THE TIANIA ARE PARAGONS OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

The famous Njuri Ncheke , the cultural governing council of elders that set the way of life in Meru, has deep roots in Tiania, a sub-tribe of the Meru community. A famous line from this council of elders reads as: "uti mwana o Tiania wi mamira", which simply translated means that discrimination was an anathema in Tiania and people were expected to live a convivial lifestyle. The Tiania were largely pastoralists who grazed their livestock in communal grounds  (the common) and put their animals in shared sheds for the night. The young men assigned to take care of the animals shared milk and food equally regardless of whether their parents had a share in the livestock or not. There was no discrimination whatsoever and this led to good care taken for the animals because they were not regarded as just individual wealth but that of the community as well. In order to help those who didn't have large herds to stock up quickly, a scheme was put in place where one was allowed to keep a cow from his neighbour till it produced a heifer for him after which he returned the cow to the owner without any recompense. The best bull, selected due to its prolificacy, wash given special care and treatment because it was considered an asset for the entire community. Even those who tilled the land shared the labour and the harvests such that in case of poor harvests, nobody starved or resulted to eating dog meat as recently reported about a Turkana family. Therefore, you may ask, how did capitalism take root such that the Tiania are now the most litigious among the Meru particularly in land related cases? Colonialism, brought about two dimensions in the Tiania that has tremendously influenced their lifestyle in the past 60 years or so. Firstly, like in other Kenyan communities, the able young men of Tiania were drafted in the colonial army so as to fight  for the British during the Second World War. As soldiers, they were indoctrinated into new orders, they visited other countries and interacted with many other cultures. Secondly, as good soldiers on His Majesty's Service, they had to convert to Christianity. When these soldiers were demobilized after the war, they were not lucky enough like their British counter parts to be allocated prime land in the White Highlands, but nevertheless, the loyal ones were recruited in the Provincial Administration either as Chiefs, Headmen or in the Tribal Police, the precursor of the administration police. Now, we all know about the powerful Chief's Act which has been used as a tool for harassment, subjugation, discrimination and trampling of peoples' rights. If you recall the recent ruthlessness  of the Administration Police against hapless citizens during the post election clashes, then you will gauge their actions in those early days on the people with the tacit approval of the Chiefs and Headmen. The new administrators used the Chiefs act to discriminate against those who were not Christians, those not related to them and those they generally perceived as enemies. They confiscated other peoples' land, livestock and in some cases even wives! This new breed of administrators planted the initial seeds of corruption, nepotism and capitalism which we continue to harvest to date. However, all is not lost, because with the new constitution coupled with enlightenment and good governance, we are able to scrape the thin veneer of capitalistic tendencies now covering the Tiania to find a new shiny skin of a socially democratic people. Like all good Africans, the Tiania are socially deep rooted spiritual people who intensely love humanity and the environment they live in.