1. A few words on ethnicity, politics & corruption. We have to be careful to avoid oversimplification of complex issues or complicating simple issues. Framing the affairs of the state in terms of tribe/ethnicity can fall foul of both - oversimplification & overcomplication.
2. It’s highly problematic when the actions of a few corrupt men & women are vicariously attributed to a whole ethnic group. Oft-times the circle that loots is very small. It’s connected by family, clan, elite bonds. The rest of the ethnic group has nothing to do with it.
3. If ED’s appointments are corrupt, using ethnicity as a marker of identity is an easy but uncritical & misleading way of examining what’s really going on. One has to use a political microscope to identify the bonds within that group. Ethnicity may be the least of connectors.
4. You might find that the biggest beneficiaries of ED’s rule are not of Karanga extraction. Ironically, this taxonomy based on ethnicity excludes the non-Karanga big fish who are outside the specified ethnic group while including millions of poor Karanga who have nothing.
5. But more significantly, it foments unnecessary divisions among the people. Suddenly the non-Karanga are made to believe the Karanga are the problem & the Karanga are made to feel they must defend themselves. Meanwhile, the greedy cabal that is looting lurks behind the veil.
6. Those critical of the corruption & looting at the heart of the state must neither oversimplify nor overcomplicate the issue. They must address the elephant in the room; identify the greedy caste instead of lumping them all together with the poor under a cheap ethnic label.
