Prior to the 2007 elections it was generally considered impossible for a leader from the tribes that do not practise circumcision to be elected president. Many Kenyans and even the educated ones held on firmly to the stone-age traditional belief that those who had not gone through this rite of passage were ”unfit” or not ”mature enough” to contest for the high office.
But this myth was heavily shattered and history was made when current Prime Minister Raila Odinga who is a Luo — a community that does not circumcise — went on the verge of capturing the presidency in hotly contested elections, the disputed results of which almost brought the country down to its knees.
To many of us, the issue of the male cut vis-Ã -vis political leadership was finally an issue totally buried in the past, but this issue has again resurfaced and it is amazing to see the great lengths that politicians are going to in an attempt to score political points.
Recently local scientists announced that they had indeed confirmed that the male cut greatly reduces the chances of contracting the HIV virus for men and cervical cancer for women. With multi-million-dollar funding from the United States, the government embarked on a nationwide circumcision drive targeting members of the communities that do not practise the rite.
Now the HIV pandemic is a serious issue in Kenya, where statistics show the rates of infection have been rising over the years. So if circumcision could be some sort of panacea to the problem, then surely logic dictates that it should be fully embraced. But, trust our politicians to politicise everything.
While recently addressing a mammoth crowd in his hometown of Kisumu in Nyanza province, Odinga kicked off a political storm that has come to haunt him when he urged members of his Luo community to shun their firmly held traditions and undergo the rite.
Speakers who spoke after him at the charged meeting openly differed on the issue and emotions ran high. Two Cabinet ministers declared that they were supporting Odinga and, to the shock and amazement of those present, revealed how they had secretly faced the knife in different circumstances.
”I was a student in Makerere University when a lecturer friend of mine convinced me to go for it. I agreed and went to a medical clinic for the operation. I don’t regret it,” said Medical Services Minister professor Peter Anyang’ Ny’ongo.
”I was a political prisoner at the height of the dictatorial [arap] Moi rule when I underwent the rite. Although it has been top secret, let me spill the beans today and tell you there is nothing wrong with it,” said Lands Minister James Orengo.
At the end of the rally, at least six MPs from the region publicly announced that to set an example to their community, they would face the knife. Professor Ayeich Olweny, an assistant minister for education in his early seventies, shocked many when he too said he would not be left behind.
It is amazing how the events of that day have continued to raise political dust. The chairperson of the Luo community council of elders, Riaga Ogallo, furiously stated that although the community had always supported the premier, he was gravely wrong on this one. They called on him to apologise to the council and the Luo community. Some MPs and several community associations from Nyanza also besieged him.
”Mutilating an organ of the body is taboo in our culture. It will surely bring misfortune. No matter how much we want Raila to occupy state house, this matter is not debatable,” Ogallo said.
Since then, the issue has become a grey area as far as Kenyan politics is concerned with a cross-section of leaders saying the premier is using it to advance his political ambitions.
The matter was aggravated a few weeks ago when a top politician from the ODM party hilariously and in jest told supporters in the Western province: ”Our brothers the Luo have finally decided to be brave and be men! We should reciprocate their action by ensuring that in the 2012 elections, we take Raila to the state house.”
Who would have thought the cut, which is now an important health issue, would assume a political meaning? Probably only in Africa.
John Njenga is a freelance journalist based in Kenya