Somali Diaspora’s unadorned lesson to EAC

Kenya may not be the only country in the region aiming to tap from the rich pickings of its Diaspora, but its political class is on the cusp of beginning a trend to woo their scattered votes starting this election cycle. One, however, may not think of comparing Kenya’s Diaspora with Somalia, which has already expressed its intentions to join the East African Community (EAC). Yet, aside from politics, there can be some surprising comparisons.Kenyans in the Diaspora, for instance, remitted $891 million in 2011, surpassing earnings from tourism, traditionally one of the country’s major foreign exchange earners. There are about three million Kenyans in the Diaspora, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates.Comparatively, the estimated size of Somali Diaspora, according to a recent study by the United Nations Development Programme, is about one million. The amount of their annual remittances to Somalia is around $1 billion. It is quite telling that no country in the East African Community matches this figure. Also, such a statistic goes a long way to shed some light on the potential Somalia holds in the EAC if it was to gain back its stable nationhood and utilise the talents and famed business acumen of its citizens. On the other hand, Somali remittances do not seem able to hold the nation together, while it is a fact that Kenya needs a stable Somalia as much as the other member states in the EAC.Somalia’s two-decade long conflict has provided a steady flow of refugees, primarily to neighbouring countries. Kenya bears the disproportionate share of the burden with over 380,000 of the Somali refugees.The size of the refugee population, the media attention of the war on the Al Shabaab in Somalia, and the involvement of the international agencies with the refugees has made the Somali refugees particularly visible. The proximity and involvement with Somalia has ensured that Kenya has received some sustained media attention, and not least with an eye to the forthcoming elections and all they portend. Which brings us back to the issue of the Kenyan Diaspora and their role in determining the destiny of their country in the forthcoming elections.The elections have led to the obvious prospect of the presidential candidates hankering for votes in the Diaspora, including in Rwanda. Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that there are about 10,000 Kenyans in Uganda, 15,000 in Tanzania, 20,000 in Southern Sudan and 8,000 in Rwanda. Every vote counts and, all told, there are about three million voters in the Diaspora worldwide. Some work remains to be done, however. Putting the logistics in place to ensure the voting rights of these formerly marginalised Kenyans come elections is something the Government and the new Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is now grappling with. In the meantime, the “wananchi” in the Diaspora, led by those in the US and the United Kingdom where there are 600,000 and 300,000 strong, respectively, have vowed not to relent clamouring for registration and their right to vote as provided in the new Constitution. gituram@yahoo.comTwitter: @gituram