SENSE OF BELONGING: DRUMS OF WAR

SENSE OF BELONGING: DRUMS OF WAR

As we prepare for the 2027 election, we’re seeing political actors use their so-called “power” to divide the nation along ethnic lines. Most people who were around nearly 20 years ago—during the 2007/08 period—know what PEV means and still remember its tragedies. Many affected families carry the scars to this day. Even when they try to move on, the topic keeps resurfacing because they know how brutal it was.

That’s my reason for never giving Kibaki full credit. He undermined the democracy that brought him to power and made people believe in a new democratic dawn that never fully materialized.

Back to this ethnicity issue. We tend to believe humans are logical and can easily distinguish right from wrong. But the truth is, humans rarely operate that way. That’s why we have governments backed by security forces. If we were purely logical, governments wouldn’t need to exist in the first place. They exist because humans need leadership and direction. And who provides that direction? Often, humans whose personal ambitions override the principles on which the institutions they represent were built.

The sense of belonging is one key reason logical thinking gets compromised—alongside the “personal ambitions” mentioned above. Most humans survive not just on food (which is largely guaranteed) but on a four-letter word: HOPE. I’ve spoken about hope many times since realizing it’s a cheat code. Hope is the most important factor in surviving extreme environments or difficult situations. It’s like holding onto a sometimes delusional or illusory sense of purpose just to keep going.

Now, someone might ask: How do tribe, religion, logic, government, leaders, hope, and manipulation combine to give birth to war? Here’s the core point: the vulnerable masses, whom politicians see as “voting robots,” tend to cling to anything that gives them hope. Hope comes in many forms—supernatural beings, football, race, gender, class, country, or tribe. This is where the sense of belonging enters and elevates the charade, because we want to remain loyal to the groups we believe we belong to.

Politicians have mastered this. They use the art of intoxicating emotions to trigger chaos, because being “delulu” for the masses is their “solulu.”

Tribe is the society we’re born and raised in, built on shared language and identity. For me, I’ll say it plainly: I’m a proud Kipsigis. It gives me a genuine sense of belonging. Politicians exploit this sense of belonging to their advantage because we rarely question someone who seems like “us.” They represent what we dream of and embody.

But in this capitalist society, is the relationship between politicians and their constituents truly mutually beneficial? When a supporter dies in abject poverty, the narrative shifts to “No one can save you but yourself. You’re poor because you’re lazy.” That story gains the most traction when it benefits the big man.

The people become pawns in a chess game. They’re told, “They don’t want us to lead because we belong to this tribe.” But once the dust settles, those same leaders send their own children to better schools instead of building better schools for everyone.

The “US vs THEM” mantra becomes a rallying cry because it triggers a powerful sense of belonging that overrides reason, turning rationality into irrationality. People end up waging war on their fellow humans because the illusion of power corrupts a suffering society, all to enrich a few individuals who care only about themselves.

The bandwagon effect intensifies because no one wants to be left out of that sense of belonging. The very hope you clung to ends up destroying the fabric that gave your life meaning—to the point where thoughts of suicide fade because you had purpose. Yet you may ultimately die or kill someone for an illusory hope that benefits only a handful.

War is never an option, but it can become inevitable. Humans survive through breathing, thinking, listening, anger, words, sight, touch, eating—and hope. When any of these is severely interfered with, an individual or group can go ballistic or run amok.

I hope people realize that your neighbor isn’t your enemy just because they come from a different tribe, class, gender, race, or religion. They are a fellow human trying to survive under the same pressures you face, only shaped by different surroundings. Nobody chooses the tribe they are born into—the tribe claims you.

Remember: peace is the only HEAVEN among the secondary wants you’ll enjoy by seeing and living it. War is the only HELL you’ll ever experience, and it leaves everlasting trauma.

So embrace peace, even when it’s difficult, because it is the only thing we can truly reward ourselves with as humans. It is never cowardice—it is survival.

“JUSTICE BE OUR SHIELD AND DEFENDER.”

Photo Courtesy: Nation Africa

#csirnization

CC: RONO KIBET