OSEN: Kenyan tribalists have big global company that ruin lives
This article argues that populist leaders globally are exploiting ethnic tensions and culture wars to consolidate power and enrich themselves. It highlights examples from Kenya, India, the US, and the UK to illustrate how political rhetoric is increasingly used to divide communities.
Why it matters
It provides a critical perspective on the rise of global populism and the potential for increased social instability during election cycles.
US President Donald Trump. Trump's M aga movement that continues to dominate American politics /FILE The 2027 election is anecdotally proving to be one of the most undermined by charged ethnic undertones since 2007, and there is a global trend that contextualises it.
All around the world, politicians are clutching to ethnic straws and stoking culture wars to build mental-siege communities for winning power, which they then repurpose to enrich themselves and their cronies.
An easier guide to voters next year is this: be keen and scrutinise those who fan tribal tensions and you easily see one who is using you just to climb the social ladder as you sink deeper in misery, no matter the efforts you are making. Winning power is not governing.
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