why there are some clan infights .

AmalJaber, Gartay;
The killings of somalis in the NFD started during the British colonial rule and continues today; if you are talking of massacres here are some;
1894-1907 massacres of somalis by the British along the Dawa river
1960; massacres of somalis following a referendum in which all the somalis plus the Borana muslims voted to leave Kenya
1964-1969 (the war of liberation aka shifta wars) in which thousands were massacred
1970-1985 massacres; the rape of boarding school girls in Garissa, the massacre of several nomads in Liboi, Garissa, Madogashe; the Wagalla and Malka re massacres
1988-1990; the expulsion of somalis (in the name of screening)
2009-2010; atrocities against somalis in Mandera district.


Do you know that there is still a state of emergency in the NFD; the act came in 1967 and gives the security forces rights to commit atrocties.

[BlackVelvet]

You know they never teach this kind of history in school.

[Lamagoodle]

Blackvelvet, they did teach in Somalia when there was a government.

For those of you who wants to know more please read the following excerpts from NFDonline.net

NFD History
North Eastern Province which now comprise Wajir, Mandera, Ijara and Garissa districts was part of the former N.F.D. (Northern Frontier Districts) which also included Isiolo, Moyale and Marsabit. Most of the inhabitants of this region were ethnic Somalis and others allied to them. They had a lot in common; (in terms of religion, language, customs, Nomadic way of life, etc) with the other Somali regions under Italian, British, and French occupation than with the rest of other Kenyans.
This fact was apparent to the British colonists in East Africa much earlier when in 1902, the then Commissioner of the East Africa protectorate, Charles Elliot stated that, "if it were possible to detach the districts inhabited by the Somalis it would be an excellent thing to form them into a separate government". This did not happen and after the completion of the partition of Africa by the Colonial Powers, N.F.D became part of Kenya while the rest of the areas inhabited by the Somalis came under the French (Djibouti), Italy (Southern Somalia), British (Northern Somaliland) and Ogadenia now under Ethiopia. Ethiopia, under Menelik, took an active role in the partition of Africa. North Eastern Province which now comprise Wajir, Mandera, Ijara and Garissa districts was part of the former N.F.D. (Northern Frontier Districts) which also included Isiolo, Moyale and Marsabit. Most of the inhabitants of this region were ethnic Somalis and others allied to them. They had a lot in common; (in terms of religion, language, customs, Nomadic way of life, etc) with the other Somali regions under Italian, British, and French occupation than with the rest of other Kenyans.
He wrote to the European Colonial Powers stating that, "If powers at distant come forward to partition Africa between themselves, I don't intend to be an indifferent Spectator." He was then given large areas of Somali inhabited areas which today form zone 5 of Ethiopia.2A By 1925, the size of N.F.D was reduced when 12,000 square miles of territory was ceded by the British to Italy and the border was pushed back from the Juba River in Somalia to where it is today. This followed a 1915 treaty in London between the two colonial powers wherein Britain promised this Land as quid pro quo for Italian support in World War.
The colonial government in Kenya, in an effort to control the movement of the Somalis into the hinterland of East Africa and of their integration with others in Kenya, enacted several legislations specifically targeting N.F.D. The first was the outlying District ordinance 19025 which applied exclusively to N.F.D. The effect of theordinance was to declare N.F.D. a closed area. Movement in and out of the area was restricted and only under a special pass. The second was the special districts (Administration) ordinance, 19346, which together with the stock theft and produce ordinance, 1933, gave the colonial administrators in the region extensive powers of arrest, restraint, detention and seizure of properties of "hostile tribes".
These ordinances not only applied to N.F.D. but also to Tana River, Lamu, Kajiado and Samburu districts. Further the stock theft and produce ordinance legalised collective punishment of tribes and clans for the offence of their member.
The long title of the said ordinance stated thus-"An ordinance to provide for the recovery of fines imposed on Africans (including Somalis) for the theft of stock or produce by levy on the property of the offender or his family, sub-tribe or tribe…….." The meaning of what constitutes "stock" was as defined in Section 278 of the Penal Code. Under this Section stock is defined as to include any of the following that is to say; horse, mare, gelding, ass, mule, camel, ostrich, bull, cow, ox, ram, ewe, whether goat or pig or the young thereof.The net effect of these early colonial legislation was to turn N.F.D. into a closed zone, which had no contact or relation with the other parts of Kenya. Indeed, the other Kenyans did not know much about N.F.D. This situation continued even after independence and is best captured by the statement of the American writer, Negley Farson, that, "there is one half of Kenya about which the other half knows nothing about and seems to care even less". The European Minister for African Affairs, while contributing to a motion on setting aside Land in either Gilgil, Naivasha or Isiolo for Somali stock traders, on 28th October 1954, spelt out the colonial government's position on the Somalis as follows-
"Now Sir, the policy of the government towards these men has always been that although we recognise their fine qualities, and I yield to nobody in my admiration of their Powers of Leadership, their hardihood, their physical courage and their epic skills as bush Lawyers, we can only absorb a few of them. Government has always taken the view that it will be wrong to establish a reserve for them".
The Late Eliud Mathu, while contributing to the same motion, said, "This Council regrets that the government has not accepted the minority recommendation of the Somali Committee that Land should be made available for Somali stock farmers and requests government to reconsider their decision. I do think that these Somalis require the treatment that would be accorded to any other bonafide resident of Kenya".
Mr. Cook, another Member of the Legislative Council (legco), while contributing on the same motion also said; " I know that Somalis are in many ways vexatious people because they stand up for their own rights and certain number of government servants do not like non-Europeans to stand up sturdily for his own rights. I have noticed that in the past and perhaps other people have noticed it as well. But I personally think that it is that virile type of African that we need most in the development of this country".
Human Rights (by commissionor A. Issack)
Among the plethora of grievances, which the people of the region have raised is the one directed against the operations of the security forces. Members of thesecurity forces, including but not limited to the army, Police, the paramilitary G.S.U. and the anti-shifta force, have been accused of committing gross violations of human rights in the course of their duties, including instances of genocidal killings, mass murders and rape, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention of persons and communities and illegal confiscation and theft of properties. The following cases and incidents illustrate the foregoing-
(i) Bulla Kartasi Estate Massacre in Garissa in November 1980. This was the first well-documented massacre that occurred in Northern Kenya and was blamed on the members of Kenya Army. Following the killing, in an ambush, of six (6) government officials in Garissa town by one bandit known as Abdi Madobe, the security forces, in retaliation burnt the whole of Bulla Kartasi Estate in Garissa town killing people, raping women and herded the town's residents to a mini-concentration camp at Garissa Primary School play ground where they kept them for 3 days without food or water. Human rights organizations' estimates put the dead at over 3,000 with an equal number unaccounted for.
(ii) The Wagalla Massacre in Wajir in February 1984. This was the second documented incident this time blamed on the General Service Unit (GSU). In February 1984, the security forces launched an operation in Wajir targeting the Degodia sub-clan of the Somali. Most of those rounded up in the swoop were summarily executed after days of incarceration at the Wagalla airstrip. Close to 5,000 people are said to have lost their lives during this incident.
(iii) Other instances of extra-judicial killings, and collective punishment of Communities in Malka-mari, Garse, Derakali, Dandu and Takaba areas of Mandera District.
Discrimination
Kenyan Somalis in general and those from N.E.P and indeed N.F.D, complain of discriminatory Laws, regulations, practice and procedures that apply to them only and not to the other Kenyans. This is especially acute in the area of citizenship and immigration Laws i.e. in the issuance of Birth Certificates, Identity Card and Passports. Their complaints have centered on the fact that they have to produce more documents and undergo additional scrutiny and procedure to acquire these documents which is not the case with other Kenyans. The screening exercise of the Kenyan Somalis and their issuance with a Pink Card by the Government in November 1989 is also cited as a clear case of discrimination of the people of N.E.P. and N.F.D. The justification for the screening of the Kenyan Somalis was contained in a government statement which stated thus;
"The Government is to register all Kenyan Somalis and expel those found to have sympathy with Somalis. The Government cannot tolerate citizens who pretend to be patriotic to Kenya while they involve themselves in anti-Kenya activities. The Government has therefore found it necessary to register Kenyan of Somali ethnic group to make them easily identifiable by our security forces."
The Provisions of the Registration of Persons Act, Chapter 107, Laws of Kenya, was used to implement the screening exercise. The Principal Registrar of Persons then issued a notice in the Kenya Gazette being legal Notice No.5320 of 10th November, 1989 which stated as follow-
"In accordance with Section 8 of the Registration of Persons Act, the Principal Registrar requires all persons of the Somali ethnic Community resident in Kenya who are of eighteen (18) years and above to attend before registration officers at the centres specified in the second column of the schedule and furnish such documentary or other evidence of the truth of their registration between 13th November, 1989 and 4th December, 1989".
The long title of the Act declares it as an Act of Parliament to make Provisions for the registration of persons and for the issue of Identity Cards and for purposes connected therewith. Section 2 of the said Act also states that it shall apply to all persons who are citizens of Kenya and who have attained the age of eighteen years or over or where no proof of age exists, are of the apparent age of eighteen years or over. Section 18 of the Act which the Principal Registrar invoked to order for the screening exercise, empowers a Registration Officer to require any person registered under the Act to furnish such documentary or other evidence of the truth of the information given by that person.
The screening exercise, which was in effect a mass verification exercise, was carried out through the use of vetting committees made of some selected elders and members of the Provincial Administration and Civil Service. All those who appeared before the committee were basically required to show cause why their previous registration should not be cancelled. They were under a burden to proof their citizenship or their right to claim such. Those who satisfied the committee were issued with a pink registration card that bore their names, family, sub-clan, clan and tribe. Those who failed to satisfy the committee were either denied registration or had it cancelled if they had one before. They were thus effectively declared non-citizens and indeed stateless. Those affected were deported to Somalia while others opted to settle elsewhere in East Africa.
The screening exercise of the Kenyan Somalis and the attendant requirement of the production of their screening card in addition to their Identity Card as proof of their citizenship was seen as a discriminatory exercise against them and a violation of their fundamental rights to protection from discrimination as enshrined in Section 82 of the Constitution of Kenya which states that no Law shall make any Provision that is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect and that no person shall be treated in a discriminatory manner by a person acting by virtue of any written Law or in the performance of the functions of a Public office or a Public authority.
The expression, "discriminatory" has been defined to mean,"affording different treatment to different persons attributable wholly or mainly to their respective descriptions by race, tribe, place of origin or residence, or other local connexion, political opinions, colour, creed or sex or whereby persons of one of such descriptions are subjected to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of another such description are not made subject to or are accorded privileges or advantages which are not accorded to persons of such description." The legality of the exercise was also questioned by many legal experts who felt that since the process of acquisition of Kenyan citizenship was provided for under the Constitution the Principal Registrar had no power to determine the citizenship status of a person since his mandate under the Registration of Persons Act was to register Kenya citizens of 18 years and issue them with an Identity Card but not to confer citizenship or deprive one of the same. Nairobi Lawyer,Mohamed Khadar Ibrahim, refused to be screened and to pick the Pink Card on the grounds that he felt that he was being treated as a second class citizen. He was subsequently detained together with other Multi-Party activists and later released after a short stint as a state quest in Kamiti Prison. The instrument of his detention dated 5th July, 1990 and issued by the Minister of State in the office of the President states as follows- "IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by regulation 6 (1) of the Public Security (Detained and Restricted Persons) Regulations, the Minister of State, being satisfied that it is necessary for the preservation of public security to exercise control, beyond that afforded by a restriction order, over IBRAHIM MOHAMED (hereinafter referred to as the detained person) HEREBY ORDERS that the detained person shall be detained". It is still unclear whether his detention was either provoked by his refusal to submit to government efforts to screen him or because of his association with the then Multi-Party activists or both.

[maybe]

[quote="Lamgoodle"]Maybe, get some f...brains (I am respecting the rules of this website but you deserve to be addressed as a child with words that contain the f-word). 1. The history of the NFD never begun with Somalia's or Kenya's independence! The political history dates back to as far back as the 1800; read and come back 2) You are obviously in the dark and don't understand the policy of divide and rule which is why there are some clan infights .

Who gives a flying F about the history of the NFD, i'm talking about now!. Now, unless you want to blame your F@@@ing short comings on others go ahead, but if you are looking for a solution, it's in you hand and not others. But if you are looking for blame, kindly blame worthless self for not being in a position to affect change. God, how I hate stupid somalis that fail to see their failure and instead blame it on others.

[Lamagoodle]

Who gives a flying F about the history of the NFD, i'm talking about now!. Now, unless you want to blame your F@@@ing short comings on others go ahead, but if you are looking for a solution, it's in you hand and not others. But if you are looking for blame, kindly blame worthless self for not being in a position to affect change. God, how I hate stupid somalis that fail to see their failure and instead blame it on others.

Ok, let us stupid/worthless somalis debate and discuss.

P.s. why did you abandon your other username?

[maybe]

Who gives a flying F about the history of the NFD, i'm talking about now!. Now, unless you want to blame your F@@@ing short comings on others go ahead, but if you are looking for a solution, it's in you hand and not others. But if you are looking for blame, kindly blame worthless self for not being in a position to affect change. God, how I hate stupid somalis that fail to see their failure and instead blame it on others.

Ok, let us stupid/worthless somalis debate and discuss.

P.s. why did you abandon your other username?

I'm lost. what other username? This is my first and only username on Somalinet.

[maybe]

Is this the normal welcoming party for a new comer to somalinet; accuse them of banned members. For what it's worth, i'm new and i thought i was providing you with some solution, but i apologize if i overstepped my boundaries.

[Lamagoodle]

Is this the normal welcoming party for a new comer to somalinet; accuse them of banned members. For what it's worth, i'm new and i thought i was providing you with some solution, but i apologize if i overstepped my boundaries.

Maybe, I don't really care whether you have multiple nicks or not. My stupid little brain told me that you and I had debated before.; hence the question I posed. xaal qaado; sabeen iyo wankeeda ayaan kugu xirey.

Your input into this matter ( the fears of somalis who are not involved in the primitive clan wars of somali proper) was a bad start. We should learn to differentiate between contemporary discourses prevelant amongst somalis from the history of how our people have been divided and continue to suffer because they are somalis.

Any how, welcome and enjoy your stay.

[AmalJaber]

I've heard all this gibberish of "we are marginalized." But what did you want the government do? How would you have wanted an African government to have reacted? Now that you seem to understand African governments, what do you think Somali presidents would have reacted if Jubbaland (supported by kenya,) would have wanted to secede, what do you think Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, would have done? would Aden Abdullah Osman Daar have congratulated them? And if Somaliland would have declared Independence, would Mohamed Siad Barre kiss their feet in the spirit of Somali love?

My point is, things happened, and a great deal of the problems came from the political leadership in Somalia who wanted to create problems in other countries instead of solving their own problems.

All those communities living in Northern Kenya face problems including the rendille and the borana. The challenge that the government is facing is that of dealing with refugees from Somalia who acquire Kenyan ID cards and passports. It is my desire that this problem be solved, but i wouldn't want to play the victim card here. After all, all tribes are suffering under the corrupt leadership, and we are no different.

[Hyperactive]

lamgoodle, you're the best member here that i say we're lucky to have you. i like how you're free from tribal motivations.

i learned some thing useful first time in this place.

[Lamagoodle]

I've heard all this gibberish of "we are marginalized." But what did you want the government do? How would you have wanted an African government to have reacted? Now that you seem to understand African governments, what do you think Somali presidents would have reacted if Jubbaland (supported by kenya,) would have wanted to secede, what do you think Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, would have done? would Aden Abdullah Osman Daar have congratulated them? And if Somaliland would have declared Independence, would Mohamed Siad Barre kiss their feet in the spirit of Somali love?

My point is, things happened, and a great deal of the problems came from the political leadership in Somalia who wanted to create problems in other countries instead of solving their own problems.

All those communities living in Northern Kenya face problems including the rendille and the borana. The challenge that the government is facing is that of dealing with refugees from Somalia who acquire Kenyan ID cards and passports. It is my desire that this problem be solved, but i wouldn't want to play the victim card here. After all, all tribes are suffering under the corrupt leadership, and we are no different.

Amal, you are reducing the sufferings of somalis in Kenya (and in the extension in Ethiopia) to what I hear always; blame ourselves. But, that is not the way I see it; when analysing something, there are always several dimensions. The somalis in Kenya and Ethiopia are victims of not what has happened in somaliabut historical circumstances to which many somalis have shed their blood. In respect to the NFD, successive somali governments; Aden Cade, Sharmarke and Mohamed Siyad Barre have been very vocal.

The third paragraph of your above rant is laughable to say the least; do you really believe that the Boranas and Rendile's are treated the same way as somalis???????????
Are you from the NFD? have you seen how many roadblocks there are between Mandera and Wakambe/somali boundary at MWINGI?
The NFD is still under emergency laws; I can give you a myriad of insights.


Hyper, Thanks; it surprises me that somalis don't understand the big picture and colonial legacy that has divided our people.

[AgentOfChaos]

Sijuis are Kenyans 100%. PERIOD.

[Lamagoodle]

Sijuis are Kenyans 100%. PERIOD.

Says who? BTW, the term sijui is a deragatory word even though it sometimes is used to describe how innocent they are. Use somalis from the Northern Frontier District (NFD).

They can't be bonafide Kenyans when they are daily subjected to Lete Kpande; shifta and as Abdinasir on page 1 stated viewed as the elephant in the house.

[AgentOfChaos]

Sijuis are Kenyans 100%. PERIOD.

Says who? BTW, the term sijui is a deragatory word even though it sometimes is used to describe how innocent they are. Use somalis from the Northern Frontier District (NFD).

They can't be bonafide Kenyans when they are daily subjected to Lete Kpande; shifta and as Abdinasir on page 1 stated viewed as the elephant in the house.

I'm pretty sure all the Sijuis have Kpande, the only ones that don't have kapandes are the Somalis who are not native to Kenya; Those Somalis are the ones who get spied on by Sijuis, and get police called on them.

[Lamagoodle]

Why should you need a kpande if you are a citizen? Why should you need kpande to mind your camel? farm? or do business in your place of birth?

By the way, a somali who does not show a kpande but a foreign passport is treated by far better than one who shows a kpande.

I don't blame the people of NFD they are victims of decades of colonialism; do you know what STOCKHOLM syndrome is?