There has been [extended] news coverage on the story of an African man coupling with a lady of Asian origin (both Kenyan) & many bawdy jokes made of their union. In a [conservative] country that celebrates & honours marriages, this union has nonetheless been the subject of amusement and amazement including profiling the African man in the most unsavoury manner. The story demonstrates what is inherently wrong in our society, 51 years after independence notwithstanding. That the fascination was picked by the BBC as Newsworthy is even more outstanding.
http://m.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-28568701
(a) Mr Khamala is singled out as a "Bukusu". Bukusus are not one of the 42 Kenyan tribes but are encompassed under the broader Luhya Nation. Recently a former Vice President came under flack for telling a rookie journalist that his second name "betrayed him". People from the journalist's tribe took, by the droves, to the social and mainstream media to hit at what they perceived was an insult. In referring to the man as a Bukusu (instead of simply a Kenyan of African descent), my country folk have even sank further to profiling people by their sub tribes & clans. This profiling is however selective because mainstream media would never refer to other peoples by their sub tribes & clans. Many people have resorted to joking & promulgating theories on the "sexual prowess" of the black man. For me, I have always wondered why there must be a tag to my existence requiring me to define myself [& my children] by tribe, sub tribe & even clan. In so doing subtle inferences are made to my person and my character.
(b) For as long as I can remember many Kenyans of African origin have transcended cultures & races, often to the chagrin of their own families or communities. Jomo Kenyatta (Peter Magana's mother), Charles Njonjo, Phillip Moi, Peter Habenga Okondo, James Butt (Julie Gichuru 's father), Barack Hussein Obama snr (two American lasses), Elijah Mwangale, Masinde Muliro (A South African), Jeff Koinange, Oloo Aringo, Mukhisa Kituyi, Hannington Awori, Nelson Awori, Noah Wekesa, Bethwell Kiplagat, Oludhe MacGoye, Gina Din Kariuki, Cheryl Kibaki and many more... From the number of children of mixed race, this barrier was transcended even before independence. Many of the Kenyan elite met their spouses during their studies abroad while others met in the country. A friend maintains that "The fact remains that this is NOT THE FIRST such marriage. There is a place in Meru - Tigania that has several generations of intermarriage between the locals and their Indian emigrants - over 100 years. Other parts of Meru have the same and include Shahs, Patels & Islamic families!" Indeed the BBC article indicates that although no firm census exists on Asian African marriages, estimates put this at 100,000 such unions in Kenya.
(c) Like Rachel, countless people have married happily across the economic divide. Men marry their house girls, masseuses, their neighbours' house girls, commercial sex workers etc whereas women marry their house boys, workers, watchmen etc. Examples - in my country - abound of folks who have married upstairs or downstairs as this phenomenon is as old as civilisation. Economic status has never been a barrier for love [and infatuation thereof] truly is blind. Sometimes marriage is about improving one's status so it follows that one party to the contract might use it to climb the social ladder to improve his/her lot and that of her descendants.
(d) Kenyans have also married across the religious divide. Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims etc. In some cases, one person has to convert but in most cases each person in the union pursues her selected religion & denomination as desired. I have never really understood the Muslim vs Christian problem in the Middle East, Central African Republic, Iraq and other countries, counting as I do families & friends who are in harmonious inter religious relationships.
James McBride writes a beautiful Obamesque tribute to his mother. A woman who - against all odds - raises 12 successful children against much prejudice from her original community. Ruth was ostracised by her own family for bringing dishonour to the family name. Her family performed "Shiva" [a Jewish ritual for the dead] who counted her among their dead. Her family strongly believed that "choices have consequences" & Rachel could not have her cake and eat it. She neither belonged to her own people nor those of her two black husbands who both died on her prematurely. The children of her unions were neither "black nor white". She had to fight [aggressively] for the children to be awarded scholarships & financial aid available for Jewish children without which she would never have been able to give them the education they deserved. Fortunately for her, the state of being a Jew is matrilineal and passes on from mother to child. Not even a bigoted society, could deny her that. Some of her children initially suffered a severe identity crisis as they were always outsiders. To their persistent question: "Is God Black or White?", She wisely answered "God is the colour of water".
For Kenya, 51 years after independence...It is a shame that we - as a people - make bawdy jokes about a love between two lawfully abiding citizens who are above the age of consent. We, who indicate that #WeAreOne, are quick to profile people by their tribes, races, sub tribes, economic status, sexual orientation & religion. We who call ourselves a Christian Nation exhibit behaviours worse than the Pharisees and teachers of the law.
