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Africa Addio,
author John Cohen
added: "During the month of January,
1964, then, just about every country
south of the Sudan and the Congo -
more than half of the African con–
tinent, which alone is bigger than the
USA, Communist China and India put
together - was involved
in
mutiny,
rebellion, civil war, or sorne other forro
of extreme violence
oc
threatened vio–
lence" (p. 10) .
But tribal hatreds did not stop in
1964. They have continued. In 1966 it
exploded with the full fury of tribal
war in Nigeria.
Nigeria's Tribal War
Before the Eastern Region seceded
from Nigeria in May, 1966, 30,000
Ibos had been massacred by other
Nigerian tribes. The Ibos rebelled and
set up their own state, Biafra.
Then the stark tragedy of tribal war
- sorne have called it genocide
began. Nigeria invaded Biafra to re–
unite the country.
The death toll in Biafra started at an
estimated 400 per day - and was to
dimb to a tragic 10,000 per day. This
was the effect primarily of starvation.
By the end of 1968, the estímate of
deaths within unoccupied Biafra was
put at three quarters of a million. Even
the most conservative estímate of deaths
was half a million. Others reported an
estimated half a million dead io the
Nigerian-occupied area.
The lighting continued throughout
1969, the war not ending until January,
1970. By the end of the war, one estí–
mate put the death toll due to stacvatíon
at perhaps
TWO MILLION.
Kikuyus, Killing and Kenya
Kenya is known as the nation of big–
game hunting, movie scenes, safaris.
But Kenya is also the home of racial
strife. In 1952, the hunt was on. But it
wasn't for big game. The hunt was on
for the Mau Mau. Before that strife
ended, it was to cost 200 million dollars
and result in the deaths of 13,000 black
human beings.
The Mau Mau consisted of embit–
tered members of the Kikuyu tribe.
They were disenchanted with the white
man for settling on land which the tribe
The
PLAIN TRUTH
formecly had used for grazing. Para–
doxically, the Mau Mau were a product
of the slums of Kenyan cities such as
Nairobi and Githunguri. But soon the
criminal toughs of Nairobi gained con–
trol of the relatively peacefuJ Kikuyus
on the reserves.
Disloyal Kikuyus who refused the
tribal oath were tortured and killed. For
example, in the last
1O
days of Septem–
ber 1952, the year that the Mau Mau
terrorists began, 14 Kikuyus were mur–
dered for informing the pol ice. In eady
October a loyalist, Chief Waruhiu, was
assassinated.
The message carne through loud and
clear. The Kikuyus flocked to ceremo–
nial centers to take the oath. Sorne oath
sessions saw 800 initiates at a time
brought in.
As usual, in Africa black men suf–
fered most at the hands of other black
men. By the end of 1952 only six
Europeans had been murdered. In the
same period of time 135 Kikuyus and
37 other Africans were known to have
been butchered by the Mau Mau.
The tucning point of Mau Mau "suc–
cess" came on March 26, 1953. On
this
day more than 200 homes were wired
closed in a town called Lari. Petrol was
tossed on them and flaming torches cre–
ated liery infernos.
Those who got out suffered incredible
tortures. Stories of the massacre were
many and terrible. One woman was held
from behind while her child's throat
was slowly sawed through. Another
person had his body chopped in half.
Later his blood was drunk. Pregnant
women had their bellies split open.
The next mocning officials found
charred bones across the plain. No one
really knew how many died. The offi–
cial estimate was 97.
There is yet one .final irony in al!
this. The black Mau Maus had
NOT,
in
this case, murdered whites. The citizens
of Lari were black, they were
fellow
Kikttytt
tt"ibesmen.
It
was this kind of
butchery that turned away the vast
majority of Kikuyus
fcom
the Mau Mau
minority.
Today, the Mau Mau are history.
Crisis in Kenya - NOW
But group troubles are
NOT
ancient
history in Kenya. They are there now.
May 1971
In 1969, Toro Mboya, a black cabi–
net minister, was murdered. Suddenly
Kenya was threatened with tribal
explosion. Some thought it could paral–
lel the intensity of hatced in Nigeria.
Mboya carne from the Luo tribe. Fel–
low Luos were positive he had been
murdered by Kikuyu tribesmen. Luos
began to unite in opposition, cursing
Prime Minister Jomo Kenyata and his
Kikuyu tribesmen.
Meanwhile, the Kikuyus also became
frightened. They began taking oaths -
the traditional Kikuyu way of achieving
group unity - in the face of danger.
To date Kenya has not blown apart.
It
is hoped that it willnot.
The Hutu-Watusi Conflict
In Rwanda-Bumndi beginning about
1959, Bantu Hutu tribesmen went on a
rampage that caused the deaths of at
least 50,000 Watusi. Sorne estímate the
maximum figure might actually be 130,-
000. The most likely figure, others say,
is between 80,000 and 100,000.
The very tall Watusi had their eyes
cut, then were bashed to death. Others
had their legs hacked off by the Hutu,
to "cut them clown to size." Others
were buried alive, bucned, thrown into
crocodile-infested waters with hands
tied behind their backs
oc
heads tied to
knees.
It
was cace war. But the dis–
tinguishing characteristics were not spe–
cifically color. They were length of leg,
eating custom, tribal affiliation. The
ultimate cause, of course, was the histor–
ical relationship between Hutu and
Watusi.
Watusi had once lorded it over the
Hutu and as usual, "The Watusi sys–
tem was based on an explicit belief in
their own racial superiority"
(A frica
Addio,
John Cohen, New York: Bal–
lantine Books, 1966, p. 34).
Other African Hot Spots
In the Sudan, cace war with religious
overtones has taken the lives of 500,-
000, according to one estímate.
The problem?
The Sudan
is
dominated by nine mil–
lion dark-skinned Arabs of the North
who think of themselves as true Egyp-